<h2>“My brother died right in front of my eyes”</h2> - Dhanu Bishwakarma  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250401110456_de4a04720790ed70067d7ad74a16b72cee179e99e85fb78a093edadd592be5a0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250401110456_de4a04720790ed70067d7ad74a16b72cee179e99e85fb78a093edadd592be5a0" data-rendition-name="original" width="640" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Suresh Rajak"> <figcaption>Avenues TV journalist Suresh Rajak, who died last Friday as he was filming the pro-monarchy protests from a building that was eventually set on fire by royalist rioters.</figcaption> </figure>  Sujani Magiya was busy preparing for a family gathering that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/republicans-and-royalists-on-nepal-s-streets">fateful Friday</a> at her home in Chandragiri as her husband, television journalist Suresh Rajak, got ready to head to work.&nbsp; Sujani reminded him to be home early for the get-together. “I’ll come back early,” Suresh promised and left to cover the royalist rally at Tinkune.&nbsp; As confrontation between riot police and demonstrators unfolded, he had climbed up an office building for a vantage point to film the events below. Just then, some in the crowd shouted that there were police on the roof of the building and started stoning the green glass façade.&nbsp; Suresh was last photographed filming through the broken windows, and kept on filming even as the rioters set fire to the building after blocking the front door. Suresh was either asphyxiated or was burned to death. His body was discovered hours later. Back in Kirtipur, Sujani was too busy preparing dinner for the family gathering to check her phone, and was unaware of what was happening across town.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250401120416_60a4b7e5ceb0cd6879f6682013f365f26562154025821ec29a8e9322f448e29b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250401120416_60a4b7e5ceb0cd6879f6682013f365f26562154025821ec29a8e9322f448e29b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="Suresh Rajak Family"> <figcaption>Ramesh Rajak (left) and Dinesh Rajak, older brothers of Suresh Rajak. Dinesh and Suresh, both video journalists, were covering the protests for their respective media outlets. Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  When she finally saw the news, she dialled her husband’s number but his phone was switched off. The rest of the family had already heard that Suresh was dead, but did not have the heart to break the news to his wife. “My brother-in-law told me around 6PM that my husband had met with an accident and had been taken to hospital,” Sujani recalled. “They stopped me from going to the hospital.”&nbsp; She feared the worst, and prayed fervently. It was on Saturday evening that she finally got confirmation that her husband had lost his life. Her tears have not stopped since. “I have lost everything,” she told us, weeping. Suresh was the youngest of four siblings, and the family could not afford to send him to college. The eldest brother Ramesh took care of the brothers, but his police job did not pay enough.&nbsp; Suresh migrated to Malaysia to work for two years to supplement the family income. He came back after his mother died, and his other brother Dinesh, who is a video journalist with Lokpath, suggested that he also get a job as a reporter. He had been a video journalist at Avenues TV for the past seven years.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250401110452_22ab2d4c9652aeb5007db4b69d07b15e24d5b70a6b0b7e60c07141c1b3f537c2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250401110452_22ab2d4c9652aeb5007db4b69d07b15e24d5b70a6b0b7e60c07141c1b3f537c2" data-rendition-name="original" width="800" height="579" loading="lazy" alt="Building set on fire by protestors in Tinkune"> <figcaption>Suresh Rajak was seen filming the protests from this building shortly before it was set on fire. His body was found hours later. Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  Dinesh and Suresh left home together on 28 March to cover the pro- and anti- monarchy rallies and had agreed to be home early for dinner. Dinesh reached Tinkune as the royalists were gathering, but was too busy to look for his brother.&nbsp; At around 4PM, when he was filming the building that had been set alight, a colleague informed that there was a reporter trapped inside. Dinesh immediately dialled his brother’s phone, but could not reach him.&nbsp; Dinesh stood frozen as the rioters swirled and shouted around him, unable to get ahold of his brother. No one, including Suresh’s film crew knew where he was. He called hospitals with no avail, and that was when Dinesh felt the journalist in the burning building could be his brother. “I had been filming the very house that my brother was burned to death in,” he said, weeping. “I will never be able to forget that.” Dinesh has not been able to face his sister-in-law because he has no answers to the questions she might have. Suresh and Sujani had got married seven years ago after a long-term relationship. She had been with him through much of his journalism career, and was increasingly frustrated that he was often required to work overtime. Suresh dismissed her worries.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250401110452_a74962b765a26e9046ddd4a9fa920a5d02d9cf43cf4fd6df361ba4723ec4c97d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250401110452_a74962b765a26e9046ddd4a9fa920a5d02d9cf43cf4fd6df361ba4723ec4c97d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1024" height="683" loading="lazy" alt="Suresh Rajak receiving award"> <figcaption>Suresh Rajak was the 2022 recipient of the Hem-Sunil Risky Journalism award.</figcaption> </figure>  He had been injured once before while filming anti-MCC protests in Baneswor three years ago. “I had asked him to quit his job back then, but he would not listen,” Sujani recalls. Dinesh says that his brother would often take risks to take exclusive photos and videos. He was well regarded by colleagues for his passion for reporting, and was the 2022 recipient of the Hem-Sunil Risky Journalism award. His body is still at Teaching Hospital, and his family met the prime minister on Monday and demanded that he be eligible for a martyr’s compensation, and to punish those who set fire to the building. The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) has organised memorials nationwide for Suresh and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-deja-vu-on-black-friday">condemned the various attacks on Nepal’s media and press institutions</a> during Friday’s protests. Dinesh says that while the rioters were guilty of setting fire to the building, he faulted the police for not helping rescue his brother even when repeatedly told that there was a reporter inside. He says, “Had they gone to that building, my brother’s life could have been saved.” <h2>The last time Sabin left home</h2> - Anita Bhetwal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250401120416_12ba007525d427fb9136ad20da45c28e71e397089efc23c1a70ed66d022240d6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250401120416_12ba007525d427fb9136ad20da45c28e71e397089efc23c1a70ed66d022240d6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="1343" loading="lazy" alt="Sabin Maharjan"> <figcaption>Sabin Maharjan had left his house on Friday telling his wife he was going to pick up his vehicle from the garage. His family does not know how he ended up at the pro-monarchy demonstration in Tinkune, where he was shot to death after police fired live rounds to disperse protestors.</figcaption> </figure>  There may have been a few thousand pro-monarchist demonstrators at Tinkune on 28 March. But many of those caught up in the melee were either bystanders, or walking past to get to their destinations because there was no public transport. There are at least a dozen people in hospitals across Kathmandu being treated for bullet wounds who were not protesters, but were hit when the police resorted to live rounds to disperse the angry crowds on an arson rampage. One of them was Sabin Maharjan, 29, from Kirtipur who drove a public van on the Hetauda-Kathmandu route. He left home that morning telling his wife Bhavisha Thakuri Malla that he was going to pick up his vehicle from a garage.&nbsp; Sabin was passionate about driving, and had learnt to drive at the age of 14. He met Bhavisha in Hetauda and got married in 2016. He would often stay nights in Hetauda unless his vehicle needed repairs, in which case he drove back to Kathmandu. Last Wednesday, Sabin had come back to Kathmandu in the evening after spending a week in Hetauda, leaving his Tata Sumo at a garage in Balkhu for repairs before heading home to Kirtipur.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250401120420_52efc283b4578b8e951fb695d81d8967e5cdf52e39326db82854c76d1e97cdc1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250401120420_52efc283b4578b8e951fb695d81d8967e5cdf52e39326db82854c76d1e97cdc1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="Bhavisha, Sabin's wife"> <figcaption>Sabin's wife Bhavisha Thakuri Malla. The couple have a seven-year-old daughter. Photos: ANITA BHETWAL</figcaption> </figure>  Relatives and co-workers say they have no idea why a man who had said he was going to pick up his van from the garage had ended up across town at a violent protest. “Maybe someone took him to Tinkune from the garage, or he could have gone there for some other work,” Bhavisha says, her voice breaking.&nbsp; Bhavisha was doing her chores with her daughter when she got a call from TU Teaching Hospital. She rushed to Maharajganj, but was informed that Sabin had died.&nbsp; Bhavisha stares listlessly at her daughter Subisa beside her, as mourners file into the room to offer words of consolation. “The bullet wound was on the left side of his chest, he must have died instantly, without knowing what hit him,” she says. “Those here ask what they can do for me. Can they bring my husband back?” Relatives say Sabin had no interest in politics, and had never joined any political rally. The only time he left home was to drive his van.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025040112040_be268599be04b0738465410af93f93938c6ac5206355edd7c3938b7b7c610abf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2025040112040_be268599be04b0738465410af93f93938c6ac5206355edd7c3938b7b7c610abf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="894" loading="lazy" alt="Sabin Maharjan"> <figcaption>Mourners have gathered for the last few days to pay respects at Sabin Maharjan's house in Kirtipur.</figcaption> </figure>  Bikash Maharjan raised his nephew, Sabin, since he was five after his mother’s death and father’s remarriage. He says: “Sabin was not the least bit interested in politics. We just cannot understand what took him to Tinkune.” Family and neighbours were not the only ones at Sabin’s house in Kirtipur to offer condolences. There were some participants from the pro-monarchy protests, as well as government representatives.&nbsp; But Bhavisha has no interest in meeting them. “I do not know what this protest was for. All I know is that if it had been peaceful, this would never have happened.” Bikash Maharjan, Sabin's uncle, says his death should not be exploited by any political side for propaganda purposes. “We are ordinary people, we do not want anyone to use the name of the son we have lost for any political purpose.”&nbsp; “Since Sabin cannot take care of his family now, it is up to the government to support them,” he adds.

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A Tale of Two Deaths

One aspect of colonial cartography of South Asia leaps out in this must-see exhibition – while the coastline of India, Ceylon, Burma are extraordinarily accurate in maps made more than 200 years ago, the Himalayan hinterland is wholly approximate and inexact. The accuracy improves as modern survey techniques are introduced by atlas-makers, but even then formidable terrain and forbidden lands thwart precision. Map aficionados will be fascinated by the 40 antique maps from The Rajbhandari Collection on display at the exhibition ‘Imaging South Asia: Nepal in the Making at Kathmandu Art Gallery’ at Baber Mahal Revisited from 13 February - 17 March.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_0cbeb88674a97c6292e2b43b2135df219257ca641cbd4723e9aabf5541c2b258.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260211090252_0cbeb88674a97c6292e2b43b2135df219257ca641cbd4723e9aabf5541c2b258" data-rendition-name="original" width="4160" height="3485" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  The first maps were made on clay tablets and cave paintings, but maps improved with Chinese maritime charts of Southeast Asia and beyond. Nautical maps created during the European Age of Exploration used geometry, latitude and longitude. Competition for colonial riches rested on the accuracy of these maps. The Portuguese had the lead in the 15th century, but were soon overtaken by the Spanish with Columbus voyaging to India but landing up in the Americas.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_1fb21d20cf29b408119f5279ce666e73dee089356e52277d753a27e3440364eb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260211090252_1fb21d20cf29b408119f5279ce666e73dee089356e52277d753a27e3440364eb" data-rendition-name="original" width="4030" height="3407" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  European mapping of the coastline of peninsular India &nbsp;began after Vasco de Gama sailed around the Horn of Africa to arrive at what is now Kerala in 1498. The British and French struggled for control of India, and the Carnatic Wars of the 19th century were extensions of their rivalry in Europe.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_0fb0969dc3e07c5a77123b4aa5eb0f11d2ffea73c108077f7e4d1892d6bd4bb6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260211090252_0fb0969dc3e07c5a77123b4aa5eb0f11d2ffea73c108077f7e4d1892d6bd4bb6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2842" height="4160" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  While most of the maps at this exhibition were commissioned by the East India Company and the Survey of India, there are quite a few made by Parisian cartographers and feature Pondicherry and the Danish trading outpost at Tranquebar. Followed chronologically, the maps show improvements in cartographic techniques. The earliest French map L’Inde of J D Barbié du Bocage from 1760 is a copper engraving with hand painted colours demarcating boundaries. ‘Napaul’, ‘Gorka’ and ‘Catmando’ are depicted. The rivers of India are precisely drawn, as is the Brahmaputra (Yarou Tsanpou) even though locations across the rest of Tibet are rough estimates.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_486dc1b12f391550516be164f27170d4702a69b5125c1b8c4b10f76fdae4c0b1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260211090252_486dc1b12f391550516be164f27170d4702a69b5125c1b8c4b10f76fdae4c0b1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1675" height="604" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  The 1781 map Carte des Indes en deçà et au-delà du Gange of Rigobert Bonne has slightly more detail about Nepal with even ‘Pattan’ and ‘Bagmally’ river marked. William Darton’s 1802 map has ‘Nogarcot’ and ‘Mocaumpour’ wrongly placed to the east of the valley of ‘Napaul’. Samuel Arrowsmith’s 1828 map ‘India and the Birman Empire’ has Nepal’s rough boundaries demarcated for the first time within a hand-coloured green border, with the mountain ‘Dholagiri’ and ‘Dhunchi’ appearing for the first time. The 1835 map by Boston-based American cartographer Thomas Bradford has a more precise ‘Burrampooter’ river with ‘Sgigatoe’, ‘Lassa’ and ‘Bootan’ marked. In Nepal, ‘Batgan’, ‘Macwampour’ and ‘Lelit Pattan’ appear near ‘Catmandu’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_5509c8e043a74b3e34e399c0684ca8eef7fc79953ee0dd18aedc738e8189d552.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260211090252_5509c8e043a74b3e34e399c0684ca8eef7fc79953ee0dd18aedc738e8189d552" data-rendition-name="original" width="4094" height="3646" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  One striking landmark appears consistently through a century of map-making from 1760 onwards, and that is the sacred Yamdrok Tso near Lhasa. It is precisely located, although it is drawn as a circular lake called ‘Jamdro or Palto Lake’ till J Bartholomew’s lithographic map in 1893 Constable’s Hand Atlas of India. Bartholomew’s map is also where ‘Mt Everest’ appears for the first time with its altitude ’29,002ft’ after Peak XV was calculated to be the highest mountain in the world by the Survey of India. Meanwhile, ‘Kinchinjunga’ appears in some of the earlier maps from the mid-1800s, north of ‘Dorjeloo’. The maps did not only have locations of towns, rivers and mountains but also other interesting facts about places. History buffs will find much to pore over in these maps.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_8280c979b175946a2ac29e22b7a2b2427f7f36f22093c3456524f1f529311498.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260211090252_8280c979b175946a2ac29e22b7a2b2427f7f36f22093c3456524f1f529311498" data-rendition-name="original" width="4160" height="2762" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  Many have sites of major British battles while conquering India. The ‘British India’ map by J Rapkin has dates and times of the ‘Principle Massacres’ during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. The map also shows India’s growing railway network with completed lines and those ‘in progress’. Narrow gauge lines can be seen in successive maps snaking up to the Nepal border to haul sal logs for sleepers for India’s expanding railway network. Many maps were drawn by British military intelligence. One even has the Kuti route of the Nepal Army while invading Tibet in 1791, and the Chinese Army’s advance in hot pursuit through Kerung to Nuwakot.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_a41ff6a7453f95d1e83c12ed3f831911d65ebd4d2389e0e3b774252dfa037132.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260211090252_a41ff6a7453f95d1e83c12ed3f831911d65ebd4d2389e0e3b774252dfa037132" data-rendition-name="original" width="1173" height="679" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  Pre-1857 maps show the western Tarai as a part of British India, but in later ones the Naya Muluk districts of Banke, Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur have reverted back to Nepal. The maps clearly mark Nepal as an independent nation, and represent it differently from Indian princely states. The Atlas of India of 1846 shows the ‘Dominion of the King of Nepal’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_52132146d9ee8b922560b98e90d866149715d7f53ced408b5f3af8f3b142a07b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260211090252_52132146d9ee8b922560b98e90d866149715d7f53ced408b5f3af8f3b142a07b" data-rendition-name="original" width="4149" height="3682" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  Visitors will be curious about Nepal's claim to Limpiyadhura and Lipu Lek. A map by Mason &amp; Payne from 1846 clearly shows the ‘Kallee River’ as being the border between Nepal and British India, with Kalapni within Nepal. The Lipu Gad tributary (which India claims is the border) is not marked. Some other maps, however, seem to show the border not following the Kali river to Limpiyadhura but the tributary up to Lipu Lek.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026021112024_9a1b6055a9fbecca7b64c3882c205efb336aac03e64ecf43a2044cb079cd699f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2026021112024_9a1b6055a9fbecca7b64c3882c205efb336aac03e64ecf43a2044cb079cd699f" data-rendition-name="original" width="875" height="1215" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  Imaging South Asia: Nepal in the Making&nbsp; Kathmandu Art Gallery, Baber Mahal Revisited&nbsp; 13 February – 17 March For guided walk-throughs and curatorial tours: +977 1-5318048 Panel discussions: -Cartographic Practices from the &nbsp;Gorkha Polity to the Present with Buddhi Narayan Shrestha and Kanak Mani Dixit&nbsp; Friday, 13 February, 4pm -Mapping Beyond Borders with Akhilesh Upadhyay and Amish Raj Mulmi Wednesday, 25 February, 4pm&nbsp;

Map land

The arrest on 25 January of six people on charges of insurance fraud has brought the scandal of fake helicopter rescue of trekkers in Nepal to the fore once more, denting the image of the tourism industry. Trekking companies, helicopter operators and hospitals were said to be in cahoots to carry out medical evacuations that were not necessary. In some cases, even the rescues were said to be fake with false names of ‘patients’ and their ailments. The six who were arrested were charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) with <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/travel-leisure/nepal-s-rescue-helicopter-scam-casts-doubt-on-tourism-credibility2" target="_blank">cheating insurance companies</a>of millions of dollars in the past four years with more than 300 <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/heli-rescue-fraud-tarnishes-nepal-s-image" target="_blank">fake chopper medevacs</a> from the base of Himalayan peaks to hospitals in Kathmandu. Nepali personnel of three companies, Nepal Charter Service, Everest Experience and Mountain Rescue were accused of heavily overcharging &nbsp;for fraudulent rescues, faking or inflating medical bills, and claiming payment of over $18 million over the years, the CIB said.&nbsp; In some cases, trekkers themselves who do not want to walk back along the same trail to Everest Base Camp or other routes, and pretend to be sick, are also said to be involved in the scam. “Tourism will attract opportunists, that is true everywhere,” explains Raj Gyawali of <a href="https://socialtours.com/" target="_blank">socialtours</a> and a partner of <a href="https://ethicaltravelportal.com/" target="_blank">Ethical Travel Portal</a>. “Our responsibility as an industry is to weed them out, protect what matters, and keep tourism rooted in passion, integrity, and long-term value.” The scam got <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/world/asia/mount-everest-helicopter-insurance-fraud.html" target="_blank">wide international attention</a>, and tainted the reputation of Nepal’s mountain tourism sector that employs up to 1 million people. International media headlined allegations that trekker food was spiked to cause diarrhoea to force evacuations. Despite the bad publicity, tourism operators see a silver lining. It shows that Nepal is cleaning up its act and the system is working. Besides, the cheaters are in a minority in an industry that provides some of the best organised and most experienced mountain tourism service in the world.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210040232_141217f8e5dc8a584642f7cb8d130de1a05cdcf149467334f9ab4e392f7d67aa.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260210040232_141217f8e5dc8a584642f7cb8d130de1a05cdcf149467334f9ab4e392f7d67aa" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Helicopter medevac scam NT"> </figure>  “After years of talk and investigation, we are now seeing arrests and it’s encouraging to finally see action. This didn’t happen overnight,” Gyawali says. “The post GenZ interim government works with much less politics, we are seeing a functional system for the first time in decades in Nepal.”&nbsp; This is not a new story. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Insurance,361" target="_blank">Nepali Times first covered </a>trekking insurance scams in 2013, following up on an investigation by the British Mountaineering Council in <a href="https://www.thebmc.co.uk/" target="_blank">Summit magazine</a> about insurance fraud involving fake helicopter rescues. In <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/heli-rescue-fraud-tarnishes-nepal-s-image" target="_blank">another news item</a> published in this paper in 2018 cited an investigation by insurance watchdog <a href="https://www.travellerassist.co/" target="_blank">Traveller Assist</a> which showed that a third of the 1,600 helicopter rescues in Nepal that year were fraudulent, costing up to $4 million. Insurance companies gave the Nepal government <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-trekking-industry-in-damage-control-mode" target="_blank">an ultimatum</a> to clean up its act, and an investigation committee was formed and 13 companies said to be involved were named. It now looks like although insurance fraud declined, it was still continuing to some extent till 2025. In the cut-throat competition in Nepal’s mountain tourism industry, companies undercut each other, and there are some trying to make a quick buck. These rotten apples spoil the whole barrel. Given Nepal’s remote terrain and extreme weather along Himalayan trekking routes, helicopter rescues are vital in saving hundreds of lives every year, rescuing trekkers and mountaineers suffering from acute mountain sickness, stomach or lung infections. “Nepal has a unique advantage over other Himalayan countries like India, Pakistan, or China because it allows private helicopter companies to conduct rescues,” Gyawali says. “This makes rescues faster and more accessible, often life-saving.” The real problem is that sometimes rescues take too long because of &nbsp;permission needed from multiple government agencies to conduct rescues near the Chinese border, which is considered sensitive. Last year, a mountaineer died on Himlung Himal because a helicopter company could not get clearance in time for a rescue.

Fake rescues hurt Himalayan tourism

This is the 83rd episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working and studying abroad. Spain is regularising over 500,000 undocumented workers, and Nepalis come to me inquiring about the program. Those who benefit from it will be very lucky, as it is a life-changing opportunity. I know because I too benefited from the last large scaled regularisation program back in 2005. I left Nepal in 2000 and went to Germany, Belgium, France before landing in Spain. Things were pretty bad in Nepal back then with the Maoist conflict and strikes.&nbsp; Our business was impacted. There was not much hope. When you leave Nepal, you want to make something of yourself and support your family back home. But you have to dream in phases.&nbsp; The first dream is to get ‘kagaj’ or a temporary residence card (TRC). Only then can you focus on your actual dreams. Whether it was because the countries I traveled were not a good fit or because the chances of getting the document was low, I kept country hopping until I reached Spain in 2004. I have not left since.&nbsp; In Spain, I felt at home. The European dream had brought me here, salaries were higher than Gulf which I thought was too strict. Then there was the possibility of traveling to seven European countries back then with the Schengen visa.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150228_b57c873801361755cf25048f294b2d1d0574796ef70a0e270531ced2508f64ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260210150228_b57c873801361755cf25048f294b2d1d0574796ef70a0e270531ced2508f64ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  But mostly, I just wanted a secure life for me and my family. What I valued the most about Europe was free healthcare and education. This is very important because in other parts of the world including Nepal, people from our background are just one small disease away from losing half our capital and we spend a significant amount of money on educational expenses. Nepali dais back then told me it would be best to go to either Italy, Spain or Portugal if we wanted to establish ourselves as paper work was relatively easier there than in other European countries. My initial days in Spain without the paper work were difficult. Not concerns about being raided or deported because if we had our apartment, even police let us be.&nbsp; But it was because of unfair pay. You could not go home. It made you tense and irritable. It affects your mental well-being. Some are smart enough to invest time in skills as they wait that will prove useful. Others get depressed. The main reason we migrate is to support our family and when you cannot do it properly and are uncertain about when things will get better, it bothers you. This happened to me too, sometimes I would be staring at the TV and would flinch when other Nepalis asked me what is wrong, and why I look so lost.&nbsp; The newspaper Canarias also interviewed us about our conditions (pictured). I had not gone home since five years, and there was no way to. There was no social media like now to talk to family. Calling home from booths was expensive, just once every three weeks. You did not talk. It was just to hear voices, pass the phone around to say a quick hello.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150232_8af8b6f6acb1252e0d67a43556e21ff8074543acfcc318c985816479c6146fd9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260210150232_8af8b6f6acb1252e0d67a43556e21ff8074543acfcc318c985816479c6146fd9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  When you are undocumented, you don’t get fair wages. But you make that sacrifice because my bigger goal was to establish myself and in the meantime, to support family with whatever I could earn with my wages. All we could do was wait for a regularisation program to open. When Spain initiated such a program in 2005, we were so relieved. We were relatively new so did not understand the language. Other Nepalis guided us and were well-versed in the latest updates via news and consultation with immigration lawyers which they would pass on to us. This time, the regularisation program will come through within 30 days, but back then it took time. I had to wait for nine months. Those nine months felt like nine years. I would keep visiting the cyber café to check my online status. When friends got their notification, I would get even more anxious and wonder if I would get rejected. Maybe today? Maybe tomorrow? It was a long wait. I wanted to know what it felt like to hold the card in my hand. Then I could hold my five-year-old baby back in Nepal in my hand. She was born after I left for Europe. When I finally got it after nine months, I could not be happier. I informed my family. I thanked God. Even when I was having food, I would put the card right in front of me on my table. Food never tasted better, I would eat twice the amount with happiness. It was a different kind of elation — it opened the doors for me to think about my dreams, my targets and how to realise them.&nbsp; There was no stopping me now, I was going to go far. But mostly, I could go home. In that flight back to Nepal after six years my heart swelled and I knelt on the tarmac to pay respect to my motherland. The minute I saw my parents, I touched their feet for blessings. My wife and I cried. My daughter was scared of me and would run away - it took some time for her to get comfortable with my presence. I still break down when I think about it.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150232_beba1745d845e219eaeaaf1bc33e0a02c07748ebd80bcc74a467c933cc5602e3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260210150232_beba1745d845e219eaeaaf1bc33e0a02c07748ebd80bcc74a467c933cc5602e3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  A few trips to Nepal later, I brought my family to Spain after I had fulfilled various rules for family migration. As expenses rise for a migrant, the choice is to either work extra hours or start your own business. Since I got the TRC, I have done it all: various jobs, businesses from selling handicraft from India to a cyber cafe, and the restaurant business.&nbsp; As an entrepreneur, I have seen highs when I could open a second restaurant branch or earn enough to buy an apartment. I have seen lows where I closed down businesses and sold apartment. I have gone from an entrepreneur to a wage job to recoup the losses I made by working extra hours. When I felt comfortable enough, I have gone back to starting a new business.&nbsp; I have met wonderful people who have supported me when I started my business either by providing me financial help or as business partners. I have been duped by my own business partner or worked with colleagues who did not want me to prosper. I now run a handicraft shop, an Indian restaurant and a café. The struggle never ends. There are many Nepalis like me who are running businesses here and have bought property. Back in 2004, Nepalis were mostly working in jobs and for a slight salary bump, we would keep switching jobs. Now, they run their own businesses and have bought property. The power of honesty and hard work that Nepalis are known for helps in businesses. Malaga is incredibly beautiful and reminds me of Thamel. The brilliant weather and beautiful beaches attracts tourists. The houses are kept small to preserve the culture and civilisation.&nbsp; I miss Nepal. I especially miss my father who passed in 2020. He was my biggest cheerleader as I struggled thousands of miles away, and always reminded me that he was here for back support. My mother reminds me to keep at it without worrying.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150232_2cea4b66ad47c15859980c696446362603b10981a1b471ab5e076a22a58727b1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260210150232_2cea4b66ad47c15859980c696446362603b10981a1b471ab5e076a22a58727b1" data-rendition-name="original" width="2077" height="1433" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  Sometimes I ask myself, what did I leave behind to earn money and provide a good life to my family? I regret not getting to spend more time with my father before he died. I am not sure what would have happened if I had not left Nepal, but I would have figured something out. Whatever determination I have shown in Spain to navigate my life here, I would have used it back home, too.&nbsp; I have missed important milestones like weddings, births, deaths and festivals. I have missed it all. Of my three daughters I missed the births of the first two in Nepal. I was only there for my youngest’s birth, in Spain.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150232_a6295e4f58d73e5b340235caf916b98eba785e3559341ea4622629c262e7b1a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260210150232_a6295e4f58d73e5b340235caf916b98eba785e3559341ea4622629c262e7b1a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1630" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  The regularisation program from 2005 that allowed me to raise the living standards of a number of living around me and reunite with my family. This platform was life changing for me, and my loved ones. There are many Nepalis who will be applying for the 2026 regularisation program if they meet the criteria like presence in the country for at least five months before December 31, 2025. Other European countries have tightened their policies so many Nepalis are in Spain. This is a great opportunity for Nepalis. There are many more undocumented workers than the available quota, a majority from Latin America in Spain who want to benefit. The Nepali diaspora is helping raise awareness and provide accurate information about the processes so they can benefit and no one is left out. I do whatever I can to support young Nepalis because I was in the same position 20 years ago.

Dreaming in phases

If nature is left entirely unmanaged, ecological succession will proceed in ways that may undermine conservation objectives. For example, grasslands and wetlands in the lowland protected areas of Nepal have increasingly been overtaken by excessive vegetation growth.&nbsp; Without intervention, grasslands become taller, denser, and coarser, eventually becoming unpalatable to herbivores. Over time, such areas provide shelter and cover but are gradually succeeded by forest. Similarly, wetlands become silted, and open water surfaces are covered by native and invasive plant species.&nbsp; While this may provide cover, it reduces accessibility for several species to graze or browse and limits hunting opportunities for predators. These habitats effectively become ecological ‘blankets’, unfavorable to both prey and predators. Therefore, large herbivores in protected areas are forced to move beyond protected areas in search of succulent forage during lean seasons.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030216_1124883bcd91793f7c916893b80cb0c06ed5012e10e77f2d54f7ef37f110db12.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260211030216_1124883bcd91793f7c916893b80cb0c06ed5012e10e77f2d54f7ef37f110db12" data-rendition-name="original" width="1434" height="806" loading="lazy" alt="grassland and drying pond"> <figcaption>A grassland and a drying pond.</figcaption> </figure>  Stalking the prey, predators come closer to human settlement. Farmers in Nepal’s mountains are leaving agriculture due to crop depredation by monkeys, porcupine and wild boars. Trees are taking over the terraces providing habitat for wildlife. Restriction and absence of youth in villages for fuelwood collection, fodder harvesting, grazing, and timber extraction in forests have contributed to accumulation of combustible forest litter. Higher up, the absence of grazers leads to the disappearance of forb, dominance of grasses, leading to wildfires.&nbsp; Nepal has over 300 days of sunshine, and this dries our vegetation faster. Combined with global warming and strong wind in spring, this has sparked widespread and uncontrolled forest fires in recent decades, destroying biodiversity.&nbsp; Low-intensity surface fires in late winter can control invasive species and stimulating new plant growth, providing forage for herbivores during lean periods. In contrast, crown fires occurring from March onwards when temperature and wind speed are higher, cause severe damage to wildlife, decimating nesting birds, insects, reptiles, mammals, as well as human life and property.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030216_fcd82aa3b2f77fbf271c5b6f8e3145bb4ca3cf1294190d526b3848b5f1bfc420.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260211030216_fcd82aa3b2f77fbf271c5b6f8e3145bb4ca3cf1294190d526b3848b5f1bfc420" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="1816" loading="lazy" alt="A wetland in Chitwan"> <figcaption>A wetland in Chitwan.</figcaption> </figure>  Successful conservation therefore requires strategies to accommodate increasing wildlife populations by ensuring adequate food, water, and shelter within the protected areas and buffer zones. Without such measures, the increased populations spillover into surrounding habitats, corridors, and farmlands and inevitably damage standing crops, human injury or death, and may result retaliatory killings.&nbsp; Efforts are under way for optimising grassland and wetlands. However, more need to be done to upscale harvest to rain water for food security, biodiversity conservation, to fight climate change and to recharge ground water. Retaliatory poisoning or electrocution become more frequently reported. Tiger, leopard and wild elephants are primary cause of human fatalities in buffer zones. Recently Himalayan black bears destroyed standing crops and attacked people. Growing tiger population tends to disperse and establish new territories beyond their natal area, bringing them closer to human activity or vice versa.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030232_c8435e196c512835fdc6a23a30545e75a50608574b3cfaad49a3c553fce90320.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260211030232_c8435e196c512835fdc6a23a30545e75a50608574b3cfaad49a3c553fce90320" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="Leopard"> <figcaption>Leopard.</figcaption> </figure>  Human life must remain paramount in conservation, and addressing human concerns is essential for sustainable and long-term conservation outcomes. Limited areas could support only certain number animals of certain megafauna, one must determine the numeric as an indicator for management, minimum viable population, and the limit of carrying capacity.&nbsp; It is hard to revive an endangered population, but what goes up must come down, and in the meantime, there should be a strategy to retain, relocate, deter, contain, or control the population, to safeguard human and crops for food security. Despite Nepal’s rich biodiversity and ecosystem services, the country generates limited revenue from biodiversity conservation. Although forest cover exceeds 45%, timber imports remain high, reflecting a negative economic growth. If mature timber is not harvested it become susceptible to fire hazard, emitting carbon.&nbsp; More than 23% of Nepal’s land area lies within protected areas, yet only a few derive enough ecotourism revenue. Other protected areas receive very few visitors. Limited entrance access to the protected areas also deprives many outlying communities of tourism economy. It is limiting benefits to local communities despite provisions allowing up to 50% of revenue to be allocated to buffer zone communities.&nbsp; Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve stands out as a successful revenue model, generating high income from low number of visitors through high-value hunting tourism. Hunting permits are auctioned annually, with fees of approximately $6,000 for Himalayan tahr and $5,000 for blue sheep.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030240_1787054e26325b29c18fc62e3062473b2d05f97e781f594911b606a0710da5ad.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260211030240_1787054e26325b29c18fc62e3062473b2d05f97e781f594911b606a0710da5ad" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="958" loading="lazy" alt="Himalayan Tahr"> <figcaption>Himalayan Tahr</figcaption> </figure>  There are no plans to establish new hunting reserves like Dhorpatan despite the growing demand for high-value tourism products. International examples, such as Pakistan’s Astore Markhor, which has fetched bids exceeding $370,000, per animal demonstrates the economic potential of regulated trophy hunting. In Africa, surplus megafauna is hunted to control the population, thereby contributing to national economy and safeguarding ecology, and reducing human wildlife conflict. While US is heavily reliable in hunting, fishing and outdoor activities. They determine annual quota for various wildlife and birds.&nbsp; Conservation priorities should emphasise safeguarding ecologically important species, including predators, scavengers, rodent controllers, insectivores, pollinators, seed dispersers, and aerial feeders that regulate growing populations. Economically important wild fish, reptiles, game birds, game mammals, and edible mollusks should be studied for science-based, seasonal, and quota-regulated harvesting from designated areas. High-value species should be identified, protected, and sustainably harvested to generate revenue through premium tourism. The introduction of Russian wild boar in 1976 in Nagarjun and Shivpuri has led to range expansion and significant crop damage has been reported across the central Mahabharat region. Similarly, rhesus monkey populations cause substantial agricultural losses in many hill villages.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030236_e508aad200a31d7225c4b26052ff63e60806a29c3fcea7c89a82a82f89263345.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260211030236_e508aad200a31d7225c4b26052ff63e60806a29c3fcea7c89a82a82f89263345" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="monkey paddy field menace meghauli"> <figcaption>Monkeys raiding paddy field in Meghauli, Chitwan.</figcaption> </figure>  Although the government has declared both as pest species, ambiguous regulations have hindered effective population control. Allowing licensed harvesting of invasive Russian wild boar, for example, could create opportunities for farm-based tourism, enhance food security, and generate revenue and reverse the migration of people to rural areas. The sarus crane is an aesthetically iconic species, with lifelong pair bonding, and cultural significance. In many agricultural landscapes, particularly in South Asia, the sarus crane is informally protected by farmers who recognise its ecological and cultural value. Farmers often tolerate crop damage, and refrain from harming nesting pairs, and in some cases actively safeguard nests and chicks. Such community-led stewardship reflects a harmonious coexistence between agriculture and biodiversity conservation. This may not be a case for other species. Science-based research is urgently needed to assess the impacts of pest species on agriculture, apiculture, fisheries, poultry, and livestock, and to develop effective control strategies that also support income generation. Even charismatic and iconic species may require management interventions once populations exceed ecological or social thresholds and begin causing human losses.&nbsp; Various stringent regulations are in place for culprits, however, there should be legal provision for economic incentive to support livelihood from the common, or pest species for the indigenous and people living in remote areas.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030236_22d968ec614761d9684cf4d098db69da0ae591610ceac980dc77cf796507464b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260211030236_22d968ec614761d9684cf4d098db69da0ae591610ceac980dc77cf796507464b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="994" loading="lazy" alt="wildife conservation"> </figure>  Lessons from African models, where problem animals are auctioned and their revenues support conservation and community compensation, could offer viable solutions. The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1973 provide legal provisions for hunting game mammals, game birds, pest species, and problem animals. And for wildlife farming, but it must be complimented by qualified Zoologists. Problem species are defined as individual or a population of animals posing direct threats to human life and food security within specific areas.&nbsp; Nepal could categorise wild animals for management and conservation and regulations. For instance, IUCN and globally and NPWC Act protected species, nationally endangered and ecologically important animals and trophy hunting species could be regulated under DNPWC and federal government.&nbsp; Provincial governments could take the responsibility of conservation, do inventory and monitor and regulate the harvest of peripheral game species, pest/vermin species and control of problems and harmful to human and crops and health related species. Small predators such as marten, civets, jungle cats and jackals are a nuisance to poultry farmers and goat farmers.&nbsp; A nationwide zoological survey could classify species based on abundance, rarity, economic value, pest status, and conservation priority. There should be an opportunity to include hybridisation with wild stocks to improve domestic breeds, such as wild arna with domestic water buffalo, bison with cattle, and red jungle fowl with domestic chickens.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030236_5a6c3b9da5d94979e6189ed0ba8144caa8a08d15dcc5e95b4bc18b7c6d704936.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260211030236_5a6c3b9da5d94979e6189ed0ba8144caa8a08d15dcc5e95b4bc18b7c6d704936" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="Red Jungle Fowl"> <figcaption>Read jungle fowl.</figcaption> </figure>  Monitoring the zoonotic diseases is another field of importance, including Covid-19, Nipah virus, avian influenza, avian cholera, foot-and-mouth disease, swine fever, parvovirus, canine distemper and rabies—to reduce risks to public health and protect the national economy. Producing forensic Zoologists is increasingly important for identifying illegally traded species to determine the species and produce evidence to sentence the culprits.&nbsp; Monitoring bird diversity and fauna in airports is an important task for zoologists to reduce, deter or prevent birds and wildlife hazards in the airport, aircraft and passengers’ safety. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) provides guidelines to induct ornithologists to keep the records to bird strike in the planes and deter birds and wildlife in the airports. If Nepal effectively utilises the expertise of zoologists in all tiers of government in species research, population dynamics, and ecotourism planning, it could strengthen biodiversity conservation while generating revenue and supporting economic development.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030240_c7926dad8b93a8aad05fac2e4ec613c0ec450fd4b876821f3216c904c0771fdf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260211030240_c7926dad8b93a8aad05fac2e4ec613c0ec450fd4b876821f3216c904c0771fdf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="Jackle"> <figcaption>A jackal in Mustang.</figcaption> </figure>  Over the past five decades, the Central Department of Zoology at Tribhuvan University has produced more than 2,000 MSc graduates. However, very few have been absorbed into government, with most employed in education, pursuing alternative careers, or emigrating.&nbsp; In contrast, graduates in forestry, botany, microbiology, and environmental sciences have secured greater representation in government roles. The Department of Zoology must evolve to meet modern demands with applied research, wildlife management, and revenue-oriented conservation strategies aligned with the regenerative nature of fauna. Rajendra N. Suwal is Vice President of Nepal Zoological Society in Kathmandu.

royalist-movement

A Tale of Two Deaths

Map land

Fake rescues hurt Himalayan tourism

Dreaming in phases

Regenerative conservation from zoologists in Nepal