The Nepal government is all set to launch a Rs25 billion project to build a dam inside Shivapuri National Park to flush the Bagmati, wash away its waste and stanch its stench as it flows through Kathmandu. However, critics say it is an extravagant undertaking that carries financial, seismic and environmental risks, and that the Bagmati can be more effectively cleaned with a sewage network, water treatment plant and better <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/where-to-take-a-dump">urban solid waste management</a>. &nbsp; The Department of Water Resources and Irrigation is planning to build the 95m high dam on the Nagmati stream to also augment Kathmandu Valley’s drinking water supply and generate some electricity. The scheme is an extension of a project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).&nbsp; Engineer Nishchal Chhatkuli of the ADB-supported <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-gets-first-pump-track">Bagmati River Basin Improvement Project </a>says the environmental impact assessment is awaiting approval and clearing trees and construction of an access road will begin soon. The project is expected to be completed by 2032 by when the reservoir will be capable of storing 9.4 billion litres of monsoon runoff and releasing 450 l/s into the Bagmati River as it starts to flow through Kathmandu 18km downstream.&nbsp; The primary purpose of the dam is said to be to flush out the polluted Bagmati River, although some of the water will also be added to the mains connected to the Melamchi tunnel, as well as generate 1.86MW of electricity.&nbsp; The Project started in 2013 to improve Kathmandu’s river system under which another 24m high dam has already been built at Dhap, upstream from the proposed dam.&nbsp; But the Dhap reservoir was deemed to have insufficient storage to flush the Bagmati all year round, and the ADB supported a detailed feasibility study completed by an Australian company in 2017 that endorsed a<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-creeps-up-surrounding-mountains"> higher dam downstream </a>near Mulkharka, 3km above the confluence of the Nagmati and Bagmati.&nbsp; “Since water cannot be brought from elsewhere, stored rainwater drained from this lake is the only way to deliver it to Bagmati during winter and take the river back to how it was three decades ago,” Chhatkuli explains.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020301024_c7f7c1a0165e10d96afa0244389de367da0c24c99b5e864a9a275e455ecf20cc.png" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024020301024_c7f7c1a0165e10d96afa0244389de367da0c24c99b5e864a9a275e455ecf20cc" data-rendition-name="original" width="761" height="403" loading="lazy" alt="Nagmati NT"> <figcaption>Shivapuri-Nagarjun National Park showing Dhap Dam and the proposed Nagmati Reservoir.</figcaption> </figure>  The dam construction itself will cost Rs19 billion, and additional money will be spent on protecting the watershed, construction of the power house, drinking water use and building tourism facilities. &nbsp; Although the Nagmati project’s stated aim is to protect the river basin, critics say it will come at significant <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/development-destruction-yt3t1yhu?amp=1">ecological cost</a> to the national park. The environment impact assessment itself says more than 80,000 trees will have to be cut, and the access road will add to human disturbance in the wilderness area.&nbsp; ‘Permanent effects of the project include loss of local biodiversity, destruction of wildlife habitat, and construction activities that will alter local topography, increase soil erosion, and increase turbidity in the river,’ the report states.&nbsp; Nature activist Shrawan Sharma argues that impounding a reservoir of this size will harm the already fragile ecosystem of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/frozen-shivapuri">Shivapuri- Nagarjun National Park</a> and the Bagmati watershed.&nbsp; The current government policy is to replace every tree cut with 10 saplings, which would mean that 800,000 saplings would need to be planted. But there is no land area for so many trees in Shivapuri. D P Jaisi, an engineer formerly with the Department of Irrigation says the construction of a big dam in an area with high seismic risk directly upstream from a densely populated city is a bad idea. Climate change adds to the risk.&nbsp; “Large infrastructure projects need to be future-proofed to withstand major disasters, but such structures are always a risk,” says Jaisi. “If the Nagmati Dam were to collapse, it would be catastrophic for Kathmandu.” The project’s detailed report does look at a potential dam collapse, and shows that 3.47 million litres per second would rush down to Kathmandu, reaching Sundarijal in 15 minutes and Pashupati within 90 minutes. “The debris flow in the event of a Nagmati Dam collapse will affect 500,000 people all the way down to Chobhar and even change the course of the Bagmati as it flows through Kathmandu,” Jaisi warns. Water resources professor at Pulchok Engineering Campus Hari Pandit says the damage would be large-scale and long-lasting. “We simply cannot rely on dam design in a country like ours with its weak governance and weak construction,” he adds. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020301024_b34372ab9e8091db5abbd59d604d01b5a3bc566616e3951b3fb0f77db895ec93.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2024020301024_b34372ab9e8091db5abbd59d604d01b5a3bc566616e3951b3fb0f77db895ec93" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="3333" loading="lazy" alt="Nagmati NT"> <figcaption>The Nagmati inside the national park near the proposed dam site is a boulder-strewn stream. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  Project officials like Chhatkuli say all this is scare-mongering and there is no reason to be alarmed because the dam is designed with the worst-case scenario for seismic and cloudburst risk in mind. But critics are not assuaged, especially considering the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-monsoon-mess-in-melamchi">disaster that struck the Melamchi water supply scheme</a> in 2021, Nepal’s biggest infrastructure project so far. An investigation showed that Melamchi headworks and tunnels did not take into account clear and present danger from climate change in the river's headwaters. Hydraulic structures expert Ravi Rajbhandari with Cemat Consultants says the dam, which will have concrete slabs on one side and rock-fill on the other, will be "like a sword hanging over Kathmandu’s head". He says we should learn lessons from last year’s catastrophic dam breaches in Libya and Sikkim. Experts also question why the Department of Irrigation is involved when the project has nothing to do with agriculture, and when the Rs25 billion lavished on another big project in Kathmandu could have been spent to irrigate rain-fed farms in rural areas and increase harvests.&nbsp; Some experts say the Nagmati project will mire Nepal in another <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/soaring-debt">debt trap</a>. The country’s public debt has reached Rs2.38 trillion and now accounts for more than 44% of the country’s GDP. Pouring money into a low-return project like Nagmati will push generations of Nepalis into indebtedness. Ravi Rajbhandari and Hari Pandit also doubt whether water released from the dam will actually make the Bagmati cleaner if sewage and garbage continue to be dumped into the river. The money could have been spent on extending the Melamchi tunnel to Larke and Yangri to increase water volume. But the project’s Nishchal Chhatkuli argues that the return on investment from the Nagmati Dam should not be measured only from an economic standpoint. “The price that locals have had to pay for living and being in proximity to the polluted Bagmati is incalculable,” he says. “The advantage of a cleaner Bagmati goes beyond purely financial benefit.”

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

Dam dangerous

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131156/63723b5c9c7e80680e0c95b7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1510" height="1000"/><figcaption>Conservationist Rajendra N Suwal with president Jimmy Carter and ambassador Peter Burleigh. All photos: RAJENDRA N SUWAL</figcaption></figure>As a bird watcher and naturalist, I have had opportunities to host many guests and dignitaries but birding with former president <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/jimmy-carters-nepal-vest-auctioned-for-10000/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jimmy Carter</a> is the most memorable.Carter, who has visited Nepal often on election monitoring, is known for his passionate support for human rights and democracy. Less well known is his passion for bird watching.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131156/63723b5f9c7e80680e0c95b8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1521" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Carter Center in Nepal was housed in Naxal at the residence of tourism entrepreneur Karna Sakya. As luck would have it, my office Nepal Nature dot Com that specialises in birds and biodiversity exploration was also in the same compound.Moreover, Sakya and Ambassador Peter Burleigh who was Carter’s adviser were friends in the eighties and recommended me, a pupil of the late ornithologist Hari Sharan Nepali ‘Kazi Dai’ to lead the trip. Everything was fixed following a confirmation from conservationist Hemanta Mishra.Sakya who founded the Nepal Bird Watching Club now known as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/bird-counting-in-nepal-made-easy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bird Conservation Nepal</a> was my mentor in my early teen days, and Mishra when I was working as a naturalist in Chitwan.Together they vouched for me and Kazi Dai, assuring Peter of our expertise. And a day before the trip in 2007, Kazi Dai and I did a final recce of the route, and coordinated with Shivapuri National Park (SNP) officials.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/decline-in-wintering-water-fowl">Decline in wintering water fowl</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/bat-caves-and-edible-bird-nests/">Bat caves and edible bird nests</a>, Lisa Choegyal<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131156/63723b629c7e80680e0c95b9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="994"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>On 16 June I reached Hotel Soaltee to receive President Carter. A special agent in his security team introduced me.“Raj is here to guide you for your birding trip Mr President,” he said. Carter replied, “Great, Raj means royal, treat him as a royal.” It served to put me at ease.On the way to the SNP, I gave President Carter a brief introduction to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-great-trans-himalayan-bird-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s biodiversity</a>. After the Chief Warden and Nepal Army officials received him, we were joined by Kazi Dai, and began our trip.First, we visited the Pani Muhan, a small creek where as expected we spotted a Plumbeous redstart, and a flashy White-capped river redstart. On our 1.5km walk following a hill tract leading to Danda Gaun above Tokha, we saw 20 different bird species, a good number for the monsoon. We even spotted the showy Red-billed blue magpie.Before ending the trip, I requested Carter for an autograph, I had brought his book with me. All in all, I was with him for three hours but in that time I found out that he had great respect for nature, as did his wife Rosalynn.Back in the US the Carters recorded all the birds that visit their feeder. He also shared that a green laser pointer helps to spot a bird’s location better in a dense forest.I was thrilled when asked to guide them both once again in 2013 when Carter came to consult on the second Constituent Assembly election.This time we went to Nagajung sector of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park and were accompanied by the Chief Warden who was a great help in locating birds. I also carried a green laser pointer with me remembering our last birding trip five years previously.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131156/63723b669c7e80680e0c95bajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/eurasian-curlew-visits-kathmandu-after-50-years/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eurasian Curlew visits Kathmandu after 50 years</a>, Kamal Maden<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-pheasant-uprising-in-nepal/">A pheasant uprising in Nepal</a>, Sushila BudathokiOne of the highlights of that trip was seeing a Rufous woodpecker on a bamboo clump. They looked vibrant and particularly chirpy that spring morning. Gray-hooded warbler and Gray-headed canary flycatcher on the other hand were busy feeding on a canopy.Towards the end of the trip, President Carter softly put his Carter Center cap on my head. My family including wife Sharmila, 87-year-old mother Indra Kumari and son Ayush were invited to Dwarika’s for a family photograph.The next birding trip happened in November 2013 in Godavari, this time joined by his friend Ambassador Peter Burleigh and the then Nepal Army Chief General Gaurav Rana.While we drove from Hotel Radisson to our site, I showed him a video about the migration of the Demoiselle crane filmed by BBC in 2004 for Discovery Channel in which I was a consultant.It was still dark when we reached Godavari. As dawn was breaking, we heard the call of the Collared owlet and immediately followed by that of a barking deer. I briefed Carter about Nepal Army’s role in conserving our protected areas, their efforts in discouraging poachers and recent achievements including zero rhino poaching years.Before we knew it, five hours had passed. President Carter shared with us about his hobby of beekeeping, his expedition to Mongolia for trout fishing and his love for a jeep safari in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.We saw several birds on that trip including Mountain bulbul, Striated laughing thrush and Maroon oriole. On the way back, President Carter invited me to join him for breakfast.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131156/63723b699c7e80680e0c95bbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1510" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The next evening, coincidentally we were both on the same Cathay Pacific flight KA 191, him back home to the US via Hong Kong and me to Fiji for ecotourism training.Carter looked relaxed. The second Constituent Assembly election had gone off peacefully, a mission accomplished.Quietly, I went to take my seat and started reminiscing about all of our birding trips and conversations.Over the years, we kept in touch via letters. When my mother passed away in 2014, I received a letter of condolence from Madam Rosalynn.My prayers to President Carter as he celebrates his 98th birthday this 1 October.Rajendra N Suwal is the Head of Partnerships Development at WWF Nepal.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/saving-nepals-flyway-for-migrating-cranes/">Saving Nepal’s flyway for migrating cranes</a>, Rajendra N Suwal<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/protecting-lumbinis-rare-cranes/">Protecting Lumbini’s rare cranes</a>, Rajendra N Suwal

Birding with Jimmy Carter in Nepal

<img width="960" height="443" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101152/636cc9e39c7e80680e08bb36jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>As Kathmandu reaches the limits to its growth with nearly every square metre now built up, developers are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-nowhere-to-nowhere/">moving to the slopes</a> on the Valley’s rim to set up housing colonies. This is affecting the aquifers, and increasing risk of landslides for residents.Gokarneswar is located directly below the forests of Shivapuri National Park and nearby is Sundarijal, the source of fresh water for much of Kathmandu. These villages had perennial springs that fed household taps and irrigated fields. In the past year, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-silent-emergency-springs-going-dry/">springs have all gone dry</a>. Residents blame it on real estate developers moving in with heavy machinery and carving up the slopes into plots for new housing colonies.“I am 60, and I have never seen the springs go dry, even if there is a trickle, it is all muddy,” says Ramsharan Bhandari. More than 200 families of Wards 2 and 3 of Gokarneswar face water shortages, and many are thinking of <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/recharging-the-mountains-">moving out</a>. Locals say the developers have bought up terrace farms, and encroached on dry streams and community-owned land. After the trees were cut and excavators tore up the slopes, the last monsoon saw destructive landslides. This has affected the groundwater that used to replenish the springs at the base of the Shivapuri. <img width="800" height="369" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101152/636cc9e69c7e80680e08bb37jpeg.jpg" alt="">When a team from Nepali Times visited the village of Sultakhana last week, excavators belonging to real estate developer Dipak Bista were gouging out the slopes. After buying the land, the contractor first mines the sand and quarries stones to sell to construction companies in the city, and then plots out the property to sell to individual buyers.“Till two years ago these slopes were all green,” says another local Ramkumar Bista. “It was after the dozers tore up the slopes above us that the springs went dry.”The steep slopes are made up of sand on top of bedrock, both of which are valuable for contractors. Once the terrace farms are levelled, the slope is shored up with sand bags and sold, even though it is still too steep and unstable to build houses on.“So far, we have mostly suffered from springs going dry, but the mountain above us is now so unstable, we dread the landslides that are sure to happen in the monsoon,” says Madhusudhan Bista, a resident of the neighbouring village of Baluwa. <img width="640" height="295" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101152/636cc9e89c7e80680e08bb38jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="960" height="443" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101152/636cc9ea9c7e80680e08bb39jpeg.jpg" alt="">Even in the 2020 monsoon, the Suryamati River burst its banks after moderate rains led to slope failure. Shankar Bista, 65, says a pasty mixture of sand and water flowed down the mountain and washed away everything in its path.“We see increased sediment load in rivers, and without tree cover the water does not seep into the ground but runs off, causing a lot of damage,” says Basanta Raj Adhikari, a professor at Pulchok Engineering Campus, who has been researching landslides on the valley rim for the past 20 years.Along with Gokarneswar, the phenomenon of contractors mining and quarrying the mountains and then selling the property for houses is going on at the base of mountains all around the valley—in Chandragiri, Budanilkantha, Godavari, Lele, Nagarkot, and elsewhere.“This rampant destruction is affecting the nature and ecosystem, making slopes unstable and reducing the recharge of the Valley’s underground aquifers,” says researcher Adhikari.There has not been a comprehensive study of Kathmandu Valley’s groundwater, but a Japanese research project in 1994 concluded that the northern end of the Valley was critical for groundwater recharge. The study showed Kathmandu Valley could sustainably pump out only 20 million litres of groundwater, but the city is already extracting 70 million litres a day through pumps and deep tubewells.  That study led to the establishment of the Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park to protect the watershed. However, the unchecked destruction now taking place at the edge of the park and in the buffer zone will reduce monsoon recharge, and lower Kathmandu Valley’s water table, which has already been depleted by over-extraction.“The northern fringes of the Valley are made up of sandy slopes and forests which absorb rainwater and let it percolate into the ground, but all this construction is affecting the seepage,” says retired Tribhuvan University professor and water management engineer Ashutosh Shukla.  Locals in Gokarneswar say they have taken up the water shortage issue with their mayor Santosh Chalise many times, but nothing has been done. In fact, they suspect the mayor himself is in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Elected-contractors,4182">partnership with real estate developers</a>. <figure><img width="640" height="295" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101152/636cc9ec9c7e80680e08bb3ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“The contractors get permission to flatten slopes for housing, and do whatever they like,” says Buddhi Bista, a local. “If the mayor wanted, he could have stopped them then and there. It is hard to believe that he is not hand in glove with the developers.”Chair of Ward 3 Rajendra Bhandari is also frustrated that whenever he takes the complaints to the municipality, there is no one willing to listen. “I have written to the ministry in Kathmandu, to the municipality, to the national park, I raise the issue in meetings, but no one listens,” says Bhandari.We asked Mayor Chalise why all this was happening during his watch, but he instead blamed locals for selling off property to real estate speculators for quick cash. “If I try to stop them selling their land, they oppose me. If I let them sell their property, they blame me. None of the contractors have encroached on any community land,” Chalise said. “The locals sell the land, they are the ones driving the dozers, they are responsible.”Last week, a team made up of the Kathmandu CDO, District Coordination Committee, the National Park conservation chief made an inspection visit. CDO Kali Parajuli ordered an immediate stop to the excavation of the slopes. When no one took heed, the Home Ministry stepped in and the excavation has stopped for now. Locals suspect the encroachment will resume as soon as the gaze of officials turns elsewhere. “We do not just want the destruction to stop, we want the perpetrators to be punished,” says Buddhi Bista.Laxman Poudel of the National Park says: “The slopes do not fall within the park boundary, but because of the impact on the watershed, we have written to the local government to immediately stop this destruction. It is now up to them.”<h2>Flushing the Bagmati</h2>Even with the imminent arrival at Sundarijal of water through a 26 km tunnel from Melamchi, Kathmandu Valley’s population has grown so rapidly that it will not be enough to meet demand.Which is why the government has started building two reservoirs on the Bagmati tributary of Nangmati within the Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park. The construction activity can be clearly seen in recent Google images (pictured). <img width="3360" height="1439" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101152/636cc9f09c7e80680e08bb3bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="2830" height="1801" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101152/636cc9f39c7e80680e08bb3cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figure><img width="3360" height="1746" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101152/636cc9f69c7e80680e08bb3djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The reservoir at Dhap has a 25m high rock and concrete dam that can store up to 850,000 cubic metres of water. When construction is complete later this year, the reservoirs will discharge up to 400litres per second of water to replenish and flush the Bagmati.The Bagmati Civilization Integrated Development Committee will then build another reservoir 4 km downstream on the Nagmati. Project engineer Nischal Chhatkuli says the environment impact assessment of the NRs.510 million project with support from the Asian Development Bank is nearly complete.Also read:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/drawing-a-line-in-the-sand/">Drawing a line in the sand</a>, Bhrikuti Rai<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/trickledown-corruption,4176">Trickledown corruption</a>, Editorial<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/bulldozing-democracy-in-nepal,4184">Bulldozing democracy</a>, Om Astha Rai

Kathmandu creeps up surrounding mountains

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101156/636b79d39c7e80680e064724jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"/><figcaption>Chitlang, Makwanpur. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>While humans all over the planet are being challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has given nature everywhere a respite.Carbon emissions have dipped, there is almost no carbon monoxide in the air over large parts of India and China because vehicles are off the roads, NOx and sulphur dioxide concentrations in the air have dropped. The concentration of particulate matter like soot given off by industries and diesel trucks have also decreased, improving air quality over Asia’s most-polluted cities.Here in Nepal, Mt Everest and Himalayan peaks have got a much-needed respite after the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-economy-already-weak-takes-direct-hit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">government cancelled all expeditions and treks from the mountains for the spring climbing season</a>. There has been an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/most-days-its-not-so-crowded-on-mt-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">international uproar last year after photos of a traffic jam</a> on the summit ridge of Mt Everest went viral. Garbage and corpses on the mountain have gotten a lot of media attention.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101156/636b79d69c7e80680e064725jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="720"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The sunny spring sky in Kathmandu was brilliantly clear on Tuesday, the first day of a week-long nationwide lockdown. With no traffic, and flights all grounded, there is no noise pollution in the street or the sky.But the happiest must be wild animals in Nepal’s national parks, including those popular with tourists like Chitwan, Bardia, Langtang and Shivapuri-Nagarjun, where visitors have not been allowed since Sunday.After the government closed schools and offices last week, Kathmandu’s residents had started arriving at Shivapuri and Chitwan by the busloads for picnics during weekend, prompting park officials to close entry on Monday.“We had to close the parks because there was an increase in visitor numbers, but with the announcement of the nationwide lockdown from Tuesday, visitors will not be coming anyway,” said chief of Bardia National park Ananath Baral.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101156/636b79d99c7e80680e064726jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>On Sunday, there were more than 400 visitors -- about four times the daily average -- at Shivapuri-Nagarjun, the national park on Kathmandu Valley’s northern and western rim.Conservationists say the drop in human activity will be a relief to the park’s wildlife, since any extra noise can disturb their habitat and movement. Naturalist Mukesh Chalise recalls how there was an increase in wildlife in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-economy-already-weak-takes-direct-hit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Langtang National Park </a>after trekkers stopped coming due to the 2015 earthquake.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Between existence and extinction in Nepal</a>, Sonia Awale“It used to be difficult to see resident fauna and birds, now there are herds and flocks of them out in the open in Langtang,” Chalise says.Due to its terrain and topographic range, Nepal has some of the richest biodiversity in a country with such a small area. There are 876 species of birds, 185 species of mammals and 651 species of butterflies in Nepal, some of them are only found here and nowhere else. National parks and protected areas cover 27% of Nepal’s area.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101156/636b79dc9c7e80680e064727jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="166"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>There has been a big increase in park visitors in the past few years. Nepal’s national parks and conservation areas registered 510,000 foreign visitors five years ago, and this grew to 701,000 last year.  There is no count of the number of Nepali visitors, and if this is added it would take the numbers to nearly 1.5 million per year.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nature-without-borders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nature without borders</a>, Sewa BhattaraiThere has also been little attempt to regulate the entry of sightseeing vehicles into national parks. In Chitwan alone, the national park issued 35 jeep permits every day for jungle safari into the core area. Bardia issued 22 jeep permits per day, with each vehicle carrying 10-14 visitors. Besides this, both Chitwan and Bardia also issue dozens of elephant safari permits.All this has now come to a halt, and has eliminated human disturbance. Chalise says this will allow wild animals and birds to be left alone for a while which will be good for nature to rebound.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101156/636b79dd9c7e80680e064728jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“We had already started seeing rhinos interacting more and more with humans, and acting tame. It is very dangerous for the rhino to lose its fear of humans because this may<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-drives-wildlife-poaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> expose them to poachers</a>,” adds Chalise, who says there should be a permanent ban on human entry into national parks. Tourists should be allowed only into the buffer zone.Sindhu Dhungana at the Ministry of Forests and Environment, however, says that if local people do not see any advantage of eco-tourism they may not help in conservation, and visitors should be allowed but in a regulated numbers.“The main criteria should be how much <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/what-drives-wildlife-poaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">human activity is disturbing wildlife</a>, and if it is serious numbers should be regulated,” Dhungana explains.Lessening human entry into national parks will also prevent the spread of human diseases like tuberculosis to rhinos and elephants, and also stop viruses from wild animals infecting humans.Chalise also warns that the nationals parks should be vigilant about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased activity of poachers </a>taking advantage of the national shutdown to hunt wild animals either for meat or tusks, horns and pelts.

Coronavirus shutdown gives Nepal’s nature a respite

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a25f79c7e80680e0439f0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/>For the first time after it snowed on Valentine's Day in 2008, the snow has come down to the foothills of the hills on the Valley rim.These are photographs of Shivapuri National Park from Budanilkantha on Saturday morning.Photos: Min Bajracharya<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a25fa9c7e80680e0439f1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a25fd9c7e80680e0439f2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26019c7e80680e0439f3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1544" height="2038"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26049c7e80680e0439f4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2563" height="1745"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26089c7e80680e0439f5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4368" height="2912"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a260b9c7e80680e0439f6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">

Frozen Shivapuri

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171144/636936a29c7e80680e03fdefjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1090"/><figcaption>GOING GOING GONE: A female of the new dragonfly species Microgomphus phewataali discovered last year in Pokhara by naturalists Karen Conniff and Mahendra Singh Limbu. But the species may not survive at the current rate of habitat destruction. Photo: KAREN CONNIFF</figcaption></figure>The morning was warming up in late spring last year when entomologist Karen Conniff took a boat across Phewa Lake in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19301#.XAj3DdszaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pokhara </a>for one of her regular walks to look for rare dragonflies. She was in search of a rare damselfly species called Philoganga montana which had been spotted in the same location before. After reaching the far shore of the lake, Conniff tied her boat and climbed through the humid forest, paying special attention to springs in the undergrowth. But no sign of the elusive insect.Just then, crossing a small stream she spotted a black-green dragonfly sitting on a leaf spotlit by a ray of sunlight filtering through the forest canopy. She managed to take a few photographs before the dragonfly flew off, and she headed back down to the boat.Back in her room in Pokhara later that day, she downloaded the images in her computer and noticed that the dragonfly had peculiar-looking anal appendages, quite different from the ones previously found in 11 other known Microgomphus dragonflies found throughout Asia. Immediately, she knew it was a species not recorded in Nepal before.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokharas-shrinking-lakes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pokhara's shrinking lakes</a>, Yuvaraj Shrestha<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171144/636936a59c7e80680e03fdf0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The process of publishing any new finding of a new species is a labourious one. It has to go through peer reviews and strict scientific scrutiny. Finally last week, Conniff’s paper was published in the German journal, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19301#.XAj3DdszaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Odonatologica</a>. It is now official: Microgomphus phewataali is a new species of dragonfly endemic to Nepal.Although she should be elated, Conniff is worried that the new dragonfly species and others may not survive at the current rate of destruction and pollution of Nepal’s springs and rivers.“The habitat of the dragonfly faces extreme stress from water overdraft for Pokhara’s rapidly growing tourism centre,” Conniff told Nepali Times. “The habitat could vanish in few years if people do not stop drawing water from there.”Dragonflies have survived for 325 million years on Earth, and the early ones used to have wingspans of up to 2 metres. But never have these creatures faced a threat to their survival as serious as they do today <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19301#.XAj3DdszaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">from human-induced habitat destruction</a> pesticide use and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19301#.XAj3DdszaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a>. These agile and brightly coloured living fossils are now hovering on the brink of extinction.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171144/636936a89c7e80680e03fdf1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="385" height="400"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171144/636936aa9c7e80680e03fdf2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="534" height="500"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Scientists call dragonflies ‘bio-indicator species’, meaning their very presence is proof of a healthy ecosystem. But when dragonflies start disappearing, it also shows that streams and ponds are going dry or polluted with toxins.“Dragonflies are very sensitive, most of them require an absolute pristine habitat and as soon as humans mess that up, they are gone,” explains Conniff, who has been living in Nepal for more than a decade.Conniff co-authored the paper on the new dragonfly with noted Nepali butterfly expert Mahendra Singh Limbu, and the two often go exploring for butterflies and dragonflies on Pulchoki Hill, or in other parts of Nepal. They decided to name the new species Microgomphus phewataali after Pokhara’s Phewa Lake.Says Limbu, “With the disappearance of every dragonfly, you know that nature is being disturbed. We humans cannot afford to disturb the ecosystem balance.”Besides toxins, the other looming threat to insects is climate change. Europe has lost nearly 90% of its insects in the last 30 years, and in America, the population of migrating monarch butterflies has dropped by 90% in 20 years. Climate models estimate a loss of 45-99% of the suitable habitat for various species of dragonflies and damselflies by 2080 in north-eastern US. When Britain found that one-third of its dragonfly species were endangered, it opened the first ever dragonfly centre to protect what was left.Of more than 5,000 species of dragonflies found worldwide, 140 species are found in Nepal of which a few are found nowhere else. Pulchoki on Kathmandu Valley’s southeastern rim is a hotspot for dragonflies and there has been a steady decline in butterfly and dragonfly populations there. The reason is mainly due to the pumping out of water by tankers to meet the city’s needs, the damming of the Nagmati in Shivapuri and pollution at picnic spots and riverside garbage dumps.Rare species like the Epiophelebia, an intermediate between the dragonflies and the damselflies that used to be found only in Shivapuri National Park have probably disappeared after its stream habitat was tapped for water supply downstream.Dragonflies begin their lifecycle as eggs and spend much of their life underwater as larvae, some for as many as seven years. Once they mature into winged adults, time is limited. Most live only up to few weeks, and since water is their primary location for eating and mating, they do not survive if ponds and springs dry up or are polluted. Dragonflies are even known to control <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19301#.XAj3DdszaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">malaria </a>and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19301#.XAj3DdszaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dengue</a>, since they feed on mosquitoes.“In addition to cleaning up mosquitoes, dragonfly also preys on other insects that infect paddy fields, effectively increasing agricultural productivity,” explains Conniff.Dragonflies also undertake astounding migrations: some species found in Nepal have travelled across the Himalaya from Japan and Taiwan. Others fly on, riding prevailing winds across the Indian Ocean from India to Africa. But climate change has thrown off their migratory patterns and disturbed their natural lifecycles.Nepal has been internationally recognised for its conservation efforts. It is all set to be the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first country to double its tiger population by 2022</a>, and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/01/29/1000-days-of-the-rhino/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rhino poaching has been stopped</a>. But while the focus is on charismatic mammals, Nepal is losing the battle to protect its valuable trove of insect species. Dragonflies are in direct peril because of the destruction of aquatic habitats.Says Conniff: “It is important to educate people about wetland conservation and watershed management. Getting more people interested in nature and finding innovative ways to manage water is an effective approach.”Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/whats-the-buzz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What's the buzz</a>, Sonia Awale<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18976#.XAj1ltszaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Wetlands are not wastelands"</a>, Bhrikuti Rai<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/decline-in-birds-of-migration-nepal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kathmandu's silent spring</a>, Sonia Awale

Sonia Awale

Project Dragonfly

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

Digital protection for Nepal’s art

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prabalgurung/" target="_blank">Prabal Gurung</a> left Nepal for New York in 1999 to escape years of bullying, sexism and homophobia, and to pursue his dream of becoming a fashion designer. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqN0VaoAI5w" target="_blank">realised his dream</a>, but did not escape discrimination and racism in the new world. Propelled by passion for fashion, Gurung overcame everything America threw at him. He has attained <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/prabal-gurung-recalls-his-first-met-gala-when-zoe-saldana-was-at-his-side?srsltid=AfmBOooy-H0oGgxMit864FnW_Pmw8mUnV8rYrh-co-f6OyYK6m2ip5hP" target="_blank">fame and recognition</a> for his haute couture dress designs while remaining true to his Nepali roots, and is even more resolute in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSmNauyzACk" target="_blank">fighting prejudice</a> in all its forms. Prabal Gurung’s newly-released memoir <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Walk-Like-Girl-Memoir/dp/B0DG11HCDQ?fbclid=IwY2xjawKZfpxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuZcIJO2OXyXcRm1oq1iG6wzeoF7VJFrQ7GXOFI0YxuZZ4id_CNvSZSZZIna_aem_pG_mOKG73RTnYvN8JaC4fA">Walk Like a Girl</a> is a saga of harrowing abuse in boarding schools in Nepal and India, only finding himself facing a different kind of bullying in the US. He prevails over it all to be where he is today: an award-winning American fashion designer with his own label. Walk Like a Girl was launched last week in New York at a time when everything Gurung fought for — tolerance, inclusion and diversity — are in retreat in his adopted country because of a president who has espoused a culture of bullying. The book is a searing, raw exposé of how cruel and abusive people can be even at a young age in school. On the other hand, it also shows that there are generous, compassionate and open-minded souls out there. In his book, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4le_uWX7YE">Prabal Gurung</a> calls out those who tormented and tried to hold him back (some of their names have been altered). The moral of his story is: resist, never stop believing in yourself, do not let others define you, never lose sight of your dream, and help those who have been kept out. “Walk like a girl” was a slur used by bullies back in school in Nepal and India for Gurung’s effeminate ways. He fought back then, and he is still resisting by turning those words into something to be proud of.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1253" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung NT"> <figcaption>Prabal Gurung at home in Kathmandu in the 1990s.</figcaption> </figure>  “Living through it all was one thing, but writing about it is one of the hardest things I have done in my life,” admitted Gurung during the launch. “I broke down constantly during the six-year writing process.” He continues: “I did not want this to be a victim’s book. I did not want to burden my readers with my emotions. I wanted my struggle to be an inspiration for others facing what I faced. I am grateful to those who bullied me in school, they made me a stronger person ready to face the world.” Indeed, this book is a departure from his earlier one titled simply, Prabal Gurung (Abrams, 2019), which was a lush pictorial autobiography of his career in fashion. Walk Like a Girl is not a typical fashion book, it is an intimate tale of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16997">Gurung’s travails and triumphs</a>, and how he willed himself to succeed. Prabal pays a lavish tribute to his mother Durga Rana. We find out she is a descendant of the first wife of the eldest son of Jang Bahadur Rana who was banished to Palpa in the late 19th century. Prabal’s father served in the Singapore Police and that is where he was born before the family returned to Nepal when he was four. Gurung relates with brutal honesty about the violence his mother endured from his father. Durga raises three children as a single mother in Nepal, and Prabal credits her for his fierce determination to resist patriarchy and injustice, which in time manifests itself in his hyper-feminine and subversive dress designs. Writing the book has been a cathartic experience for Gurung, who says he is now relieved of the burdens of his past. It no longer haunts him, and he does not have to prove anything to anyone anymore. Walk Like a Girl has life lessons not just for the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJmOcSgxdWz/" target="_blank">fashion industry</a>, but for every other profession. How can my job serve a greater cause? Gurung tells us his work is <a href="https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/why-designer-prabal-gurung-doesnt-want-just-stick-fashion" target="_blank">bigger than just making clothes</a>, it is about making the world a better place because it could do with a lot of improvement.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b.png" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1516" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung"> </figure>  This story of chasing the American dream may sound familiar to many immigrants: knocking on doors for jobs, rejections, trying to survive from day to day on expensive rent, and dealing with subtle racism in white America. Gurung finds racism is rife, and he is often mockingly called ‘gaysian’. He writes: ‘There was a strong hypocrisy — this idea of independence felt like a marketting ruse … and for all the talk of feminism in America, these high society women were trapped by the patriarchy just like in Nepal and India.’ After a trek to the Khumbu region in 2013, Gurung is inspired to use the colours, palette and textures of Nepal for his collection exhibited on Manhattan’s 8th Avenue. A major buyer tells him bluntly: “Stick to making pretty dresses … if I need to see a collection like this, I could buy a copy of National Geographic.” The New York Times was equally dismissive: ‘The designer tries to draw connections between blistered techo-fabric used to construct it and the topography of his homeland, Nepal. But, at the moment, he has lost his map.’ One potential investor tells Gurung he cannot design for Americana because “you do not look American”. Gurung wants to use expletives, but restrains himself. After a fundraiser in New York for the Nepal earthquake in 2015, some belittled his effort, saying: “Here comes the saviour."&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/prabal-gurung-by-prabal-gurung">Prabal Gurung by Prabal Gurung</a>, Kunda Dixit The Gurkha DNA must be dominant in Prabal Gurung’s genes because he does not take such mistreatment lying down. When asked by a fashion publicist why he was designing clothes for fat people, he snaps back: “Because of people like you.” He joins the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, launches the Shikshya Foundation charity in Nepal, and has powerful allies among celebrities who wear clothes he designed: Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Sara Jessica Parker, Kamala Harris, Deepika Padukone … it is a long list.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="1534" loading="lazy" alt="Being Prabal Gurung by design"> <figcaption>Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wearing Atelier Prabal Gurung’s design for Met Gala 2025 in which the theme was ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’. </figcaption> </figure>  “I don’t dress women to look beautiful, they already are,” Gurung says. “I try to bring out their innate strength and grace.” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17908766880140171/" target="_blank">Admirers</a> tell Gurung he makes it all look so easy, but he used to put up a strong facade to not show his own vulnerabilities in public. “I was closed because of my childhood experiences,” he says. “I was always on guard to defend myself because I never knew where the next punch would come from.” But in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPVepzPA210" target="_blank">Walk Like a Girl,</a> Gurung comes to terms with his vulnerability, and bares his soul. It has not been easy, it took sustained will power and support from his mother, sister Kumudini and a circle of close friends. “I made unbelonging my power,” he says. “Nepal is where I still have my heart and soul. Nepal grounds you. It is where people go to find themselves. But I escaped.” Recently appointed vice-chair of the <a href="https://cfda.com/about-cfda" target="_blank">Council of American Fashion Designers</a>, Gurung says: “I can’t believe I am here, it feels like it is happening to someone else. Writing this book, the healing has finally begun.” <h2>‘Everything is better in color’</h2> The Met Gala was two weeks later, and my table was an example of everything I’d been fighting for all these years as my guests represented everything I believed in: dynamic, powerful, influential women who were unapologetically original and unabashedly graceful. I was grateful to Anna for inviting me to host and dress a table that reflected my ethos—and for her guidance in doing so. I was also aware of the privilege as one of the first-­ever Asian fashion designers—not just from Nepal, but from the entire continent— to get the opportunity to do so. That fact was not lost on me. I reached out beyond the expected Hollywood celebrities and well-­known socialites to curate a table of exceptional women who inspired me. I invited Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt for their first-­ever Met Galas, as well as Michelle Yeoh, Mindy Kaling, Camila Cabello, Ashley Park, Denée Benton, KiKi Layne, Quannah Chasinghorse, and Grace Elizabeth. Together we checked many boxes: Asian, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous, each woman undeniably chic and powerful, a dazzling array of skin tones and experiences that proved my decades‑in‑the-­making hypothesis: everything is better in color. Excerpt from Walk Like a Girl Viking © 2025 by Prabal Gurung  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;