Only the most adventurous attempt to walk The Great Himalayan Trail (GHT), even fewer dare to run all of its 1,800km from one end of Nepal to another. And it is not just the horizontal distance – the trail is a vertical roller coaster from 1,500m to 5,600m. This week, 44 international and Nepali runners are joining The Great Himalayan Race that roughly follows the GHT in a 51-stage hyper-marathon that will take nearly two months.&nbsp; The Great Himalayan Race was first staged in 2017, and pushes the mind and body to absolute limits in a one of the hardest endurance tests in the world of sports.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240404120424_94dc99ebf4b70195fb6ac7bb062573d1716951321a49b9c223f6d9dad6e2a143.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240404120424_94dc99ebf4b70195fb6ac7bb062573d1716951321a49b9c223f6d9dad6e2a143" data-rendition-name="original" width="5028" height="3360" loading="lazy" alt="Hurtling through the Himalaya"> <figcaption>Runners carry heavy backpacks in which they food, sleeping bags, medical equipment, and jackets</figcaption> </figure>  What makes this race special is that every step of the way, they will have sunset and sunrise views that transform the snow peaks into purple and gold. The runners will be passing sacred, isolated Himalayan valleys rich in heritage.&nbsp; The particpants arrived in Kathmandu this week, and will fly out to Nepalganj and Simikot and then on to Hilsa on the Nepal’s northwestern tip bordering China to start the race on 9 April. On Thursday morning, race director Bruno Poirier, a tall, grizzly man, was briefing the runners in his French accented English.&nbsp; “Be prepared to change plans if the unexpected happens,” Poirier tells them. “It is an individual sport, but we also need to look out for each other.”&nbsp; The split between Nepalis and foreigners is about half and half, and most are middle-aged. &nbsp;Lean and fit with striated, veiny calves, these are obviously serious runners. They sport a wide variety of headwear: hats, visors, bandanas, snoods. Visitors are in shorts, but most Nepalis are in jeans with colourful running shoes. Many don wrap-around sunglasses.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240404120440_fe54e48b226ed874d280ba37cfdf292543ecba60c32a90c3d102bd23c55a52e3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240404120440_fe54e48b226ed874d280ba37cfdf292543ecba60c32a90c3d102bd23c55a52e3" data-rendition-name="original" width="909" height="542" loading="lazy" alt="Hurtling through the Himalaya"> <figcaption>Runners will follow the route, in red, west to east </figcaption> </figure>  There is no easing into this race. The first stage is 41km, virtually a marathon. From Hilsa at 3,650m, runners will climb to Nara Lagna at 4,580m, and drop back down to Taplung at 2,880m. The race will get as high as 5,694m at Ghami La in Mustang during Stage 15, on Day 22. Runners will get to Muktinath on Day 27, and Manang on Day 30, exactly halfway into the race. On Day 41, they will be at the Last Resort on the banks of the Bhote Kosi northeast of Kathmandu. On Day 60, Stage 51, they will finally reach Kanchenjunga Base Camp at 5,143m on 31 May if everything goes to plan.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240404120428_552ed7dba5b37ca1ff9a835c63e8c4d70fd8d5741727c1025963a4c3a14ba49a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240404120428_552ed7dba5b37ca1ff9a835c63e8c4d70fd8d5741727c1025963a4c3a14ba49a" data-rendition-name="original" width="6016" height="4016" loading="lazy" alt="Hurtling through the Himalaya"> <figcaption>Runner in the 2017 Great Himalayan Race below Mt Jannu </figcaption> </figure>  Nervous excitement is palpable among the runners. The race will take them through 27 high passes in the Himalaya, most of them above 5,000m elevation. Weather up there can change dramatically and suddenly, and participants will have to improvise, take new routes and even find places to take shelter. Vincent Minier from France completed the race in 2017, and tells us: “It’s like parachuting. The first jump is always the scariest.”&nbsp; French organisers of the race have a slightly laissez-faire approach to safety, attests Jagan Timilsana, winner of the 2017 race. Which means they will get along with the happy-go-lucky Nepalis. &nbsp; Greek couple Lazaros Rigos and Asimina Inglezou say the reason they signed up was because of the history and the mystique of the Himalaya. Also in the cohort are accomplished Nepali long distance runners Upendra Sunuwar, Bhim Bahadur Gurung, and Sher Tharu. While Sunuwar and Gurung also took part in 2017, it is Tharu’s first attempt in the competition.&nbsp; “It’s a hard race but when you finish it, it is the best feeling in the world,” says Sunuwar.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240404120440_c43beb3814090c8a5a2cedad1fecc0ac2c621fd00415bc2f18272db73e50a014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240404120440_c43beb3814090c8a5a2cedad1fecc0ac2c621fd00415bc2f18272db73e50a014" data-rendition-name="original" width="4896" height="3672" loading="lazy" alt="Hurtling through the Himalaya"> <figcaption>Runners encounter numerous obstacles on their way</figcaption> </figure>  Swiss runner Jules-Henri Gabioud is in Nepal for the seventh time, and ran the race in 2017. He runs in the Alps and says the biggest difference is that the Himalaya is higher and rougher, the huts along the way do not have heating, and the food is basic. “I like dal-bhat but it can get a little monotonous,” he says.&nbsp; Lazaros Rigos from Greece agrees: “There are some ingredients missing: protein, vitamins and minerals. You have to supplement these, so your stamina holds up.” &nbsp; Rest and recovery after a gruelling stage consists of food, a wash, perhaps a couple beers, and good sleep. The runners also have to carry backpacks with sleeping bags, heavy jackets, meal packs, and first aid kits weighing upto 20kg throughout the race.&nbsp; Jagan Timilsina is from Sarangkot and won the 2017 race a whole 45-hours faster than anyone else. He now runs several businesses, including Himalayan Trail Running, and spends his summers teaching outdoor leadership in Alaska.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240404120448_00af08356dac7a6658eb66dca4d253409ab295a14d829cefa84f91b4ba782e9e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240404120448_00af08356dac7a6658eb66dca4d253409ab295a14d829cefa84f91b4ba782e9e" data-rendition-name="original" width="6016" height="3418" loading="lazy" alt="Hurtling through the Himalaya"> <figcaption>A runner in the trans-Himalayan Humla region of Nepal where the race starts on 9 April</figcaption> </figure>  He tells us, “The physical part of the race in 2017 was manageable, but as a Nepali for me it was an opportunity to see the culture and the beauty of the untouched and remote Himalayan valleys.” In 1983, British cousins Richard and Adrian Crane ran across the Himalaya from east of Kanchenjunga to west of Nanga Parbat, taking 100 days. Forty years since, Nepal is capitalising on the growing interest in ultra-running and adventure sports worldwide. Timilsina is familiar with the challenges of organising a trail race, and says Nepal’s bureaucracy is the biggest hurdle for adventure sports like the Himalayan race.&nbsp; He adds: “Visitors need multiple permits from multiple committees. Policies regarding running tourism are outdated, and arduous to change.” &nbsp;

Vishad Raj Onta

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Hurtling through the Himalaya

When Marinel de Jesus was growing up in her first-gen Filipino family in the United States, parents wanted her to become a doctor or a lawyer because it meant financial stability and respect. She chose law, and went on to be a successful public prosecutor in Washington DC. She had it all: a career, a house, and proud parents. “It was the American dream,” recalled de Jesus, now 47. “But something felt missing.” &nbsp; Seven years ago, de Jesus decided that a seemingly perfect life that made her parents proud was not what she truly wanted. This epiphany came during a hike in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240310060344_5075fe7368b871319d626ef6be6fa837feee1c2227886e128ebbb42a0873709f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240310060344_5075fe7368b871319d626ef6be6fa837feee1c2227886e128ebbb42a0873709f" data-rendition-name="original" width="900" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Marinel De Jesus"> <figcaption>Marinel De Jesus.</figcaption> </figure>  For Mingmar Dolma Sherpa, following her passion was easier since some of her relatives are mountain guides. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It was on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/lifetime-experience-on-pikey-peak">Pikey Peak in Solukhumbu</a>, looking out to a sweeping panorama from Annapurna to Kangchenjunga that she saw her future in the profession.&nbsp; Now 25, Sherpa has a trekking guide licence, but her challenge has not been in climbing up and down mountains so much as overcoming the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-female-guides-prepare-for-trekking-season">male hierarchy in her line of work</a>. She says, “Female guides really have to struggle to get jobs during the trekking season.”&nbsp; Marinel and Mingmar met ahead of the GHT to trek <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/building-back-a-beyul-in-tsum">the Tsum Valley</a>, and they hit it off. They shared not just a love for nature, but a desire to prove themselves as women. Which is when they decided to walk <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peddling-the-great-himalayan-trail">the Great Himalayan Trail</a> (GHT) which is not just a distance of 1,700km but requires constant ascending and descending steep mountain paths. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240308120332_01bc8f0a01809bfec39ac93234115a4f6f878ebbcd696d72d9fd3132b591f146.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240308120332_01bc8f0a01809bfec39ac93234115a4f6f878ebbcd696d72d9fd3132b591f146" data-rendition-name="original" width="1250" height="733" loading="lazy" alt="GHT map"> <figcaption>Map: The Great Himalayan Trail (www.greathimalayatrail.com)</figcaption> </figure>  The two women started their trek from Kangchenjunga Base Camp last month, and were immediately hit by blizzards. Suffering long-Covid, Marinel had difficulty on steeper sections.&nbsp; They decided to do the Makalu section later, and are now backtracking from Rolwaling to Everest Base Camp. This is just the beginning of the GHT. The two will now continue through Langtang, Ganesh Himal, Annapurna, Dolpo, Mugu, ending up in Simkot of Humla in May. They are doing a hydrid route &nbsp;that combines high passes with lower valleys and hope to complete it in 140 days. “It is rare for clients to ask us about doing the Great Himalayan Trail, and it is even rarer to find people who actually complete it,” says Santosh Adhikari at Nepal Trekking Company, who himself has never done the GHT.&nbsp; Marinel de Jesus calls herself the ‘Brown Gal Trekker’, and her transition from lawyer to full-time trekker has not been an easy one – especially since after overcoming one challenge she keeps giving herself an even more difficult one.&nbsp; She admitted in a Facebook post after the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-kangchenjunga">Kangchenjunga</a> section that the cold and difficulty was tougher than she anticipated.&nbsp; “Being a lawyer is a high stress job,” de Jesus told us before setting off last month. “But despite the physical strain, trekking in the Himalaya puts your mind at ease.” For Mingmar, this is a chance to prove herself and her endurance, and highlight the role and status of female Nepali mountain guides who are rarely recognised in a male-dominated industry.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240310060344_3f51001a5f7c425066e5575f2157ea28f40aa3c80c72f0f3fe8c67b2cb56eb8a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240310060344_3f51001a5f7c425066e5575f2157ea28f40aa3c80c72f0f3fe8c67b2cb56eb8a" data-rendition-name="original" width="900" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Mingmar Sherpa"> <figcaption>Mingmar Sherpa</figcaption> </figure>  She says: “Nepali women have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously and to prove our worth.” As a US public prosecutor, de Jesus was tired of the competitive nature of the job, arguing all the time on matters of child protection and human rights law. Hiking was a way to de-stress. She felt nurtured and healed by the natural world. “I resigned from my job as a lawyer and went on a 5-day trek at Kings Canyon National Park in California. If I regretted quitting, I would know that very week but I came back happy,” de Jesus recalls. Marinel now owns a travel company called Equity Global Treks, that aims to make tourism responsible and socially just so locals have a say in the way the industry is run.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240310060344_fd649f24f42627de04df0ca4af71e60f5cbc25f5e734d28a0aeb45ca0c9b9bd0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20240310060344_fd649f24f42627de04df0ca4af71e60f5cbc25f5e734d28a0aeb45ca0c9b9bd0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1536" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Marinel De Jesus and Mingmar Sherpa"> <figcaption>Marinel De Jesus and Mingmar Sherpa at Rolwaling Valley last week.</figcaption> </figure>  “At 13, it was my parent’s decision to leave the Philippines. I had to leave my home and friends,” &nbsp;she says. “Today, I have given up my lucrative career and left home. But it is my decision, and mine alone.” On Day 18 of 140 on Tuesday, de Jesus described her trekking experience so far as “raw, rugged, and real”. She added, “This is the longest I will be with mountains and nature. What else can I ask for?” &nbsp; To support the GHT Women Leaders Campaign, go to the <a href="https://www.browngaltrekker.com/nepal/ghtwomenleaders2024">website</a>.

Pinki Sris Rana

The great Himalayan trial

<figure><img width="1500" height="757" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a40219c7e80680e04a602jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: RAJENDRA LAMA</figcaption></figure>As new roads crisscross the mountains and valleys of the Himalaya, Nepal’s most famous attraction – trekking – is unfortunately being sullied. When asked what facility they want most from the government, villagers living in the remote districts of Nepal unanimously say: a road. It is therefore a given that the roads will be there, we just have to make sure that they are built with care so they are safe and do not damage the fragile slopes.A <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/survey-is-wakeup-call-for-nepal-government/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent survey</a> has shown that three-quarters of Nepal’s population now has access to at least a dirt road, and a quarter live near a black-topped highway. What this means is that while established trekking trails like the Annapurna Circuit or the Mustang Trek may have the familiar roadside noise and dust, better access also makes it feasible to discover remoter side valleys.For example, after driving to Chame, more trekkers can now visit Nar, Phu and do the Seven Pass Trek from Manang to Mustang. When the Budi Gandaki road reaches Philim, it will make the Tsum Valley and Manaslu more accessible.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2010/09/25/the-great-himalayan-trail/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Great Himalayan Trail</a>, Kunda Dixit <img width="791" height="835" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a40249c7e80680e04a603jpeg.jpg" alt="">Roads will also make it easier for tourists looking for adventure in Nepal who do not have the four months necessary to do The Great Himalayan Trail at one go, to take it in instalments. You can now drive up to four days below Kangchenjunga base camp, trek for two weeks, and ride/fly out of Tumlingtar, then return the next season to do the next segment.Despite all the road-building, there are plenty of pristine valleys, high passes and remote villages in the Himalaya where we can still go to experience the ‘Old Nepal’: Nyingma Gyansen La between Mugu and Dolpo, or Kang La in Manang (pictured, above) where you feel like there is no further you can go on this Earth, or Tashi Labtsa Pass, from where you can peer down at the layers and layers of mountains and contemplate infinity.The perfect guidebook for a cross-Himalayan trek is just out in its second updated edition. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16399#.XNFXj-Uza70" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robin Boustead</a>’s The Great Himalayan Trail: A Pictorial Guide has more recent photographs, excellent new maps from Himalayan Map House (the GHT passing through Dolpo, map above) and lots of tips and information for both the first-time Great Himalayaner, or a return trekker doing it in chapters.Trekking in Nepal has never been just about the scenery. It is also about the people and travelling along the traditional caravan routes, the rural trading trails or herders taking mountain goats to goths in the monsoon. It is along these trails that Nepalis and tourists visiting Nepal have formed a bond that goes back decades. <img width="1500" height="414" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a40279c7e80680e04a604jpeg.jpg" alt="">As Peter Hillary said at the launch of the second edition of Boustead’s book recently in Kathmandu: “I have a love affair with Nepal because there is nowhere else with this scenery. But much more than that it is also the people who live here -- Nepalis are the most open-hearted people in the world.”And what better way to meet Nepalis face-to-face than on the up and down paths, through villages and forests, across yak pastures and passing smiling faces on trail bridges.‘Although the mountains are beyond compare, it is the people you meet along the trail that linger in your memory ... their indefatigable boldness and energy, their independence, strength and resilience when times are bad … it is impossible to make a comparison but surely the people of the high Himal are the best of mankind?’ Boustead writes in his Introduction. After leafing through this book, and admiring the foldout panorama of the Hongu Basin from the West Col, there will be very few who will not want to pack their gear and head off to do at least one part of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2010/09/25/the-great-himalayan-trail/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Great Himalayan Trail</a>.As the book makes clear, the GHT is not just for mountaineers -- any fit person with basic climbing skills can do it. Traversing Nepal along The Great Himalayan Trail is the last great adventure left in the world today.The Great Himalayan Trail A Pictorial Guide (Second Edition) by Robin Boustead Himalayan Map House, 2019 176 pages, Rs 3,000<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a40299c7e80680e04a605jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="478">

Kunda Dixit

Nepal's Grand Trek Road

Who is accountable for teacher-student relationships?

Early on Monday morning, a bus from Pokhara to Kathmandu plunged off the highway in Dhading killing 19 passengers. Two weeks ago, another bus fell into the Tama Kosi in Manthali, killing 12. A few days before that a bus crash in Baitadi killed 13 people.&nbsp; In just the month before Nepal's election, more than 50 people have been killed in road traffic accidents. Most of these cannot be called 'accidents'. They are a direct result of poorly maintained highways and lack of enforcement of traffic discipline. Political parties in Nepal have rolled out their election manifestos, and voters are once again presented with a flood of promises. Page after page, these documents list megawatts and microcredit, highways and airports, jobs and investment. In these manifestos, growth is quantified, projects itemised, revenue forecast — and there are even threats to beat up contractors who do not finish their jobs. But when everything is declared a priority the stale promises are empty. The voter is left confused as to where the party’s loyalties really lie. Will any of these plans and pledges actually ever materialise and help Nepalis live longer, safer, healthier lives? The main job of any accountable government is to protect its citizens, not so much from foreign enemies but from domestic mismanagement. And this means the most basic test the new government should be made to pass is whether it can ensure basic well-being and protection for all its people. The problems of safety, health, and survival remain unresolved for most Nepalis, and are quietly eroding their lives. In the past year alone, the country’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/roadkill">roads and highways claimed more than 2,300</a> lives. An estimated 41,000 Nepalis die each year directly because of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-is-invisible-is-more-dangerous">air pollution</a>, and their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/air-pollution-killing-season-starts-early">lifespans are lessened by 3.4 years</a>.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/poor-health">Non-communicable diseases</a> now account for well over half of total deaths in the country. And even where survival has improved, deprivation remains. Chronic malnutrition continues to haunt communities in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/mass-migration-from-muktikot">Nepal’s western mountains</a> despite progress in maternal and child health.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223130240_4f4ef83a31c3c4ae36ecdffb33a355e2fa3de9e98244b840a895af2d95c35ac0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260223130240_4f4ef83a31c3c4ae36ecdffb33a355e2fa3de9e98244b840a895af2d95c35ac0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1024" height="683" loading="lazy" alt="A life-first manifesto for Nepal NT"> </figure>  These are the lived realities of most Nepalis, and it is here that development can deliver its most immediate returns. A rising GDP, in and of itself, does not make roads safer, clean polluted air, or provide enough nutrition to children. Such outcomes demand intentional, granular policies that confront the specific, everyday problems shaping people’s lives.&nbsp; Macroeconomic growth, trade and investment are important, but these alone cannot guarantee improvements health and safety. The word ‘growth’, after all, is also synonymous with malignancy. Economic progress and human protection are correlated only when governance deliberately links them. Impact on life is the unit in which ordinary Nepalis calculate progress. What is needed, then, is a governing philosophy measurable in these same terms: a ‘life-first’ standard where every policy, budget, and reform can be understood and judged by its impact on protecting and extending human life. Such a ‘life-first’ approach would scrutinise three aspects of every policy. First, whether the policy prevents loss of life. A death is termed preventable if better, more coordinated response systems and regulations could have avoided it (vaccines, drugs, road safety, clean drinking water). A newly built six-lane highway <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/highway-accidents-are-no-accident-in-nepal">can be a death trap</a> due to poor design or lax enforcement of safety rules. If neonatal deaths continue in a district despite hospitals being present, or if malnutrition claims lives in predominantly agricultural regions, they too are failures. Preventable deaths also cluster where accountability is less direct. Just last year, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/suicides-a-pandemic-within-a-pandemic">Nepal recorded 6,866 suicides</a>, with nearly 20 lives lost every day, yet these deaths fail to prompt any serious examination of governance. The same holds for fatalities linked to domestic or communal violence, alcohol and substance misuse, or ‘natural’ disasters, which register as ‘tragedies without remedy’ rather than as outcomes policy can influence. But when avoidable loss of life recurs at scale, isolated incidents become patterns, and patterns reveal systemic neglect. Saving lives, however, is only the first step, and what matters just as much is the quality of years lived. Nepal’s life expectancy now stands at 71 years, yet many citizens spend years in avoidable disability, untreated chronic illness, or mental distress. A life- first government must ask not only whether people live, but whether they thrive. Are citizens able to pursue education, work, and family life without fear of preventable harm? Do communities have access to clean air and water, nutritious food, and basic healthcare? Can a teenager anywhere in Nepal imagine a future not foreclosed by premature marriage, or untreated depression?  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223130240_157d72b80b82a07699b6bffbb30036b86f0f767a5674cc3db3d5c20343442940.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260223130240_157d72b80b82a07699b6bffbb30036b86f0f767a5674cc3db3d5c20343442940" data-rendition-name="original" width="2529" height="1427" loading="lazy" alt="A life-first manifesto for Nepal NT"> </figure>  Thriving requires policies that prevent suffering and promote well-being in addition to ensuring survival.&nbsp; Finally, governance must consider graceful aging. Elderly Nepalis should not be left to navigate disease, poverty, or isolation alone. Social systems, healthcare, and community support must enable their continued participation and dignified well-being. Adopting this three-layered standard would gradually reorient how success of any new government is defined. Transportation would be judged by fatalities reduced on the roads. Electricity generation would be measured by whether households can switch from firewood dependence to smoke-free electric stoves.&nbsp; Increase in annual rice harvest must translate into better nutrition, reducing the prevalence of chronic diseases like diabetes. Accountability must follow problems rather than stop at Singha Darbar. Only then will politicians and bureaucrats eventually recognise that their work converges on the same human endpoint. Critics will argue that economies are complex, trade-offs are inevitable, and that governance cannot be reduced to a single metric.But, as Acemoglu and Robinson show in their book <a href="https://ia801506.us.archive.org/27/items/WhyNationsFailTheOriginsODaronAcemoglu/Why-Nations-Fail_-The-Origins-o-Daron-Acemoglu.pdf">Why Nations Fail</a>, the key difference between prosperity and poverty lies in inclusive institutions that empower citizens and create broad incentives for well-being.&nbsp; Extractive institutions concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few while keeping the majority trapped in neglect. Nepal’s governance has remained a striking example of extraction. If lawmakers in the new Parliament continue to resist changes that would save and improve the lives of ordinary citizens, the same systemic rot will persist for generations to come. A life-first mentality can cut through this inertia by clarifying the moral centre of governance and reminding policymakers that behind every policy failure lies human cost. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-hunger">Every mother in Bajura</a> with a child going hungry at night, every farmer in the Madhes unable to afford medical care, and every family that has lost <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/saving-kidneys-to-save-nepal">a migrant son to kidney failure</a> understands the true <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/dirty-dangerous-difficult-and-dehydrating">value of a life saved</a>. Life is the one metric that transcends ideology, ethnicity, and region. Centering governance on this single, focused metric, can shift an election from a contest of rhetoric to a contest of evidence. Which party ensured access to safe water and basic healthcare? Which made work at home and abroad safer and less exploitative. Which measurably extended healthy years of life for ordinary citizens? Health is wealth. By improving the healthy lifespan of citizens economic prosperity would follow naturally. A ‘life-first’ governance model would therefore compel Nepal to address the underlying structural failures across all sectors, rather than merely alleviating their symptoms. The GenZ protest that toppled the government last September was, at its core, a demand for accountability and a rejection of politics as usual. But as the country edges closer to the polls, that clarity has started to dissipate. Parties are now echoing the language of reform, but the public discourse remains dominated by promises that feel disconnected from Nepal’s most immediate and basic priorities. Every preventable death, every hungry child, and every neglected elder becomes a direct failure of governance and a moral debt the state must answer for. It is how we can make sure we keep the next government in check. The writers are Nepali GenZ students of biomedical engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Nepal’s life or death election

Of the nearly 19 million eligible voters in next week’s election in Nepal, an estimated 5 million are abroad and cannot cast their ballots. Many others within Nepal must travel to their home districts, and might decide not to because of the cost.
Flights into Kathmandu these days are full of global Nepalis returning just to vote, but almost as many are leaving for overseas jobs. Most of those coming or going are in the 20-40 age group, and a majority want Nepal to see a change in leadership.
Bangladesh held an election this month in which citizens overseas could vote by mail.&nbsp;
“Bangladesh made maximum use of technology not just for campaigning but also for polling itself. We could have also managed this, so people within Nepal did not have to travel to their home districts to vote,” says Mohna Ansari, former head of Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission who was an election observer in Bangladesh.
A 3-day holiday has been declared so people can travel to their home constituencies to cast ballots. Even if there was not enough time to manage ballots for overseas Nepalis, it could have been done for Nepalis within Nepal.
Former Chief Election Commissioner Bhojraj Pokharel reckons that physical voting in countries with a large Nepali diaspora would have been a logistical nightmare, but in the PR system, using electronic voting machines or paper ballot could have been piloted in some places. It is not possible to manage the entire voting process until we introduce the internet voting system.
“First of all, there needs to be political will to bring the policy and be ready to undertake that level of investment and it is not a one-time cost,” Pokharel says. “A government formed by the GenZ could have atr least issed an ordinance ensuring this right, piloted out-of-country voting where possible, which could have built pressure for the future Parliament and the government. It would have given people hope. It is a lost opportunity.”
All major political parties called for voting rights for global Nepalis in their manifestos, but these very leaders blocked legislation allowing it despite a 2017 Supreme Court ruling out of fear that it would be anti-incumbent.&nbsp;
<h2>Why so late?</h2>
Bangladesh delivered election results in just one day, but the final results of Nepal's last local polls in 2022 including that of Kathmandu constituencies took nearly a month.
Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said this week that the results of the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) ballot counting would “likely” be published within 24 hours of the poll closing at 5PM on 5 March. But many are skeptical.
“I wonder if we lack the capacity or know-how to announce results as quickly as possible,” says Mohna Ansari.
Former Chief Election Commissioner Pokharel says manual ballot paper counting in Nepal is inherently slow because of the large numner of political parties and/or candidates on the ballot, the counting mechanism, the political behaviour of the candidates/parties and some managerial issues during counting.
“Our present policy is to count all the ballot papers at the returning officers' officies, located at the district headquarters. It requires collecting ballot boxes safetly first. This takes time, and there have been cases of ballot boxes being damaged or stolen during transport. In a few highly difficult, geographically remote polling centres, we use a helicopter or transport. But sometimes, accommodating the party and candidates' representatives remains challenging,” explains Pokharel. A solution could be counting ballots at the very booths where they are cast.
Another reason for the delay is simply the number of political parties, and the need for each ballot paper to be examined by booth representatives for consensus. In close races, the smallest difference can lead to tense situations, further delaying results, even though counting centres are protected by metal fencing so there is no disruption.
After this, then it is the turn of Proportional Representation (PR) ballots to be counted. Weeks pass by the time the results of candidates and parties are tallied and verified. But the most common delay is because election officers think ballot counting is a nine-to-five job.&nbsp;
“The efficiency of poll station officers is most important, and they are incentivised for this,” says Ansari, adding that counting can even start within an hour after voting closes.
In remote areas, local resources could be mobilised to make counting quicker, but there is a crisis of trust, adds Ansari.&nbsp;
That could be easily solved with electronic voting which the EC implemented in the 2008 polls but discontinued because political parties felt the machines could be hacked or manipulated.

Nepalis Select Who To Elect

On Saturday, Iran retaliated with missile strikes on Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar, a region where there are an estimated 2 million Nepalis working to send money home. In addition, thousands of Nepalis were preparing to board flights to Kathmandu from West Asian cities this weekend to vote in the 5 March election. Many are said to be stranded at various aviation hubs. A Qatar Airways flight from Doha took off just before the air space was closed, while Air Arabia and Kuwait Airways have diverted or cancelled flights. Nepalis in the West Asian region said things were relatively calm where they were, although some heard loud explosions at about noon local time. In Dubai, some thought they were Ramadan fireworks.&nbsp; In Kuwait, nearly 2,000 Nepalis working in the US military base as security guards and cleaners were evacuated before the strikes. In Bahrain where the US Fifth Fleet naval base is located and which was hit by two Iranian missiles, workers contacted by Nepali Times said the situation was under control and the authorities had told everyone to stay indoors and not use highways. The conflict also coincided with the beginning of Nepal’s trekking and mountaineering season, and tourists were either on their way or planning to leave European and North American cities for Himalayan hikes. Most of them transit through Doha, Dubai or Kuwait and all three airports are closed. Turkish Airlines flights via Istanbul are still operating.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260228130212_ab5e132d56da1df6a3fb1b6919648f845a168ad2c51d79f7587fb85a6e913b97.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260228130212_ab5e132d56da1df6a3fb1b6919648f845a168ad2c51d79f7587fb85a6e913b97" data-rendition-name="original" width="1864" height="826" loading="lazy" alt="Qatar and UAE airspace closed"> <figcaption>Qatar and UAE airspace closed. Credit: Flightradar24</figcaption> </figure>  However, the main impact for the world could be a spike in the price of petroleum products if the strategic Strait of Hormuz is blocked. China relies on Iranian oil for their refineries, and Nepal could be affected indirectly if the economies of its neighbours are hit. Nepal imports all its diesel, petrol, LPG and aviation fuel from India which sources it mainly from the Gulf, and until recently from Russia. Petroleum makes up 25% of the value of all imports, and that is more than Nepal earns from all its exports. Saudi Arabia this year overtook the UAE as the main destination for Nepali workers, with the number now totalling 400,000. There are said to be as many in the UAE, and another 350,000 in Qatar. There are another 100,000 mostly women in Kuwait, and 50,000 each in Oman and Bahrain.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260228130220_d24ae633ff84f283835434becdb2f1351f84c415ce87ca34378bd4e2669661b3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260228130220_d24ae633ff84f283835434becdb2f1351f84c415ce87ca34378bd4e2669661b3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="West Asia Iran conflict"> <figcaption>Iran retaliated with missile strikes on Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar on Saturday.</figcaption> </figure>  Nepal receives nearly $11 billion a year in remittances from overseas Nepalis (not counting India) through official channels, although the total is said to be much more. &nbsp;This makes up more than a quarter of Nepal’s GDP equivalent — one of the highest proportions in the world. More than half of the overseas remittances to Nepal comes from its workers in the Gulf, and it is the mainstay of the country’s economy. Nepalis in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE alone send home more than $3 billion a year, much of that helping support their families back home. An average Nepali worker in the Gulf sends home nearly $2,500 a year, and this is spent mainly for household supplies, children’s education and healthcare. There are also an estimated 7,000 Nepali caregivers and healthcare workers in Israel, and most of them are women. The Nepal Embassy has asked Nepalis in Israel to take caution and move to bomb shelters.