Bardia National Park is naturally famous for being the easiest place in the world to see tigers in the wild. But since visiting this jewel in the plains of western Nepal five times in the last 40 years, what attracts me most about Bardia besides its charismatic mammals is its fabulous birdlife. The park has recorded over 525 bird species and 61 mammals, and is recognised as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area and so of global importance for birds and other wildlife. By area, Bardia is Nepal’s largest national park in the Tarai, and much of it consists of the alluvial plain of the Karnali River in the west as it bursts out of the mountains, and the pristine Babai River valley to the northeast.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240601010640_5ae001599fa5f7df2f3a461106cc765aad061744bc8bd4b4fa4735869ef7c77b.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240601010640_5ae001599fa5f7df2f3a461106cc765aad061744bc8bd4b4fa4735869ef7c77b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1704" height="1158" loading="lazy" alt="birds of Nepal"> </figure>  To the north, the Chure Range rises to 1,440m which means the park has diverse vegetation types ranging from extensive grasslands to climax forests, and over 70% of the reserve is covered by sal forests.&nbsp; Then there are riverine forests of acacia and sissoo in the lowlands and deciduous and chir pine forests higher up. The park is dotted with pools, many of them manmade, to provide water for wildlife. But what makes Bardia special are its birds. Just woodpeckers, there are 16 species, including the globally Vulnerable Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus): a gangling and prehistoric-looking bird that is one of the largest woodpeckers in the world.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240601010636_3576e07e2731932dfdb0c7b59863aada319535dc6769eff675924defb22541bf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240601010636_3576e07e2731932dfdb0c7b59863aada319535dc6769eff675924defb22541bf" data-rendition-name="original" width="3580" height="2518" loading="lazy" alt="Great Slaty Woodpecker"> <figcaption>Great Slaty Woodpecker, easily located by its distinctive whinnying cackle and often in small groups.</figcaption> </figure>  Then there is the scarce White-naped Woodpecker (Chrysocolaptes festivus) which is endemic to the Subcontinent.&nbsp; Great Hornbills (Buceros bicornis) are frequently seen, but the loss of large fruiting trees as nest sites and food source, as well as hunting for food and medicinal purposes have put the hornbill in the globally vulnerable category.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240601010640_b4e9687e4634bba32b76bc89a1a5d275a30d39e4eb3b15294da5169248da0a44.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240601010640_b4e9687e4634bba32b76bc89a1a5d275a30d39e4eb3b15294da5169248da0a44" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1252" loading="lazy" alt="The Great Hornbill"> <figcaption>The Great Hornbill in flight when it makes a sound like a steam engine starting up.</figcaption> </figure>  Bardia is rich in raptors, and among them is the Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis), a winter visitor. Rapid recent declines have led to it being listed as globally Endangered. The rare local Grey-headed Fish-Eagle (Icthyophaga ichthyaetus) can be seen on pools and streams.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240601010640_efaef889e4fa44a70263e3d6dbc60998bee21832f520e44e9d3df0e1ced7824c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240601010640_efaef889e4fa44a70263e3d6dbc60998bee21832f520e44e9d3df0e1ced7824c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1985" height="1811" loading="lazy" alt="Grey-headed Fish-Eagle"> <figcaption>Grey-headed Fish-Eagle feeds almost entirely on fish, sometimes supplemented by birds and mammals.</figcaption> </figure>  The Rufous-bellied Eagle (Lophotriorchis kienerii) is another uncommon resident in the park and listed as Near-threatened globally because of widespread deforestation. An aerial hunter, it often captures prey on or near the ground or treetops after spectacular dives. Bardia has an impressive list of 14 resident owl species. The magnificent Mottled Wood Owl (Strix ocellata) was only discovered for the first time in Nepal in 2015 when a pair was photographed in Khata Corridor in the Buffer Zone and has been frequently recorded since. India is the only other country where Mottled Wood Owl is regularly seen.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240601010640_ce746028c7025ab5a2235a1fff8a5bce77cea32dfa938ef41f87274db8ced956.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240601010640_ce746028c7025ab5a2235a1fff8a5bce77cea32dfa938ef41f87274db8ced956" data-rendition-name="original" width="4080" height="3803" loading="lazy" alt="The Mottled Wood Owl NT"> <figcaption>The Mottled Wood Owl is nocturnal, if lucky can be spotted before dusk falls.</figcaption> </figure>  The Dusky Eagle-owl (Bubo coromandus) often breeds in a deserted stick raptor nest in the top of tall mature trees, at the forest edge or in grassland. Brown Fish-owl (Ketupa zeylonensis) is a commonly seen resident, usually roosting in the daytime camouflaged in thick foliage of large trees in a secluded site near water in forest. Bardia supports a host of smaller bird species like the Blue-bearded (Nyctyornis athertoni) and Asian Green (Merops orientalis) Bee-eaters are fairly common residents, while Chestnut-headed (M. leschenaulti) and Blue-tailed (M. philippinus) Bee-eaters are common in summer.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240601010644_b6ed309138a64ed6a1ad7b06bb057c45ddbbe47805b1fd98b2d04a4119a97bf9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240601010644_b6ed309138a64ed6a1ad7b06bb057c45ddbbe47805b1fd98b2d04a4119a97bf9" data-rendition-name="original" width="4080" height="2720" loading="lazy" alt="Spot Bellied Eagle Owl."> </figure>  Other colourful and fairly common summer visitors are Indian (Pitta brachyura) and Western Hooded (P. sordida) Pitta. In March the gorgeous scarlet flowers of the silk cotton tree attract an array of nectar feeders: Hair-crested Drongo (Dicrurus hottentottus), Black-hooded Oriole (Oriolus xanthornus), Scarlet Minivet (Pericrocotus flammeus), and Spot-winged Starling (Saroglossa spiloptera), to name a few. Grassland specialities include Golden-headed Cisticola (Cisticola exilis), Yellow-bellied Prinia, (Prinia flaviventris), White-tailed Bushchat (Saxicola leucurus), Indian Grass-babbler (Graminicola bengalensis), and Chestnut-capped (Timalia pileata), Striated (Argya earlei) and Yellow-eyed (Chrysomma sinense) Babblers.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240601010644_abad29cdacd2091c633fe234fb070b6c92b617849e7ca3c1ba60db43edad2187.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240601010644_abad29cdacd2091c633fe234fb070b6c92b617849e7ca3c1ba60db43edad2187" data-rendition-name="original" width="4080" height="2722" loading="lazy" alt="Orange-breasted Green Pigeon."> <figcaption>Orange-breasted Green Pigeon.</figcaption> </figure>  The striking Siberian (Calliope calliope) and Himalayan Rubythroat (C. pectoralis) are winter visitors to scrub and grassland as well as several wintering bush-warblers: Aberrant, Grey-sided, Pale-footed and West Himalayan Bush-warbler. The rivers and streams support a rich diversity of birdlife: Greater Painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis), River Lapwing (Vanellus duvaucelii), Stork-billed (Pelargopsis capensis), Pied Kingfishers (Ceryle rudis) and Black-backed Forktail (Enicurus immaculatus) which are all resident. While in winter there is Blue Rock-thrush (Monticola solitarius), Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria), Citrine Wagtail (Motacilla citreola) and many wader species.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240601010644_c5c95f38b86a5047bb0073d9fdd11aef7fef9980772f2b4746978cd1bb95e290.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240601010644_c5c95f38b86a5047bb0073d9fdd11aef7fef9980772f2b4746978cd1bb95e290" data-rendition-name="original" width="2708" height="1805" loading="lazy" alt="Stork-billed Kingfisher"> <figcaption>Stork-billed Kingfisher is impressive, with a massive red bill.</figcaption> </figure>  While crossing the Babai Bridge on the East-West Highway, there are stunning views of the unspoilt Babai River valley with its forested hills and wild river. The Critically Endangered Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) and Vulnerable Mugger (Crocodylus palustris) can be easily seen in the cold season, basking on sandbanks. The Gharial is exclusively a fish-eater, and it hunts underwater with sharp interlocking teeth and long narrow snout.&nbsp; The Mugger preys on fish, snakes, birds, and mammals and is also a scavenger. The Himalayan or Golden Mahseer (Tor putitora) is an Endangered fish which can reach up to 2.75m and turtles such as the Endangered Indian Softshell Turtle (Nilssonia gangetica) can often be seen on the Babai. Nepal tripled its tiger population to 360 in the past 14 years, and nearly 160 of them are estimated to be in Bardia and its buffer zone.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240601010648_8f657bceea305b157de52e46be4ecc95712994c17d3e6eeacd40ccd240dab9e1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20240601010648_8f657bceea305b157de52e46be4ecc95712994c17d3e6eeacd40ccd240dab9e1" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="Bardia"> <figcaption>Bardia National Park is in the alluvial plains of the Karnali River, and is dotted with pools. Photo: CAROL INSKIPP</figcaption> </figure>  The park is one of the best places to see Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) in the wild. Other mammals are: Leopard (Panthera pardus), several deer species including Spotted (Axis axis) and Swamp Deers (Rucervus duvaucelii), Nilgai (Bosephalus tragocamelus), as well as Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) which has been successfully re-introduced from Chitwan National Park. If you are lucky, you can spot the Endangered Gangetic River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) on the Karnali River.&nbsp; Bardia is relatively isolated, and this has helped to protect its wide range of wildlife and habitat, and is much quieter than Chitwan. It is well worth the effort to get there.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240603040632_1beaf48c370de444726e1be6330f5d9c26b61b658624633ebe97efa5ce6c093c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20240603040632_1beaf48c370de444726e1be6330f5d9c26b61b658624633ebe97efa5ce6c093c" data-rendition-name="original" width="900" height="331" loading="lazy" alt="Bardia birds books"> </figure>  Getting to and Staying in Bardia  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240601010648_0255590ce98955aa543f3661cd1ba2f5b317dc67c7aa1a31a450b5d441398005.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240601010648_0255590ce98955aa543f3661cd1ba2f5b317dc67c7aa1a31a450b5d441398005" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="Babai River Bardia"> <figcaption>The pristine Babai River valley is situated at the northeastern part of the Bardia National Park. Photo: CAROL INSKIPP</figcaption> </figure>  Fly to Nepalganj from Kathmandu, and take the two-hour jeep ride through the park to the Park Headquarters at Thakurdwara. There is a range of accommodation in the Buffer Zone from luxury resorts to tented camps and homestays. Some suggestions: Royal Tiger Cottage, Burhan Wilderness Camp, Tiger Tops Karnali Lodge. Experienced and very knowledgeable local guides are available for safari and jungle walks. Allow at least three days for your visit. &nbsp;

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Bardia’s birds

Katrin Hagen was poring through photographs that her father <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/So-far-so-good/a-serious-swiss-toni-hagen-nepal,888">Toni Hagen</a> had taken of western Nepal for geological research, when she was astounded by how much of this remote region had changed – and how much remained the same 70 years later. She dug deeper into the photo archives with some of the earliest colour prints and slides of Nepal to find some gems. Some were later published in 1960 in his classic hardcover book, <a href="https://himalbooks.com/product/toni-hagens-nepal-the-kingdom-in-the-himalaya/">Toni Hagen’s Nepal</a>, that introduced the country to the world.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240228120252_6d7921f767904775a139b059fa3efcab0772548b1cb9e4b8aa5ad710906fdb52.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240228120252_6d7921f767904775a139b059fa3efcab0772548b1cb9e4b8aa5ad710906fdb52" data-rendition-name="original" width="884" height="431" loading="lazy" alt="Toni Hagen's western Nepal routes"> </figure>  Toni Hagen first came to Nepal in 1950 as a United Nations adviser to carry out a geological survey to find mineral potential, and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/tony-hagen-kathmandu-exhibition,3946">crisscrossed Nepal on foot over 12 years</a>, traversing 15,000km. Along the way, he became less and less interested in geology and more in finding ways to enhance the living standards of Nepalis, especially in the more remote parts of the mountains. “I found people more important than rocks,” he once said.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240228120248_b567c07836388e6af9602f7af1a8e2f557afda1b6a157ffc14fd14b6536b7e71.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240228120248_b567c07836388e6af9602f7af1a8e2f557afda1b6a157ffc14fd14b6536b7e71" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Toni Hagen western Nepal"> <figcaption>Young woman in Simkot, where the dress style has not changed much.</figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s average lifespan then was 40 years, and it was even less in the Karnali and far west. Nearly four in every ten babies did not survive to age five in the 1950s. Malnutrition was widespread. Karnali and Sudur Paschim Province are now doing much better, but still lag behind the national average in all <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/not-rising-nepal">development parameters</a>.&nbsp; There are now roads even to the remotest valleys that Hagen trekked weeks to get to. Even the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/time-catching-up-with-timeless-dolpo">trans-Himalayan district of Dolpo</a> is now connected to the Chinese border by road, and will soon have roads to Mustang and Rukum West.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240228120248_32b730a1d8549f79db753a252077f4e109625382b03e14f31fdeebb980b90468.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240228120248_32b730a1d8549f79db753a252077f4e109625382b03e14f31fdeebb980b90468" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Toni Hagen western Nepal"> <figcaption>Upper Kuwadi Valley towards Sankha La in nothern Humla.</figcaption> </figure>  The other urgent need he saw for Nepal was connectivity. Walking across the country, he found the lack of bridges to be a major obstacle to getting around. Nepal seemed to be an archipelago of islands separated not by sea, but by rivers. This presaged the decades long Swiss involvement in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/10-000-bridges">building thousands of suspension trail bridges all over Nepal</a>. Hagen proposed a series of tunnels on a highway to connect Kathmandu to the Tarai across another one of his survey ideas, to build a reservoir on the Kulekhani River. The Kulekhani dam was built in 1984, but the Kathmandu-Fast Track is on the slow track and still only a dream. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240228120248_7963aa60e4a63a7f2e4d51a0e7aae211c174ba0c9f2bb0587ebe06a9ccdc555e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20240228120248_7963aa60e4a63a7f2e4d51a0e7aae211c174ba0c9f2bb0587ebe06a9ccdc555e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Toni Hagen western Nepal"> <figcaption>Men paddling across the Karnali River in inflated buffalo skins.</figcaption> </figure>  A selection of Hagen’s photographs from western Nepal are being shown in a series of exhibitions in Patan, Surkhet, Mahendranagar and Jumla in the coming months. What is most striking about the images is the stark contrast between the scenic beauty of the region and its underdevelopment. Toni Hagen took almost as many portraits of people as of the landscape, and in the faces of the people of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/a-karnali-portrait">Karnali</a> we do not see poverty, but frugality. The wrinkles indicate the hardships of everyday life, but they are also smile lines. The clothing is all made from local wool, the houses are stone, thatch or slate surrounded by terrace farms of ripening buckwheat.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240228120248_b5e2deedb3a599880b69b37efc2fdec4377aadb948d081629e11759c0082f8b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20240228120248_b5e2deedb3a599880b69b37efc2fdec4377aadb948d081629e11759c0082f8b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Toni Hagen western Nepal"> <figcaption>Toni Hagen's porters below Murma Top overlooking Rara Lake, the shores of which are today covered in thick forest.</figcaption> </figure>  Surkhet Valley which today is all urbanised, was a patchwork of paddy fields then. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rara-s-rare-beauty">Rara Lake</a> is resplendent in turquoise, and to think that it took Toni Hagen a month’s trek from the Indian border to get there. Today, there is a road connecting it to Jumla and Surkhet. The lake’s shores, barren 70 years ago, is today thickly draped in pine forests after the villages were evacuated to create a national park. &nbsp; <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19173">Toni Hagen</a> died in 2003 in Switzerland after many visits to Nepal during which he saw the changes, both good and bad, sweeping the country. Katrin Hagen accompanied her father in many of the trips, and still conducts orthopaedic surgical camps in remote parts of Nepal where her father once walked.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240228120248_bcd3d8fcefb27909641e0f0688c3daaccdfb05f99557a30516721226fcd5f574.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240228120248_bcd3d8fcefb27909641e0f0688c3daaccdfb05f99557a30516721226fcd5f574" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Toni Hagen western Nepal"> <figcaption>Village in Humla.</figcaption> </figure>  And through books, special exhibitions and collaborations with organisations such as the Nepal Geological Society and the Nepal Heritage Society, Katrin ensures that her father's work continues to be celebrated and shared with audiences in Nepal and around the world. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=11274">significance of Toni Hagen's work</a> extends beyond its aesthetic appeal. His research and documentation have played a crucial role in advancing our understanding of Nepal's geology, particularly in Western Nepal. The Nepal Geological Society now uses Hagen's photographs in its research.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024022905020_b8cda063d9ca15932567cbd491d4b5725b22bf31074b07ae63f6189b0dc84cc8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2024022905020_b8cda063d9ca15932567cbd491d4b5725b22bf31074b07ae63f6189b0dc84cc8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="981" loading="lazy" alt="Toni Hagen western Nepal"> <figcaption>Toni Hagen in his tent with curious onlookers, somewhere in western Nepal in 1952, flying the United Nations and Nepal flags.</figcaption> </figure>  ”My father’s work helps bridge the gap between the past and the present,” Katrin Hagen said at the inauguration of the first exhibition of Western Nepal in the 1950s at Yala Maya Kendra on Tuesday. “The pictures allow Nepalis to see Nepal through his eyes and appreciate the changes that have occurred over time.”&nbsp; Western Nepal in the 1950s, an exhibition of Photos by Toni Hagen&nbsp; Yalamaya Kendra, Patan 27 February - 2 March Patan Museum, 4-13 March&nbsp; Surkhet, Mahendranagar, Jumla (to be announced)  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024022813020_3bcea5e7bc2ba14a584e6fda40a556167804d599ea5bad5f4df044748396acfc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="2024022813020_3bcea5e7bc2ba14a584e6fda40a556167804d599ea5bad5f4df044748396acfc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1263" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Toni Hagen's Nepal"> </figure>

Alisha Sijapati

West is West

The death toll in the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that struck western Nepal on Friday at midnight has climbed to 157, and it is becoming clear that most of the fatalities are of women and children. Of the 36 initially reported killed in collapsed buildings in Rukum West district, 19 were children, some of them babies as young as 10 months old. It is the same story in neighbouring Jajarkot, nearer to the epicentre of the earthquake where more than 110 people died. Read Also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/deadly-earthquake-hits-w-nepal">Deadly earthquake hits W Nepal</a>, Nepali Times&nbsp; The mountainous region is one of the least developed and most remote in Nepal, and families depend on subsistence agriculture. Most of the men folk have traditionally migrated to work in India, or more recently to the Gulf or Malaysia to support families back home. Rukum West is also from where many young people have paid human traffickers to take them to the United States.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231104141112_57bc3667d3c96a8fa092654b3a0f653766148c91cd23fc392d08198045f527fc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20231104141112_57bc3667d3c96a8fa092654b3a0f653766148c91cd23fc392d08198045f527fc" data-rendition-name="original" width="3600" height="2400" loading="lazy" alt="W Nepal earthquake 2"> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure>  Although the earthquake was of moderate intensity and hit a sparsely populated area, the death toll was high because it struck at night when most people were sleeping at home. Also, houses here are flimsy, traditionally built with stones and mud mortar. Most of the reinforced concrete structures in the main market areas seem to have survived the shaking. The shallowness of the earthquake below the epicentre at Barekot of Jajarkot also seems to have meant that the heaviest damage is concentrated mainly in the two districts. Only one person was wounded in the neighbouring Rolpa district. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231104141116_3b45bbe69d386bc74ac3263b2e99c6d838a11aec2e48b71a9cfa48c1303ebbf7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20231104141116_3b45bbe69d386bc74ac3263b2e99c6d838a11aec2e48b71a9cfa48c1303ebbf7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1800" height="1350" loading="lazy" alt="W Nepal earthquake 3"> </figure>  In Barekot itself, chair of the rural municipality Bar Bahadur Giri said the destruction was beyond his town’s ability to handle it on its own. “Every house here is damaged, there are aftershocks, and people are camped out in the open to spend the second night,” he said by phone. After the first jolt, Giri and his staff started calling around and drove out on their motorcycles to the most affected areas to help dig people trapped under the rubble. Luckily, no one was killed in the municipality and there were only four injured who were taken to hospital. “Of the 3,587 houses in the municipality, 2,000 of them have completely collapsed,” Giri said. “The schools and health posts are also damaged. We urgently need tents, food for those who are out in the open.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231104141120_abcd10569e2da645684281bd1088f5272758c269c810924d883555da98851cc1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20231104141120_abcd10569e2da645684281bd1088f5272758c269c810924d883555da98851cc1" data-rendition-name="original" width="3600" height="2400" loading="lazy" alt="earthquake Surkhet "> </figure>  Jajarkot and Rukum West are so remote that medical are is difficult even in the best of times. The two districts have some of the highest child and maternal mortality rates in Nepal. Now, with the roads blocked by rockfalls, it is even more difficult. In 2008, a cholera epidemic caused by feral contamination of springs after a long drought killed at least 47 people in Jajarkot, many of them children. Jajarkot falls under the Health Service Directorate based in Surkhet that looks after 10 districts in Karnali. Its head Rabin Khadka says his office has sent 26 additional medical personnel, equipment and medicines to the affected areas by road since Saturday morning. Nurses and surgical teams have also been sent from hospitals run by the APF, Army and Police.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231104141116_93f4311f095f8cd59b6f32c09fa59e1403eeb02a644182d6fc93872907375b92.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20231104141116_93f4311f095f8cd59b6f32c09fa59e1403eeb02a644182d6fc93872907375b92" data-rendition-name="original" width="1800" height="1350" loading="lazy" alt="earthquake hospital"> <figcaption>Injured being treated at Jajarkot District Hospital.</figcaption> </figure>  “Whatever human resources and equipment and medicines we have here is not enough, we have asked Kathmandu to rush help,” Khadka said. “We also lack information about where the need is greatest, and what type of help is needed the most. We are just assuming that the requirements are great everywhere. We are also trying to send a surgical team to avoid long bumpy rides to hospital for the seriously injured.” Surkhet’s Bheri Hospital, Police and Army hospitals also have reared 105 beds for referral patients from the mountain districts. Seven severely injured have been medevaced to Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231104141120_28cea638ef250da3b6e4ddc7a3137c6db4b11650e419bc6d464c353e071b9811.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20231104141120_28cea638ef250da3b6e4ddc7a3137c6db4b11650e419bc6d464c353e071b9811" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="earthquake "> <figcaption>Seriously injured people have been taken to Bheri Hospital, Nepalganj.</figcaption> </figure>  According to Nepal police, as of Saturday evening105 people in Jajarkot, the epicentre of the earthquake and 52 in adjoining district of West Rukum have died, and 202 others are injured. Among the dead included Sarita Singh Thakuri, the Deputy Mayor of Nalgad Municipality, Jajarkot. Six districts in Karnali and Far West have been affected by the earthquake. This is the highest death toll since the 2015 earthquake which killed nearly 9,000 people. The Nepal Army has dispatched five helicopters and an aircraft for the rescue and relief operations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231104141124_aa5b0d42f91e1d9d2a54af6c748bef7babe433bf312b56bd229c2de1c52c5956.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20231104141124_aa5b0d42f91e1d9d2a54af6c748bef7babe433bf312b56bd229c2de1c52c5956" data-rendition-name="original" width="1030" height="760" loading="lazy" alt="Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal"> <figcaption>Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Rukum.</figcaption> </figure>  Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had visited Jajarkot district hospital this morning to meet survivors, and brought some of the severely injured with him in his Army helicopter to Surkhet. To ensure effective response, the Home Ministry has decided to entrust the District Disaster Management Committee the responsibility of streamlining rescue and relief through its Surkhet and Nepalganj hubs. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231104141124_e330974abe84edf98b39caf71b55efd42193ed7ae2abfa508679dafe146ccedf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20231104141124_e330974abe84edf98b39caf71b55efd42193ed7ae2abfa508679dafe146ccedf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Earthquake"> <figcaption>Injured being taken to Nepalganj.</figcaption> </figure>  The government has also decided to send Rs50 million to the disaster management fund of Jajarkot and West Rukum from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. Seismologists have long warned that a mega earthquake is due in western Nepal as there has not been one to release the tectonic pressure for over 600 years. But experts warn that the tremor on Friday may not have been enough to release the built-up tension.

Demographics of disaster in Nepal quake

<figure><img width="1366" height="630" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410118/637205d89c7e80680e0b28dbjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Jaglal Dagaura Tharu tends to his nursery in Kailali district.</figcaption></figure>After living most of his life as a bonded labourer, Jaglal Dagaura Tharu is building a home on a plot of land that he can finally call his own. Having started a successful nursery, the former landless family is now financially independent.Jaglal, 57, was born into a life of indentured servitude with his parents who were <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nothing-to-lose-but-their-chains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bonded labourers</a> at the house of a local zamindar landlord. This traditional system of modern-day slavery known as the kamaiya system was widespread in Nepal’s western plains until it was abolished twenty years ago.The young Jaglal grew up working all day long looking after the zamindar’s livestock at the edge of the forest. At age 12, he was ‘lent’ to a neighbour’s household to slave away for three years before returning to his original ‘owner’ Shyamlal Chaudhari.He got married, had a family of his own, but continued working for the landlord with four other brothers who were all also <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Modern-day-domestic-slaves-domestic-workers,3785" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bonded labourers</a>. With no income or property of their own, they had no way of freeing themselves from a life of slavery.But in 1979, when the Nepal Punarvas Company started distributing land to landless squatters, Jaglal’s father filled in an application. Three years later, the family received a 0.3 hectare plot in Kailali. It was a start.“We made a small hut but we did not have enough to eat so I remained a <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19418#.YfeHIy2B3-Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">kamaiya</a> for a few more years,” says Jaglal but he had already started looking at how to put the land to the best use.In 2000, he joined the District Forest Office to work in its nursery with a salary of Rs1,500 a month. Two years later, he was contracted to set up a new nursery for the office. There, for every sapling, he used to get Rs2 and his monthly income rose to Rs25,000.For the next 13 years, he worked at the Kailali District Forest Office, sent his son to a school with his earnings and even bought a piece of land. Jalal gets four batches of seeds every year in his nursery and makes up to Rs150,000 selling the seedlings. In 2018, he bought a motorcycle with the money he made from selling the seeds. <figure><img width="1366" height="630" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410118/637205db9c7e80680e0b28dcjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“When you have your own land, you reap all the benefits of your labour too, the result of my hard work is mine alone unlike when you slave away at someone else’s farm,” says Jaglal, who has managed to send a son to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/europe-now-favoured-destination-for-nepalis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Romania for work</a>, and bought another plot where he is finally building a home of his own. In July 2000, the Nepal government abolished the kamaiya system and liberated some 32,500 bonded labourers from districts in the western plains including Dang, Banke, Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur. Many of the former bonded labourers now have land in their own name thanks to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/ground-reality-of-landlessness-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">state sponsored land distribution</a>. With better access to education and healthcare, their lifestyle has also improved. Ramkumari Chaudhari, 45, was also born into a bonded labourer family near Dhangadi. Her parents married her off when she was young to a man who was also forced into a life of indentured servitude. Ramkumari with her husband Sanjay managed to sharecrop on land from the zamindar for vegetable farming. But when the landowner saw their success, he nullified the agreement and decided to farm himself. “If you want to make something of yourself in this country and be independent, you need a land of your own,” says Ramkumari, and the couple has managed to buy a small plot for their farm with a government grant. What started as a small business with two pigs has now expanded into a large swine farm spread in 0.2 hectares of land which earns them Rs40,000 a month. Ramkumari also runs a profitable vegetable farm on the side so the pigs get to eat the excess vegetables and the farm benefits from fertiliser from the sty. “We just had a hut before, but now we have a nice house. We have also bought a tractor for our farm,” says Ramkumari. “We no longer face the kind of hardships and mistreatment we did when we were kamaiya, we work without a worry. And the best thing is that your hard work earns you money.” Ramkumari and Sanjay can now afford to send their two sons to college, but the fact that many other neighbourhood children have not been able to continue their study worries her. They risk falling back to leading a l<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/from-slave-to-entrepreneur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ife of indentured servitude</a>, she points out. Radha Chaudhari, 36, of Dhangadi municipality is also getting ready to build her own house. Her husband Navaraj was a bonded labour from birth in Rajapur of Bardia and came to this town after being freed. <figure><img width="1366" height="630" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410118/637205df9c7e80680e0b28ddjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>But when the family did not receive any land, Navraj and Radha worked odd jobs to support their family. Navraj trained hard and is now a much sought-after mason.The government finally gave them a tiny plot of land near Dhangadi bazar, a prime location where they are planning to build their house and rent out the rest. “Our place is close to the market, which means better access to education, health facilities and jobs, we couldn’t be happier,” says Radha.In the two decades since they were freed, many <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Book-Review/Book-review-from-kamlari-to-lawmaker,690" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">former kamaiya</a> have found their feet. This is a success story of how former slaves have struggled to find independence, dignity and self-respect. But there are still some families who have fallen between the cracks.With the new federal system, the rehabilitation of kamaiyas was handed over to the local governments and many families found the paperwork too confusing and complicated and faced confusion and delays.There are 8,910 freed kamaiya families in the Kailali district, and most of them have been rehabilitated. But some 380 families are still waiting despite having an ID and land ownership documents.

Owning land gives former slaves self-respect

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd8e39c7e80680e0801e5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>It was bitterly cold up at 2,800m in a village in the mountains of western Nepal as a cold rain fell, and the forested ridges above were covered in snow.Chandu and Makar were waiting for the rain to stop, and night to fall. They are descendants of villagers whose profession was to hunt for game, and sell meat. It was seven days before the full moon, and perfect for night hunting because the moon was not so bright yet.They were going to be out in the wilderness for a week at a time, and had to carry food to last the trip. They also lugged two long barreled muskets, gunpowder, locally made ammunition, and a ramrod to load the rifles.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd8e79c7e80680e0801e6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd8ea9c7e80680e0801e7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Nepal’s royalty was known for its elaborate hunting trips in Chitwan and the Tarai jungles, where they bagged hundreds of tigers, rhinos, leopards, bears and even crocodiles at one go. It was more of a leisure activity, and an attempt to play hunting diplomacy with high profile British visitors in India.But for the past 50 years, hunting has been completely banned in Nepal – except for the Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve where trophy hunting of Himalayan tahr or ghoral is allowed. The license costs a hefty sum, but there are enough people around the world who can afford to fly in private jets all the way to Kathmandu, charter helicopters out to Dhorpatan.Hunting used to be a legitimate profession in rural Nepal till recently, and unlike the royal hunts, there was no overkill. The country’s forests in those days were teeming with pheasants, small mammals and deer, and the culling was important to keep the animal population in balance.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd8ee9c7e80680e0801e8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd8f29c7e80680e0801e9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Chandu and Makar are descendants of these professional hunters, and they still cater to the demand for wild game in the districts, although they have to do it clandestinely now. Knowledge about hunting, prey habits, stalking skills have all been passed down from generation to generation.But this is a dying breed, and Chandu and Makar are among very few hunters who secretly still carry the tradition in their village (which we cannot name), and they could possibly be the last ones.That afternoon, the phone rang. It was Chandu’s father, and Chandu told him that since it was raining there was no point going up the mountains because of the rain and snow. His father told Chandu to stick to the plan, and the weather may actually favour animal sightings.“How can you even call yourself a hunter? When I was your age, we used to go hunt even in the snow. Don’t be a coward,” his father's loud voice could be heard on his son’s mobile.As soon as he hung up, Chandu told Makar to get ready, and that they were moving out then and there. That night they stayed in a house up the ridge from the village. They tested their guns, but one of the muskets was not shooting properly. Instead of firing once with one big bang, it went “chhyat-tadyang-ga”, as Chandu put it, imitating the sound it made.  Eventually the musket was repaired, and the barrel cleaned. It was better than before, but still the gunshot sounded off every once in a while.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd8f59c7e80680e0801eajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The journey from the hut started early next morning before the sunrise to avoid detection. It was still dark and the path to the mountain forest was long and difficult with their destination at an altitude above 3,000 m.It is said that hunters make their own way, and it is true. There was no path. The undergrowth was so dense that thorns scratched the faces and hands. They had to stoop to avoid the lower branches, and sometimes crawl on all fours. They went deeper and deeper into the forest, and the ridgeline came into view.They were trying to move quietly, and Chandu suddenly stopped and signaled Makar to keep quiet and remain still. Slowly, he took off his backpack and lay it on the ground. Swiftly yet quietly, he took aim with his musket and fired. The sound reverberated through the forest, and echoed from the crags.Chandu disappeared into the undergrowth in the direction of his shot. He reappeared a few moments later with a pheasant dangling from his hands. He closed his eyes, bowed his head and muttered a prayer for the life he had taken.They stopped in a clearing further up, unpacked their bags and started to prepare lunch. It started raining, and they had three more hours to walk to the Odar overhang which would be their base camp for the next four days.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd8f99c7e80680e0801ebjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1002"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The rain turned to sleet and then snow as they climbed higher. The trail was now ankle deep in fresh snow. As darkness fell, they reached the overhang, the only shelter from the snow and wind on this mountain.After settling down in the cave, the two hurried off to collect firewood as it was getting darker. This was not easy since the wood was all wet, but they came back carrying a dry log on their shoulders. This should burn all night and keep them warm.Night does not mean sleep for hunters. It is the time the nocturnal animals are out, and off the two went to stalk and find prey. They walked slowly not making a sound, but there no sign of any animals. Hungry and tired, they returned to the cave and started preparing dinner.It took a long time for the fire to get going, but they managed it and melted some snow for water. Still the meal of rice and lentil took three hours because of the cold, and the altitude. The rice tasted a bit raw.It was a bitterly cold night. Chandu and Makar snuggled for warmth under a single sleeping bag beside the fire. They took turns to add wood to keep the fire burning throughout the night. By morning, there was no firewood left, and this was just the first of four nights.Chandu had given Makar strict instructions not to speak in the jungle unless absolutely necessary. They would whisper, or whistle instead and remain as quiet as possible. They saw some deer and impeyan pheasants, but they were too far to shoot accurately. The old muskets did not have the range.Chandu crouched towards his prey, hiding behind the thick undergrowth, to get closer. But no luck. The animals would either take flight, or simply disappear. He went into the surrounding forest several times a day, even at night with a torchlight pointing up at the branches, but always came back empty-handed. Hunting is like that, it is a matter of skill, training, patience, and lots of luck.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd8fe9c7e80680e0801ecjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd9029c7e80680e0801edjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd9069c7e80680e0801eejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Chandu was getting worried that his luck had run out. He has been coming to these forests with his father ever since he was a child, and knows all the nooks where the animals like to hide. But even then there were days when they had to return empty-handed.After five days in the jungle, they headed down to the village with just a pheasant to show for their effort. Makar was looking forward to going back to home food, and a warm bed. Chandu could not hide his disappointment because this was the first time he was returning empty handed. They returned exactly the way they had left, slipping into the village without anyone noticing the muskets they were carrying.This photo story was made during the International Storytelling Workshop 2020, hosted by photo.circle (Nepal) in collaboration with Oslo Metropolitan University (Norway), Pathshala South Asian Media Academy (Bangladesh), and VII Academy (USA).

Carrying on the hunting legacy in Nepal

<figure><img width="800" height="400" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141112/636ba7939c7e80680e07378fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>File photo: RADIO NEPAL</figcaption></figure>A massive thunderbolt in Nepal’s remote Jumla district on Sunday killed at least 500 sheep grazing in pastures high in the mountains, according to belated reports from the remote mountain region of northwestern Nepal.
The lightning struck during a monsoon storm on 23 August in Masimarema grazing land of Patrasi Rural Municipality and the sheep belonged to Bishnu Buda and Jaya Bahadur Buda of the Bagjalem Community Forest.
Because of the remoteness of the area, villagers have not been able to reach the site yet, said Ward Chair Kali Bahadur Rawat. The high pasture is the traditional grazing ground for the region’s livestock and dairy farmers during the monsoon months. 
Jumla’s chief district administrator Tek Bahadur Budathapa said the lightning strike was a major blow to the villagers of Patrasi whose main source of income is their livestock, and the sheep were being readied for sale during the Dasain festival in October. 
“The farmers were already hit by the economic crisis caused by the lockdown, and now this has happened, it is going to be difficult for them to survive and the government will do what it can to provide rehabilitation,” Budathapa said. 
This is the second worst disaster to hit the district’s animal husbandry in recent years. In 2013, more than 700 sheep were killed in winter blizzards.
With nearly <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/lightning-kills-more-people-than-floods-in-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/lightning-kills-more-people-than-floods-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1598442050550000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHl9gBpLKCjqD-TMmGcoHGyqCoONA">900 human fatalities in the past ten years</a>, lightning accounts for the highest number of deaths in natural disasters – second only to the 2015 earthquake. Nepal in fact tops the list of countries with the most lightning fatalities per unit area. More people die every year in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-if-it-roars-go-indoors,529" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-if-it-roars-go-indoors,529&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1598442050550000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFFX7COUVh1LjHmebdOJbW-vcv5xA">electric storms</a> in Nepal than in the whole of North America, according to statistics. 
Every year, an average of 100 people are killed by thunderbolts, and meteorologists say freak electrical storms are also occurring during unusual times, such as early mornings. Studies have linked the increase in intensity and frequency of thunderstorms to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-new-normal-2/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-new-normal-2/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1598442050550000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE0AK7Jt2l1xAZ_LEvl9VmY4YUxtw">climate change</a>.    
Nepal is also the most densely populated mountainous country in the world, and lighting in the mountains are also deadlier because the flashes have to travel less distance. Within Nepal, Makwanpur district south of Kathmandu has the highest death rate from lightning strike with 70 deaths in the past seven years. In the same period, Jumla only had three fatalities from lightning. 
Update: District authorities at the Livestock Support Department said on Tuesday that 217 sheep were killed.

Lightning kills 500 sheep in western Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121112/636b8b0b9c7e80680e06b278jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="854" height="641"/><figcaption>A doctor in Hima Village Council in Jamla collects swab of a patient on Tuesday. Photo: DHIRAJ GURUNG</figcaption></figure>After being in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/unto-the-third-week-of-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lockdown now for nearly three weeks</a>, Nepal has started testing vulnerable groups in high-risk areas, but so far there have been no new COVID-19 positive cases. The numbers still stand at nine cases, one recovered and no fatalities.The government is focussing its tests on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-may-be-taking-coronavirus-to-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">western Nepal</a> and tarai districts where there have been returning migrant workers from India. Although the border is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-and-india-stop-nationals-in-each-others-countries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supposed to be closed</a> it is still possible for people to slip through.So far 3,524 tests have been conducted all over the country. 630 new tests (samples mostly from Kathmandu Valley) conducted in the last 24 hours did not show any positive case. Of the rapid diagnostic results conducted in Kailali, Kanchanpur, Kavilvastu and Baglung districts this week, 516 have come out negative.However, over 800 samples collected from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/western-nepal-potential-covid-19-outbreak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">western Nepal</a> have yet to be tested at the National Public Health Laboratory in Kathmandu and public health experts are expecting the number of positive cases to climb over the weekend.At least 120,000 Nepali workers have returned from India without screening before both countries went into lockdown, and people from western region make up the highest number of returnees.“We have to assume there are more cases out there, especially in hotspots along the Indian border, and even in remote areas where migrants have moved back. Local communities and ward committees there are strictly monitoring residents for symptoms,” says Sameer Dixit, researcher at the Centre for Molecular Dynamics in Kathmandu.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/western-nepal-potential-covid-19-outbreak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Western Nepal potential COVID-19 outbreak</a>In Jumla, medical officers are on standby for a rise in the number of positive cases, as local officials move house-to-house to check if any new arrival has a fever. Families in quarantine and deemed to be at higher risk have been tested even if they do not show symptoms.“Many of those tested had recently come back from the most affected parts in India and we already have a case of local transmission in the country, so there may be some positives there,” said Dhiraj Gurung of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (KAHS).<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121112/636b8b0e9c7e80680e06b279jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3088" height="2056"><figcaption>A Nepal Army helicopter at Bayalpata Hospital in Achham district in western Nepal on Tuesday from where it collected 51 swab samples for COVID-19 tests. Photo: BIKASH GAUCHAN</figcaption></figure>Over 1,300 samples have been collected over the last two days from from Jumla, Achham, Baitadi and Dadeldhura districts in western Nepal. Some 324 oral and nasopharyngeal swab samples from three different locations in Jumla were collected on 7 April: 150 at Chandanath airport, 124 from Hima Village Council and 50 from Kanaka Sundari in Sinja.Another 232 samples were collected from Achham district, 199 from Dadeldhura and 425 from Baitadi. Recent returnees from India, their immediate family members and those in quarantine were prioritised for the rapid diagnostic tests. Samples were flown in Nepal Army helicopters to Nepalganj, from where collected samples are taken every evening by military plane to Kathmandu for testing.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-may-be-taking-coronavirus-to-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Returnees maybe taking coronavirus to rural Nepal</a>, Mukesh Pokhrel and Sonia AwaleInitially, hospitals in western Nepal had collected only a handful of samples because there were not enough Viral Transport Medium (an equipment to transport the samples to the lab). Mass testing is now being carried out with 11 laboratories across the Nepal set up for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).The PCR amplifies tiny bits of genetic material in the sample, enabling the detection of the virus. But there has been significant number of false positive and negative test results since the outbreak.Rapid diagnostic test kits have been controversial because of their reported unreliability in Europe, but health experts here say they have 86%, and those testing positive will be tested again with PCR. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-to-test-covid-19-test-kits-from-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Chinese kits</a> are being used in Kailali, Kanchanpur, Baglung, Myagdi and Parbat districts for people in quarantine. The government has some 75,000 rapid test kits, and has dispatched 5,000 to each each of the seven provinces.In Jumla, KAHS has over 47 staff and 100 nurses on call and 10 adult ICU beds have been added in anticipation of new cases. In Achham, the district hospital has been designated as a COVID-19 only hospital. Province 5 is trying to procure 20 ventilators. But despite preparedness, hospital staff say the region’s rudimentary healthcare system will be overwhelmed if there is a COVID-19 outbreak. The Health Ministry is therefore mobilising medical students on scholarship programs and retired medics to assist to fight COVID-19.“We do not know the exact number of people who have returned from India and even less about how many of them have symptoms, and where they are. We have to continue to work in prevention and control as well as increase mass testing,” explains Bikash Gauchan of Bayalpata Hospital in Achham which has set up a fever clinic and a separate ward.Four months into the pandemic, Nepal has been largely spared with only handful cases and only one community transmission. Public health experts are puzzled by this, and say possible theories like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/western-nepal-potential-covid-19-outbreak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BCG vaccine immunity</a> warrant further investigation.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/could-an-anti-tb-vaccine-be-protecting-nepalis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Could an anti-Tb vaccine be protecting Nepalis?</a>, Prabhas PokharelThe main worry is the continued spread in India where there were 30 new COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 199. The case load in India have been rising at 567 per day.“There are sure to be more imported cases. But where are they? There is no severity, and only one community transmitted case. So something is going on,” says Sameer Dixit.Dhiraj Gurung who was involved in the Jumla testing said a larger than expected number turned up for the test, which may mean there are hidden cases. “But when we asked people to come for quarantine, very few showed up. This could mean there are individuals with mild symptoms, but there are not coming forward for fear of being ostracised.”The government has extended the nationwide lockdown till 15 April because it does not want families to gather for Nepal’s New Year Day on Monday. Experts say partial lockdowns will continue in areas at higher risk, and international flights may have to be suspended for another two weeks after 30 April.Says Sher Bahadur Pun at the country’s infectious disease centre in Kathmandu: “We are already in the second stage of COVID-19 transmission and the next stage will be serious. We cannot be complacent, and our only chance of containing it is to stop hidden cases from infecting others with an even stricter lockdown.”

Nepal extends COVID-19 testing but no new cases

<figure><img width="1500" height="1125" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110912118/636b8ab19c7e80680e06b255jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Sodasha Higher Secondary School in western Nepal is undergoing retrofitting as an earthquake preparedness model for future quakes in the region. Photo: NSET</figcaption></figure>With the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/western-nepal-potential-covid-19-outbreak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">detection of three new COVID-19 cases</a> in Kailali district on Saturday, one of them the country’s first case of community transmission, western Nepal could be the epicentre for two disasters: a coronavirus hot spot, and a ticking time bomb for a mega-earthquake.This is not scare-mongering. Public health experts say western Nepal’s rudimentary healthcare system will be overwhelmed by a possible COVID-19 outbreak because at least 120,000 Nepali workers have returned from India without screening before both countries went into lockdown.   The government is extending rapid diagnostic testing to hospitals in Nepalganj, Dhangadi, Surkhet and Dadeldhura and there may be a surge in positive cases in the days ahead.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-may-be-taking-coronavirus-to-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Returnees maybe taking coronavirus to rural Nepal</a>, Mukesh Pokhrel and Sonia Awale<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/rebuilding-five-years-after-2015-quake/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rebuilding five years after 2015 quake</a>, Alisha SijapatiHowever, there is another Damocle’s Sword that has been hanging over the region even before novel coronavirus – the likelihood of a catastrophic mega-earthquake. As Nepal marks the fifth anniversary of its 2015 earthquake, seismologists have warned that an even bigger megaquake is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110912118/636b8ab39c7e80680e06b256jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="252" height="128">The region between Pokhara and Nepal’s western border with India has not had a major earthquake since 1505 when an estimated 8.9M temblor killed one third of Kathmandu Valley’s population including the king, devastated north India, and created the debris fan from a cataclysmic flood on which Pokhara city is situated today.Speaking with Nepali Times, seismologist <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/aint-seen-nothing-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roger Bilham warned</a> five years ago that the 2015 was not the Big One. He said the seismic gap in western Nepal had accumulated tremendous tectonic energy that had not been released for 500 years, and an earthquake was long overdue.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/past-disasters-foretold/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Past disasters foretold</a>, Om Astha Rai<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/aint-seen-nothing-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ain't seen nothing yet</a>, Editorial“There’s a plenty of stress stored for an earthquake above 8 magnitude in western Nepal, and it could kill at least 100,000 people in Nepal alone,” says Surya Narayan Shrestha of the National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET). “But despite being the most at risk, western Nepal is less prepared and has relatively low awareness about earthquake safety, and this doubles its vulnerability.”In two weeks, Nepal will mark the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/rebuilding-five-years-after-2015-quake/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fifth anniversary of the 25 April 2015 earthquake</a> yet neither the government nor the people seem to have learnt the lesson. Western Nepal, in particular, is ill-equipped to handle another major earthquake. <img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110912118/636b8ab49c7e80680e06b257jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figure><img width="640" height="360" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110912118/636b8ab79c7e80680e06b258jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>A major earthquake of greater than An 8M quake in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/past-disasters-foretold/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">western Nepal</a> would be felt even more strongly in Kathmandu Valley than the 7.8M disaster five years ago. Still, disaster preparedness experts say attention should now turn from the 14 districts in Central Nepal affected in 2015 to western Nepal.Before the COVID-19 lockdown, Nepal had begun to retrofit 2,200 classrooms in around 200 schools in four western districts Bardia, Surkhet, Jumla and Achham to be completed in four years with funding support of DFID UKAID under the Nepal Safer Schools Project (NSSP). NSSP is being implemented by a consortium led by Crown Agents together with NSET, Save the Children and Arup International and is aligned with and contribute to the Government of Nepal’s School Sector Development Plan (2016-2023) which includes a focus on School Safety and Disaster Risk Reduction. Prior to 2015, NSET had similarly retrofitted around 300 schools in Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas which survived the earthquake and served as emergency shelters. However, <a style="letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/earthquake-an-opportunity-to-rebuilt-education-system-not-just-fallen-schools,2336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nearly 8,000 schools were completely destroyed</a> in 2015, and colossal loss of lives was averted only because the earthquake struck on a Saturday.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/quake-was-a-learning-experience-for-nepals-schools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Quake was a learning experience for Nepal's schools</a>, Prakriti Kandel“We selected the schools in western based on vulnerability, potential for replication, availability of masons and enthusiasm of the school management committee,” adds Shrestha. “Next step is to scale this up and this means more investment, technical support and massive mobilisation of human resources.”Hospitals in western Nepal at the moment are all on red alert for a possible outbreak of COVID-19 in the region and healthcare workers are keenly aware of shortages of live-saving medical equipment such as test kits, ventilators, ICU beds, oxygen and personal protective gear. In an event of a major earthquake, this situation will be even worse because the hospital buildings themselves may be damaged.Three components within a healthcare facility determine if a hospital will be functional during an earthquake: seismic resistance of the building, state of power supply and medical equipment, and an emergency preparedness system with health workers trained for mass casualties.Dadeldhura hospital has been identified as a disaster management hub in Far West Nepal with satellite facilities in other district hospitals.“For the kind of earthquake projected here, none of us is prepared, western Nepal the least of all. We might have big hospitals in city centres but can the buildings withstand the quake is the real question,” says Bikash Gauchan of Bayalpata hospital in Achham.Few weeks before the earthquake struck in 2015, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/this-is-how-to-upgrade-nepals-rural-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bayalpata hospital had undergone reconstruction</a> to turn the institution into an eco-friendly, earthquake resistant facility. A disaster management protocol was also drawn up for triage in its emergency, as well as in and out patient buildings.Gauchan says hospitals in the Far West have to be prepared for multiple disasters: “We can’t overhaul our system every time a disaster strikes, be it the coronavirus or an earthquake. We need a standard operating protocol based on concrete national guidelines.”Back in 2003, Nepal government in collaboration with WHO had conduced earthquake vulnerability assessment of 15 major hospitals across the country that recommended they all be retrofitted. More than 15 years later, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/preparedness-saves-lives,2264" target="_blank" rel="noopener">except from minor strengthening of health clinics</a>, nothing has been done.Hope now rests on the newly formed National Risk Reduction and Disaster Management Authority (DMA) which will replace the National Reconstruction Authority set up after 2015. Experts hope the focus will now shift to strengthening infrastructure of public buildings, transmission lines, telecommunication, sewage and water supply.Says Surya Narayan Shrestha at NSET: “We spent the last fives years mostly in the reconstruction of residential building and heritage sites in Central Nepal. Our priority now is on reinforcing infrastructure and ensuring essential services are better equipped to survive the next big one.” <h2>Preparing to be prepared</h2> <img width="1754" height="1146" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110912118/636b8aba9c7e80680e06b259jpeg.jpg" alt="">Nepal was just beginning preparations for risk reduction and management of disasters like earthquakes, floods, landslides and epidemics when the 2015 earthquake struck. This year, the Disaster Management Authority (DMA) has been formed which has listed 22 different kinds of disasters Nepalis are exposed to.The winter of 2017 saw 48 fatalities in a cold wave in the Tarai. Two years later, no one died in a similar cold wave. The Home Ministry’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Working Committee is credited with such pre-preparedness for blizzards, cold and heat waves, and monsoon floods.An average of 700 people die every year in Nepal due to disasters, most of these are weather related. The climate crisis is exacerbating extreme rainfall events, and the ministry has drawn up a Monsoon Emergency Workplan to address increased frequency and intensity fo floods.“We have to be prepared, and preparation is most effective when it is at the local level since they are the first responders,” says Anil Pokhrel of the DMA. With the help of the British aid agency DfID and the world Food Programme (WFP) the government is setting up Humanitarian Staging Areas in all seven provinces for stockpiling food and relief material for disasters. The central station was in operation at Kathmandu airport during the 2015 earthquake.New staging areas  in Dhangadi and Nepalganj were inaugurated by British Ambassador Nicola Pollitt and WFP’s Pippa Bradford recently (pictured above). Western Nepal is important because of the special seismic risk there. Each staging area can address the emergency needs of up to 70,000 people at a time. The staging areas house tents,  health and sanitation kits, water purifying equipment, fuel storage, satellite phones, search and rescue equipment and pre-positioned water supply.Proximity to the airport allows the relief material to be helicoptered out to the affected areas, and also to be resupplied from Kathmandu, quickly.Laxmi Basnet in Dhangadi

Sonia Awale

Epicentre of two disasters in West Nepal

<figure><img width="765" height="437" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110912118/636b8a149c7e80680e06b21fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Nepalis returninghome from India. Photo: DINESH KHABAR</figcaption></figure>The detection of three new cases of coronavirus in Dhangadi on Sunday has led public health experts to urge more widespread testing and stricter quarantine for people returning from India to their homes in western Nepal.Nepal closed its border with India nearly two weeks ago leaving thousands of Nepali workers stranded on the Indian side, as both countries went into <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-covid-19-lockdown-extended-till-7-april/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-covid-19-lockdown-extended-till-7-april/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586092619999000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEtgqzv2nOyVF9gAhSRqdZVGELQ7g">lockdown</a>. However, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-may-be-taking-coronavirus-to-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-may-be-taking-coronavirus-to-rural-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586092619999000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGsarZsMXGEz_I960Sf7g8JcCLNCA">many thousands of others returned to their villages</a> through the porous border.The three new patients bring the total of infected people in Nepal to 9, although an earlier patient recovered. Two of the new detections were men aged 21 and 41 who had recently returned from India.The third person is a 34-year-old female relative of a man who had flown in from Dubai two weeks ago, and travelled from Kathmandu to Kailali in western Nepal. She is the first community transmission case detected in Nepal, all other eight patients had come to Nepal from Europe, China or India. A Cabinet meeting on Saturday decided to conduct rapid diagnostic testing in the three districts where new cases have been found: Kailali, Kanchanpur and Baglung. “We are going in for mass-testing in the three districts through contact tracing and of all individuals suspected of being infected,” government spokesman and Finance and Information Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada told a press briefing.The Cabinet also decided to ban with immediate effect all inter-provincial travel, and people going from one district and local government unit to another. It also decided to enforce more strictly the lockdown.Public health experts had said in-country infections were inevitable, and they are actually surprised that it has taken so long for it to appear. One reason could be that Nepal has only now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/lockdown-fallout/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/lockdown-fallout/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586092619999000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH4DjzpJtVpEA9KKKNs2GWuB7lMaQ">expanded its testing</a> to places beyond Kathmandu. This would mean that the country’s case load which had so far been relatively low compared to neighbouring South Asian countries, will go up in the coming week.They expect western Nepal to be a hot spot for a possible future spread of the virus because of the large number of Nepali workers returning home without screening from India after the lockdown there. <a href="https://corona.health-check.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://corona.health-check.in&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586092619999000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEtn78BJWNgE4E-ky3rY7dZSbyWJw">India reported 355 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday</a>, pushing the total to 2,902, and there have been 68 fatalities so far with 184 patients have been discharged after treatment. Of the four Indian states bordering Nepal, the most populous Uttar Pradesh has 174 official infections and has recorded two deaths, while Bihar has 29 cases and one death. Uttarakhand, from where one of the cases detected in Nepal on Sunday came from, has 16 cases.Police records in Darchula show that 128,022 people entered Nepal before the border was sealed. Many of those trapped on the Indian side have been swimming across the Mahakali river, or using tyre tubes to float over to the Nepali side. The India-Nepal border is mostly open and porous, and even at official checkpoints health desks are only equipped with thermometers. The mountainous districts of western Nepal are considered to be the most vulnerable because every family has at least one worker in India who has now returned.“If anyone is infected here, it is going to be a disaster. All we have are thermometers,” says Padam Giri, mayor of the Budhinanda municipality in Bajura, one of the remotest districts in northwestern Nepal. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/poverty-the-real-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/poverty-the-real-pandemic/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586092619999000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFoWz2zCWh8hg2ryY6zMKdGEFhMlw">Bikash Gauchan at the Bayalpata Hospital</a> in Accham district says many thousands of Nepalis have returned to western Nepal from Maharastra, Delhi and Bihar, which are the hardest-hit COVID-19 states in India. He adds: “We have a few ventilators in the entire western Nepal, and a limited stock of oxygen. We will not be able to do anything if the situation is to turn for worse.”

Western Nepal potential COVID-19 outbreak

https://youtu.be/W4CZxpM1mrITen years after the government finally abolished bonded debt labour, tens of thousands of Haliyas in western Nepal continue to suffer from this form of modern-day slavery.A person became a Haliya if the family could not pay back money borrowed from loan sharks at exorbitant interest rates. They were forced to work for free to pay back the debt, but many spent their whole lives in slavery because the interest kept piling up. The loan was then passed down to the next generation.Even though the practice is now banned, activists say that there are about 25,000 still working as bonded labourers in some of the most remote and underserved districts of western Nepal.Parmaram Tiruwa of Tirgaun of Baitadi was not on the list of about 17,000 Haliya who were ‘freed’, and today makes a living breaking stones by the roadside and working for his employer for a minimum wage.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171120/636930529c7e80680e03c0f1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"/><figcaption>Janaki and Parmaram Tiruwa of Tirgaun, Baitadi, still make their living through bonded labour. Photos: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>“There was serious under-counting while identifying Haliya, and since the government only counts those with official IDs, there has to be another data collection drive urgently,” says Rajuram Bhul, former president of Federation of National Haliya Liberation Societies. The government admits there may have been omissions, but is not inclined to do anything about it for now. “There may be people missing in our list but we are first resettling those identified as Haliya in the first phase. We do not want to take both processes forward simultaneously,” says Gopal Giri who heads the Settlement Management Department in Kathmandu.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-fake-poor/">Nepal's fake poor</a>, Nimendra Shahi in Baitadi<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=14182#.W9KyHXszbIV">Slave labour</a>, Madhav Dhungel<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171120/636930559c7e80680e03c0f2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>But even those identified as Haliya in the first count are not happy with their resettlement packages to build homes. Half of them are still waiting for compensation. The government has set the unrealistic target of resettling all remaining Haliya by the end of this fiscal year, but few are convinced.Those who got compensation packages of Rs150,000-500,000 say the amount was insufficient to get them started in life. Ram Bahadur Parki of Dadeldhura is well known because he was the first Haliya to be freed 10 years ago.“It is good to have my own place to live in, but with the money the government gave, I could only afford this barren land,” lamented Parki, who is luckier than most because he has a salaried job with the Federation.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171120/636930589c7e80680e03c0f3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The government says it is concentrating on providing land, not livelihoods for freed Haliya, but this threatens their health, education, employment and very survival. Matadevi Damai of Dipayal received seeds, hen, sewing machine and tailoring training from various charities, but life is still a struggle.Sabitri Bhul in Sanfebagar of Achham has two sons, one of whom sends money home from India, while another studied to be an agriculture technician, but is jobless. She asks: “What is the use of education, if nobody trusts us?”Then there are reports of some Haliya lapsing back into debt slavery, and going back to work for their old masters out of sheer desperation.“Much progress has been made in the past ten years but it is very slow, and one reason could be because they are Dalit,” says Hari Shreepaili, former CA member and coordinator of the Committee on Haliya Rehabilitation. “Indeed, up to 94% of Haliya are Dalit, and caste discrimination adds another layer of injustice to their lives. Back in Baitadi, Basanti Tiruwa automatically splashes her feet and drinks water from a tap set aside for Dalits, and does not touch a tap meant for the ‘upper’ castes.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171120/6369305c9c7e80680e03c0f4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In this village, there have always been two springs: one for the Dalits and one for the others. "Even today we are not allowed to touch the other water source,” Tiruwa explains.Among Tirgaun’s 20 families, only one person has passed Grade 10. Most make a living through wage labour, and the village suffers from water scarcity. Tea shops in the bazar still do not buy their milk, victims of rape are overwhelmingly Dalit and the perpetrators from outside the community. The town has always had two temples: both called Jagannath, and even the temple of the Dalits looks dilapidated.Says Dalit rights activist Karan Dayal: “We should evaluate the resettlement packages already handed out, and the next phase of identifying the remaining Haliya needs to start immediately.”Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=14182#.W9F7GHszbIU">Slave labour</a><a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/leapfrogging-poverty-in-Nepal-guest-editorial,960">Leapfrogging poverty</a>, Vidyadhar Mallik<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171120/636930609c7e80680e03c0f5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171120/636930639c7e80680e03c0f6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">The two Jagannath temples of Gothalapani, Baitadi. Dalits cannot go to the big Jagannath temple (left), while their own small temple looks more dilapidated.

Nothing to lose but their chains

Architecture can be a powerful agent of change, shaping not just spaces but the way people live, connect, and experience the world.&nbsp; For Nepal, which is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/natures-fragile-gift-to-nepal">gifted by nature</a> and rich in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/ambassador-fund-cultural-preservation-nepal,2092">cultural heritage</a>, &nbsp;reviving rural architecture with modern amenities could hold the key to more <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-sustainable-tourism-means-in-practice">sustainable tourism </a>that benefits local people more. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/bayalpata-hospital-in-nepal-wins-global-design-award">Design and architecture</a> are amazing tools to create a unique experience for visitors,” says Spanish architect Tomeu Esteva of Esteva i Esteva Architecture Studio. “Difficult destinations have beautiful hotels with design and comfort.” Esteva was in Kathmandu with his colleagues at an event organised by the Spanish Honorary Consulate at Dwarika’s Hotel last week to showcase buildings which Nepali architects can adapt with local material and design inputs.&nbsp; Rural architecture holds a unique significance: it is more than a shelter and must reflect <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/inking-an-idenity">local identity, culture</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-humla-from-heritage-loss">heritage</a>. An area’s natural and cultural harmony can be upset by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-protected-areas-from-infrastructure?fbclid=IwAR1wK0MDFlFST_2EYb3f54LS4-fPt6rYfLG1DJ1JaQsU3w8-ezyXIxGOqzk">poorly planned development</a>, speakers at the event said, but the environment can be improved and revitalised by well-integrated structures.&nbsp; Another Spanish architect, Belen Moneo, has designed hotels at elevations of 3,700m in her home country Spain that supply natural spring water spas. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/lost-in-reconstruction">Creativity in construction</a> must be encouraged. Rural architecture always shows possibilities of what we can do better,” Moneo explains, adding that designs must enhance <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-healing-power-of-nature">the beauty of nature</a> and give a natural feel at a time when steel, glass and cement dominate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/rebuilding-kathmandu-after-the-1934-quake">urban design</a>.&nbsp; This is why the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/weaving-nature-into-craft">use of natural products</a> such as bamboo, local timber, straw and rammed earth are in demand from customers who want a fresh eco-friendly look encouraged in construction of rural architectural structures. The demand for boutique hotels has increased world over, with &nbsp;more and more tourists favouring aesthetics, experience and comfort over price. While creativity is an important part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/architecture-for-mountains">construction and architecture</a>, incentives to build and use <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Building,370">rural construction materials</a> still remain minimal, and Moneo emphasises the significance of design and execution.&nbsp; Esteva helped design the Vana Retreat in Dehradun that kept the natural environment in focus, with the structure giving an elaborate aesthetic experience to visitors. Another example is Hotel Las Mercedes in the Dominican Republic which was designed and constructed by Moneo and the company she co-founded Moneo Brock, respecting and revaluing the traditional architecture of the area. Hotels providing such experience could attract tourists and revenue. The Spanish ambassador to Nepal Juan Antonio March Pujol said, “The role of architecture and architects in developing tourism is crucial, not only in urban areas but rural settings as well.”&nbsp; The concept of rural boutique hotels gained traction in Spain during the 1990s, particularly in regions like Majorca with economic and environmental sustainability as the main focus. In Nepal <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/12-full-opinion/guiding-nepal-s-tourism-industry">the tourism industry</a> directly employs about 1 million people, and makes up about 8% of the country’s GDP. In Nepal, the stone homes of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/reviving-himalayan-vulture-and-culture">Mustang and Manang</a>, bamboo and mud structures of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-tarai-s-shrinking-forests">the Tarai</a>, and the Kathmandu Valley’s terra cotta tile skylines, graceful temples, and tranquil bahal courtyards are all examples of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-traditional-seismic-resistant-designs">Nepal’s traditional architecture</a>.&nbsp; Nepali architect Sarosh Pradhan has been working for the past eight years on the Brakka Village project in Manang Valley north of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/municipalities-want-to-manage-annapurna">the Annapurnas</a>. Other examples of this kind of rural architecture for high-end tourism are the Shinta Mani Hotel in Mustang and Khumbu Lodge below <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a>. Says Pradhan, “There are places in Nepal that radiate purity and embrace simplicity. Creating projects in such settings require deep reflection and thoughtful planning.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421030444_a07a23f6b60fa89c0f35b9dc1aaf19937da4881e6bfb2e1858f3c27dff91729f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="20250421030444_a07a23f6b60fa89c0f35b9dc1aaf19937da4881e6bfb2e1858f3c27dff91729f" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="2184" loading="lazy" alt="A new architecture for Nepal's tourism"> </figure>  Rural architecture is not easy, and sometimes more expensive. Inflation, energy efficiency, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/those-who-stay">the climate crisis</a>, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/cost-of-living-in-a-big-city">increased costs of living</a> pose obstacles to sustainable rural architecture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/forgotten-international-starchitects-in-nepal">Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal</a>, Anne Feenstra and Varun S Bapu Esteva says faith and trust between client and architect is necessary for any project to be successful. He adds that architects must practice being humble, the process of designing always involves learning and not imposing their ideas on clients. Nepal is uniquely positioned for the growth of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hiking-up-the-benefits-of-tourism">rural tourism</a> because of its stunning countryside as well as its internationally renowned traditions in holistic wellness. Creating infrastructure that is small, thoughtfully planned and that respects both tradition and contemporary hospitality standards is crucial. “Projects in Nepal can be made cost effective by using materials from houses that have been brought down,” says Esteva. “Pilot projects involving <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/local-government-by-the-people-for-the-people-of-the-people">local people </a>and simple designing also helps the process.” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/vacant-homes-become-homestays-in-nepal">The growth of homestays in Nepal</a> is a step in the right direction, but they are still a bit too rustic for the international traveller who also wants comfort and is willing to pay extra for it. Upgrading the facilities in homestays and ensuring that the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-archive-of-nepali-heritage">architectural heritage</a> of the locality is preserved using locally sourced building material could allow owners to charge more. Says Sangita Shrestha of Dwarika’s Hotel, “Our effort is to build upon rural architecture by empowering local communities and using what is available locally. We can fine tune and encourage indigenous design and training.” The vision goes beyond just boosting the economy, it is about building a future where tourism helps villages grow in a healthy and lasting way. Instead of using up resources, it gives back to the land and the people. It supports local communities by<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/staying-in-nepal-to-create-jobs"> creating jobs</a>, improving infrastructure, and protecting natural beauty. When done right, tourism can be a tool for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/progress-and-or-preservation">preserving culture and nature</a>, not harming them. Architects must therefore see their work as more than just designing buildings, they also need to care deeply about people and places, especially in rural areas that can benefit the most.&nbsp; With global interest in sustainable and off-the-beaten-path travel increasing, Nepal stands at the cusp of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/missing-out-on-nepal-s-tourism-potential">tourism transformation</a> that values community-driven, eco-conscious hospitality. A mix of modern ideas and traditional knowledge could transform rural tourism in Nepal. Says Shrestha, “Young architects should spend time with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/the-unsung-heroes-of-conservation">local and indigenous communities</a>, listen to their stories, and learn from their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/life-and-livelihood-in-remote-nepal">ways of living</a>. These communities have deep knowledge about the land, materials, and climate. If this wisdom is used in new designs, it can help create tourism spaces that truly benefit everyone.” &nbsp;

A new architecture for Nepal's tourism

Extract from an addendum to Nepal's Two Wars, Chapter 2 in the updated edition of Essays on Nepal: Past and Present by Sam Cowan, a retired British Army general with a long association with the Gurkhas. The book was first published in 2018, and republished earlier this month by FinePrint exclusively on Amazon. The addendum details a one-to-one conversation the author had in the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8884">Royal Palace </a>with the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8371">King Gyanendra</a> in November 2002 just after he had taken his initial steps on the road that ultimately led to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=14681">the abolition of the monarchy</a> in Nepal in 2008. In the early evening of September 16, 2002, in my role as Colonel Commandant of the Brigade of Gurkhas, I had my second and last official audience with King Gyanendra to give him an update on the Brigade’s activities over the previous 12 months. I had some 6 or 7 such audiences with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/preserving-king-birendra-s-family-home">King Birendra</a>.&nbsp; These were official affairs with the British ambassador of the day present, along with key <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12233">palace officials</a> and a representative from Nepal's Foreign Ministry. The two monarchs were very different in character and temperament, but both treated me with the utmost civility and made the audiences as relaxed and easy for me as possible.&nbsp; It is, however, worth recording that when the official business had been covered, King Birendra, with a twinkle in his eye, often ended by asking, “Now General, what’s the gossip in London?” The second audience with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8026">King Gyanendra </a>was my last official act in uniform. We came back to Kathmandu in the first week of November (after treks) to stay for a few nights with our Defence Attaché before heading back to the UK. Waiting for me was a message from the Palace saying that King Gyanendra would like to meet me informally: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=6933">no uniform</a> and no ambassador.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080420_f9046f9882d4481781d14f2b64f18c7fbbea62562e1d74e3465de6d01fb43750.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250421080420_f9046f9882d4481781d14f2b64f18c7fbbea62562e1d74e3465de6d01fb43750" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="2406" loading="lazy" alt="Gyanendra crowned page 1"> <figcaption>Nepali Times Special Edition of 6-14 June 2001 with enthronement of Gyanendra. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080424_21333d6ae21828eb47fe3f849438d215fe2804460d47bb2896ef4aee4e895ad2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250421080424_21333d6ae21828eb47fe3f849438d215fe2804460d47bb2896ef4aee4e895ad2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1857" loading="lazy" alt="Royal massacre"> <figcaption>Nepali Times 22-29 June 2001 covering the royal massacre after which Gyanendra became king. </figcaption> </figure>  Although I had no idea what the purpose of the meeting might be, events in Kathmandu since I last saw the king put me on edge. On October 4, 2002, Gyanendra had dismissed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, allegedly for failing to hold <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/what-goes-on-in-nepal-s-elections">elections</a>. He had put in place a new prime minister and a cabinet personally selected by him. When I heard the news on my travels, the people I met were generally supportive of the king’s actions. There was a general view that something had to be done, the country was going nowhere, and the king deserved his chance, not least to solve<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/14-years-after-conflict-no-closure-in-nepal"> the Maoist </a>problem. Back in Kathmandu, views were not so sanguine. The chosen prime minister, Lokendra Bahadur Chand, was a relic from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/mob-movement-and-mayhem">the Panchayat period</a> whose party had failed to win a single seat in the last elections held in 1999. Some of the chosen cabinet ministers had, to put it mildly, dubious reputations, and others had no record of proven competence in any field. There was a fear that the king’s real motive in dismissing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/deubas-denouement">Deuba</a> was to start to reverse the democratic gains made since 1990. I informed <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-britain-mark-centenary-of-1923-treaty">the British ambassador</a> about the invitation. He was strongly against accepting it, which was probably the clinching reason for my decision to do the polite thing and accept it. On the evening of November 7, 2002, I presented myself at the royal palace, alone and in civilian attire.&nbsp; As in the past, the Military Secretary, Major General Vivek Shah, met and escorted me into the presence of the monarch. This time, however, he was politely asked to leave the room and shut the door behind him. King Gyanendra greeted me warmly and invited me to sit down.&nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-ghost-of-monarchy-returns-to-haunt-nepal"> The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal</a>, Shristi Karki  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080424_e382af945d0ad2a04ae41fabe5393f793dd10f54cb1220f111c7c9e7423eb558.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250421080424_e382af945d0ad2a04ae41fabe5393f793dd10f54cb1220f111c7c9e7423eb558" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="993" loading="lazy" alt="Gyanendra coup"> <figcaption>Nepali Times 4-10 February 2005 after king Gyanendra's coup imposed media censorship. anendra became king. </figcaption> </figure>  I had wondered, and to be truthful, had worried, not just about the purpose of the meeting, but about how the conversation might start and develop. I reduced my resolve to two points: be polite but speak candidly. The latter resolve was quickly put to the test with the king’s opening words: “Sam, [in previous meetings it had been ‘General’, you walk the highways and byways of this land more than most, tell me what the common man is thinking?” &nbsp;“Your Majesty, I have no idea what they are thinking, but they are waiting.” “Waiting?” “Yes, Your Majesty, they are waiting to see whether what you did some weeks ago in appointing your own prime minister and cabinet ministers is going to make any difference to their lives or whether it is just going to be more Kathmandu hot air.” “Everything is going to be difficult and is going to take time, a lot of time.” “Your Majesty, time is the one thing you don’t have. You must act quickly and decisively to take advantage of the opportunity you have created. Everyone knows that you have appointed these new ministers. Why don’t you get them in here one by one and tell them that they have three months to deliver a programme in their area of responsibility that is going to make a difference to people’s lives? Most will fail to do so. Sack them! It will be a powerful signal of your strong intent to deliver real change.” I can express the opening of our conversation in this way because just about every word is still etched in my mind. The king’s response to my last quoted words was to challenge me to give an example of something that could be delivered quickly. I can give a verbatim record of what I said in response to this unexpected challenge: “Health posts, Your Majesty, there is no shortage of them throughout the country as building them has been one of the sources of local corruption, but very few have any medicine to issue at present or have skilled people to assess and meet medical needs. Your Majesty, children are dying for lack of a few pills. Given the right priority, over a period, say of six months, every health post could be fully stocked with medicine and manned with trained people. This is something I could help to lead for you as I know it would have strong international backing. At last, people would know that you mean business.” As I warmed to the theme, I could see no sign of the king having any enthusiasm for the idea, and I quickly disengaged as it dawned on me, as it had clearly dawned on the king, that the reason for the deficiencies in health posts was to prevent any Maoist combatant from gaining access to any <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/tech-away/nepal-s-health-tech-industry-is-here-to-stay">medical support</a>, and if this meant people suffering, so be it. The subject of the Maoist insurgency inevitably came up, and I took the opportunity to elaborate on what is written in the final four paragraphs of the article above. I advised King Gyanendra that, self-evidently, since there were three parties in the conflict—him, the Maoists, and the political parties—it was imperative that he form an alliance with one of them, preferably the political parties; otherwise, he would find himself isolated, as the other two parties would inevitably, at some stage, form their own alliance. However, it quickly became apparent that the king’s mind was on a totally different track. On the Maoists, he told me that he had channels open to them, but he was scathing about the political party leaders. He made it clear that they would be waiting for a very long time before he gave any power back to them, and that is a polite way of expressing the actual words he used, but “crawling through the door” is a phrase which has stuck in my mind.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080424_5403455ff6168f0d202a96cb53edea69136d74d59b989cfcc7cc4a1d57672cb5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250421080424_5403455ff6168f0d202a96cb53edea69136d74d59b989cfcc7cc4a1d57672cb5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1317" loading="lazy" alt="fall of monarchy"> <figcaption>Nepali Times 28 April-3 May 2005 with cover image by Ajay Joshi of jubilant protesters after street demonstrations sidelined king Gyanendra, paving the way for a ceasfire and restoration of democracy. </figcaption> </figure>  As the conversation developed, it became ever clearer that King Gyanendra had decided to go in alone, relying on the misleading assurances he was constantly receiving from <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=14954">the army</a>, and no doubt his close advisers, that the Maoists could and would be quickly defeated militarily, and taken out of the equation. This would obviate the need for him to do any deal with the political parties.&nbsp; Thus, the way would be clear for him to establish a version of his father’s Panchayat system, under a constitution that would be granted to the people by him, their sovereign, as his father and brother had done in 1962 and 1990. As in those constitutions, ultimate power would have remained in the sovereign’s hands. This proposed direction of travel was very clear from what the king said to me. In sum, King Gyanendra was motivated by a desire to emulate his immediate predecessors by granting his people a constitution that would restore his father’s Panchayat system in a modern form and give him a central role in decision-making. What was particularly dispiriting was that beyond this single objective he had no plan worthy of the name, nor demonstrably did he have the people with the skills to implement an appropriate plan even if one had existed. Crucially and depressingly, there was little or no indication from the king that he realised that such a course of action could put Nepal’s monarchy into serious jeopardy, as indeed proved to be the case. <h2>King Twice</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250420110436_315d519fe3d68d2406ebe1480fed54720fbf21b8907a4da5cde751fdc623d445.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="20250420110436_315d519fe3d68d2406ebe1480fed54720fbf21b8907a4da5cde751fdc623d445" data-rendition-name="original" width="1302" height="632" loading="lazy" alt="“Tell me what the common man is thinking!”"> </figure>  <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8371">Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah has been king twice</a>. In 1950 he was enthroned briefly as a child king (left, above) by the Rana Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher when his grandfather, King Tribhuvan, fled to exile in India. In 2001 he was crowned king again after the massacre in the royal palace in which his brother King Birendra and nine other members of his family were killed by Crown Prince Dipendra.&nbsp; During his second reign, Gyanendra gradually asserted power by sacking Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in 2002, and then taking full control after the 1 February 2005 coup. He was sidelined after the ceasefire in April 2006, and became a commoner after the Constituent Assembly finally <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Ftnp-abolishing,624">abolished the monarchy in 2008</a>. In the past year, Gyanendra has tried to exploit public dissatisfaction with the political parties to restore the monarchy.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080432_26ef4a4b0e3cee9fdc6794446702efe16550d293904b4f6dd46fe35d4d10c788.jpg" data-media-id="editor_22" data-image-id="20250421080432_26ef4a4b0e3cee9fdc6794446702efe16550d293904b4f6dd46fe35d4d10c788" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Essays on Nepal by Sam Cowen"> </figure>

“Tell me what the common man is thinking!”

“It's Kathmandu.” Just as the family was sitting down for one of its extended lunches, that jubilant cry was from François Driard’s grandfather announcing the next posting for his diplomat parents.&nbsp; Driard (pictured) was 18 in the summer of 1996,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/suburban-tales/chasing-a-nomad"> a bit of a hippie</a> already, and his life was about to change forever with the magical word “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/time-capsule-of-kathmandu">Kathmandu</a>”. “I was awed with that information from my grandfather, nothing else mattered … In France <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/tales-of-courage-and-suffering-cx95f89e">in the 1990s</a>, Kathmandu had a mythical aura,” Driard recalls. He came to Kathmandu for Christmas that year to visit his stepfather, the French Ambassador Michel Lummaux. It was to be the first of many visits during school holidays, before he decided to permanently settle down in Nepal. “Kathmandu, and Nepal, were very different then, it was magical, I liked the nature, the people, civilisation, temples, trees,” says Driard, who explored the country sitting on the top of buses. “Visitors talk about the crazy <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/cost-of-living-in-a-big-city">urbanisation</a>, traffic jams today, and all that is true. But Kathmandu has not <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/loss-of-soul-and-soil">lost its soul</a>.” After his stepfather’s tenure in Nepal ended, Driard worked as a business reporter for international publications but decided he did not want to be anyone’s employee anymore. In 2007 he landed in Kathmandu with €20,000 in savings to invest.&nbsp; He knew a few crucial things about himself: he liked food and nature, which is very much tied up with his upbringing--full of lively conversations during lunch and dinner at the family table between <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-yak-cheese-is-on-world-map">abundant cheese, wine and cigars</a>. So he decided it would be cheese, and registered Himalayan French Cheese and went to the French Alps for a month to learn how to make Tomme de Savoie. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-story-of-langtang-cheese">Cheese making is such an ancient craft </a>and so I thought I won’t need much money or studying which I hated and indeed, if you have a tamako bhado and fire you are set,” explains Driard. But Nepal’s temperature and humidity were not ideal, even at higher altitudes. The first customers for his cheese were the Hyatt Regency and Nina and Hager. But he needed to create a market for cheese in a country which only knew hard churpi in the north and soft paneer in the south. He started selling his cheeses at the Summit Hotel weekend market, expanding to his own 1905 Farmer’s Market which later moved to Le Sherpa in Maharajganj, where it is now, and also a market at Labim Mall in Pulchok. He had cow dairies in Nuwakot and Dhulikhel, and finally a yak cheese unit at 3,379m in Ramechhap. It was the yak blue cheese from here that went on to win a Gold Medal in France, putting Nepal’s French cheese on the world map. “People come and try our cheese at the market, they ask questions. There is a lot of education to be done about cheese,” adds Driard, who also has three cheese shops in the Valley. Driard now makes 25 types of cheese. The products are being noticed and every year he has French students coming to Nepal to learn the art of yak cheese making. “In France, one family or company makes one kind of cheese for generations. In that I’m very unique as a cheese artisan,” he says. “The students come in to learn but I tell them to also teach us something too, add another cheese to my collection.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/langtang-after-10-years">Langtang after 10 years</a>, Sonia Awale Being a foodie, Driard is now also dabbling in meat with his own charcuterie at Meatini with bacon, ham, sausage and pâtés. All of this is now served at his Emilio’s Pizza, a leafy hideaway in Lazimpat. His South Side in Moksh is probably the smallest wine bar in the world. “I call the process sublime,” says Driard of his ventures, which have grown organically. “You need the same temperature and humidity of 12°C and 80% for cheese, meat and wine.” Emilio’s speciality is the eight-cheese pizza (which has eight types of cheeses), and a pizza with bhutan topping (not the country but fried intestines and organs Nepali-style). He has opened a small branch at Courtyard in Pokhara.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250426070456_bacae302c040dc18eeecdeafda72ddf06a6d2cec138ea9be7e45fe94cdf8b5b3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250426070456_bacae302c040dc18eeecdeafda72ddf06a6d2cec138ea9be7e45fe94cdf8b5b3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="8 cheese pizza"> <figcaption>Eight-cheese pizza</figcaption> </figure>  With two artisanal cheese units, two farmers’ markets, a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-meat-of-the-story">meat processing unit</a>, a bakery, and wine bar he now envisions a vineyard so he can add Nepali wine to his repertoire. Another future plan is to start up an agri-tourism business where customers can drink, eat and work in peace. In the past 20 years in Nepal, Driard has not always succeeded in his ventures but this hasn’t curbed his enthusiasm. He is learning as he goes, and like an old wine, Nepal is growing on him. Its slowness suits his French art de vivre with eating slowly outdoors, having conversation, importing less.&nbsp; “I have proven that with even a little money you can do a lot of things in Nepal,” adds Driard. “In the West, they easily invest half a million euros on a cheese factory, I invested 10 times less.”&nbsp;

Fromage, vin et charcuterie Népalais

Bhuthan भुठान starts with Bishnu Bahadur KC played by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/dhuwa-smoke-telefilm,2671">Hari Bansha Acharya</a> on a call, requesting to speak to the visa officer. By this point, he had <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-should-now-allow-visa-on-arrival">applied for a visa </a>to Bhutan 10 times, but was denied each time. KC was a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-women-excel-in-sports-in-2024-z9ramyct">national football player </a>in Bhutan in 1988 before he and other Nepali-speaking Lhotsampa people were forced out of the country in the 1990s as part of the Druk regime’s ‘One Nation One People’ campaign. Over 100,000 Bhutanese Nepalis were forced out, driven across India and dumped in Nepal where they lived in seven<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp"> refugee camps</a> supervised by the United Nations and other charities until they were resettled in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and some European countries starting in 2007. In the fictional movie with the satirical English title The World’s Happiest Man, KC has resettled in the state of Ohio in the US but wishes to visit his home country once before he dies. Between flashbacks, we learn KC has died without having fulfilled his wish. &nbsp; The drama then focuses on KC’s two families from two marriages as they debate whether to cremate him as per <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/muslim-hindu,2996">Hindu rites </a>or give him a Christian burial. A mediator played by Hollywood actor Bruce Dern urges them to take a firm decision before it is too long.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250430140420_b398a08091b866da2b0b8f6c1e6e26781609749aba896bfd2c68a10a519295c3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250430140420_b398a08091b866da2b0b8f6c1e6e26781609749aba896bfd2c68a10a519295c3" data-rendition-name="original" width="945" height="945" loading="lazy" alt="Bhutan, the movie"> </figure>  There are drawn out scenes of KC being baptised and when he is confronted by his first wife from Darjeeling played by Anuradha Majumdar, he says he changed his religion in the hope that he will be <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/bhutan-s-refugees-between-hope-and-despair">allowed back in Bhutan</a>.&nbsp; We find out KC has a second wife, a Christian Nepali played by Puja Chand. Dayahang Rai as the younger son doesn’t have much screen time to flex his acting chops. &nbsp; Acharya competently portrays a man that is equal parts haunted by the memories of and longing for his home country. KC’s pain and loss is acute when he is teaching football to Gungun but between mid-scene, he freezes, perhaps lost in memories of being in Bhutan’s national team. &nbsp; In another scene, KC recalls his mother singing a lullaby in Dzongkha. He also has a box filled with medals, photographs and a football which he deflates with a knife in a powerful depiction of his <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/searching-for-a-homeland-away-from-home?fb_comment_id=1506516030025634">complicated emotions about his homeland</a>. KC keeps checking his mailbox in the hopes that his <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4977">visa application</a> has been accepted. He says in Nepali: “If a tree that has already struck roots in one place is shifted to another, it will not survive.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250430140420_4a9c27410326489576c04dedf40016bda3825e8f9663317f54fbfec4cbda6d34.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250430140420_4a9c27410326489576c04dedf40016bda3825e8f9663317f54fbfec4cbda6d34" data-rendition-name="original" width="1422" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Bhutan, the movie"> </figure>  Dern’s character says that the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/nepal-s-transitional-justice-and-the-west-s-recalibration">western world</a> has become “lonely in pursuit of happiness”, another reference to Bhutan’s obsession with its Gross National Happiness index. Scenes shift quickly throughout making the story difficult to follow at times. The use of symbolism is a trite overdone. Nonetheless, भुठान is a nuanced depiction of raw pain and agony of losing one’s homeland. But one cannot help but leave the theatre feeling deflated. KC dies without having visited <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/small-bhutan-dreams-big">Bhutan</a>, but perhaps he does in his afterlife. It is up to the audience to create its own ending to this sad story of exile. भुठान Mad Monkey Films, 2025 Directed by Binod Paudel 102 minutes In cinemas in Nepal