Only 70 years ago, Kathmandu was the isolated capital of a country that had no modern surface transport link with the rest of the world.&nbsp; The idea of building a road to connect Nepal with India actually first came up during the last years of the Rana regime, after the British had left India. Construction actually began in 1952, and the serpentine route took five years to complete.&nbsp; Named Tribhuvan Rajpath, after the reigning king who initiated it, the alignment was from Thankot (1,301 m) at the western edge of the Kathmandu Valley to Nagdunga, Naubise, Tistung, Palung, Daman, Sim Bhanjyang (2,504m), Lamidanda, and Bhainse.&nbsp; At Bhainse, the highway joined the existing road to Bhimphedi and it was another 31km to Hetauda and Amlekhganj. There was a railway line between Amlekhganj and Birganj.&nbsp; After regular bus and truck service from Raxaul to Kathmandu began in 1961, the entire road popularly became known as the Tribhuvan Rajpath.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_a11b48a75c7877a0f68634f8be07d26a3f354e78ebd9adddc7d17252fddf1d1b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026041610044_a11b48a75c7877a0f68634f8be07d26a3f354e78ebd9adddc7d17252fddf1d1b" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="3072" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>The village of Chitlang on the main route to Kathmandu before the Rajpath was built. In the distance is the Chandragiri ridge above Thankot. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  <h2>Chronology&nbsp;</h2> (Based on US State Department cables and media reports) November 1945: Gen Bahadur SJB Rana asked an American official if a road could be constructed from the Indian border to Kathmandu. Nepal wanted such a road built across the mountains after first constructing an East-West artery road in the Tarai, and the government was interested in purchasing US surplus war equipment. Gen Rana inquired if there were US firms who could conduct a survey. April 1947: The Nepal government told a US official it was important to upgrade the 20-mile trail from Bhimphedi over the mountains to the Kathmandu Valley into an all-weather road and sought an estimate from the US for doing so. May 1948: Bijaya SJB Rana informed a US official that a survey for a one-lane motor road between Kathmandu and the Tarai had been completed. The road was to follow the Bagmati River to Makwanpur, then connect at Bhimphedi with the road to Amlekhgunj. The road from Tripureswor to Bhainse along the Bagmati River and via Bhimphedi would have been about 60km. (The distance from Kathmandu on the Tribhuvan Rajpath is 122 km.)  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_bb531baf5d73e00d2032814ac8abb86979a87d781abc066fcb984997aad930e6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026041610044_bb531baf5d73e00d2032814ac8abb86979a87d781abc066fcb984997aad930e6" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="3072" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>The road climbing the hills toward its destination of Kathmandu. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  July 1948: The government decided to go ahead and build a motorable road from Amlekhganj to Thankot and complete it in two years. December 1948: Construction of the motor road from Kathmandu to Amlekhgunj via the Bagmati River corridor was started. April 1949: Gen Singha SJB Rana told a US official that the motor road from Kathmandu to the Tarai and the Indo-Nepal border would be completed by the spring of 1950. February 1950: Nepal sanctioned Rs300,000 to make the 6-foot-wide road from Kathmandu along the Bagmati River to Hetauda. Of this, Rs100,000 was allocated for road-building material and machinery. Subsequently, the road would be developed into a broader motorable road at a cost of Rs7.5 million. February 1952: Nepal’s budget speech noted that a plan was underway for a road between Bhainse and Kathmandu. PM Matrika Prasad Koirala laid a foundation stone near Teku for construction of the ‘Kathmandu Hetauda Roadway’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_e66d3b81848ec19da48be8b41cacfa8b8e2bad093719b39eda27755c9616ea9a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026041610044_e66d3b81848ec19da48be8b41cacfa8b8e2bad093719b39eda27755c9616ea9a" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="3072" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Rajpath winding its way north of Bhainse. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  February 1952: A party of Indian engineers came to Nepal to determine the best route for a road from Raxaul to Kathmandu. March 1952: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru told Parliament: “So far as India’s security is concerned, we consider the Himalayan mountains as our border.” Ministry of External Affairs official (S.N. Hakar) told a US official that the Indian government was willing to proceed with constructing the Raxaul-Kathmandu road and had sent a survey party to determine the most suitable mountain route. May 1952: Swiss experts had made surveys for a proposed new road between Bhimphedi and Thankot. Nepal government requested financial help to build the road, and India was considering the project.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_35e390c1a4812f45af7892d681230e04c63727d9006b6614ed79aaa7c22c1ece.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2026041610044_35e390c1a4812f45af7892d681230e04c63727d9006b6614ed79aaa7c22c1ece" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="3072" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>With a constant stream of trucks, buses and jeeps, the narrow Rajpath once was Nepal's busiest highway. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  Summer 1952: Work on a new road was at a standstill, so Nepal asked India for assistance. Indian engineers surveyed two routes: one following the Bagmati River, the other road through Daman that was later adopted. July 1952: Nepal’s Ministry of Planning decided to construct a road between Kathmandu and Raxaul, awaiting Cabinet approval soon. Prime Minister Matrika Koirala said the proposed road was longer than necessary, but it was a better route ‘for strategic reasons’, because it did not require many bridges. August 1952: King Tribhuvan said road construction from Kathmandu to Bhimphedi would “begin soon”. September 1952: An Indian Military Team began construction of the Kathmandu-Bhainse road without a formal agreement being signed with the Nepal government.&nbsp; February 1953: The Indian Ambassador said the road would be hard surfaced within a year. September 1953: Prime Minister Matrika Koirala inspected the completion of a ‘jeepable track’. December 1953: The road was named ‘Tribhuvan Rajpath’. April 1954: Reports circulated that Swiss engineers criticised the alignment, arguing it would have been easier, faster, and cheaper to build over the existing foot trail between Bhimphedi and Thankot through Kulekhani. July 1954: Heavy monsoon rain damaged much of the roadway that had been built.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_b5b2a1833f1366e532f1629f47c124d877df7b6f8a34b6c83f6c21ec3e4415dd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2026041610044_b5b2a1833f1366e532f1629f47c124d877df7b6f8a34b6c83f6c21ec3e4415dd" data-rendition-name="original" width="855" height="1123" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Crown Prince Mahendra inspecting construction progress on the Tribhuvan Rajpath in October 1954. Photo: ROYAL PALACE</figcaption> </figure>  November 1954: The Indian ambassador said flood damage was so great that the road would be delayed by two years. May 1955: Twenty military trucks brought rice from Amlekhganj to Kathmandu on the Tribhuvan Rajpath. King Tribhuvan died in Zurich. December 1956: A gravel road was completed, with trucks and buses plying between Amlekhganj and Kathmandu. December 1956: Nepal government abolished regulations that required Nepali nationals to carry permits for travel within Nepal, except for women below the age of 45. 1957: Reduction in price of goods carried to Kathmandu by truck: Sugar, Rs0.13 per kg. Wheat flour Rs0.13 per kg. Kerosene Rs0.25 per litre. February 1957: An article in The Motherland newspaper in Kathmandu noted urgent action was needed to avoid Kathmandu being cut off from the Tarai during the monsoon. The correspondent wrote, ‘In a recent journey from Amlekhganj I found that almost all the bridges are in a very bad state…Now, because of the dry rivers the scores of vehicles that ply the road cross the rivers on the water level. But during monsoons… these rivers will be impossible to cross without bridges. On the road itself, landslides and big holes have made the journey a great undertaking.” April 1957: The first regular passenger bus left Amlekhganj at 12:30PM and arrived in Kathmandu completing a journey of 14 hours.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_60807e067f2d0b80bdc5e59860e9bc240b495ef606efc9301ef54ea5731d42df.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2026041610044_60807e067f2d0b80bdc5e59860e9bc240b495ef606efc9301ef54ea5731d42df" data-rendition-name="original" width="5211" height="4000" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Daman, one of the highest points on the Rajpath, often saw snow in winter. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_baac4747267c751ab7b0e5ef24697fb5001c4c55e04a82d92c89282bd01a325c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2026041610044_baac4747267c751ab7b0e5ef24697fb5001c4c55e04a82d92c89282bd01a325c" data-rendition-name="original" width="648" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Travelers could view the Himalayas from a view tower at Daman. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  June 1957: Eight thousand Nepali workers and about 500 Indian Army personnel were at work on the road.&nbsp; 30 June 1957: India officially handed the road over to Nepal. India had spent INR32.5 million on the project.&nbsp; January 1958: The road from Amlekhganj to Bhainse was upgraded. July 1961: The gravel road from Raxaul to Birganj was blacktopped. Trucks began transporting goods from Raxaul directly to Kathmandu, avoiding the need for transshipment from train to truck in Amlekhganj, or use the ropeway from Bhimphedi. 1961: Passengers could travel from Raxaul to Kathmandu in a day, whereas it took a week by train to Amlekhganj, bus to Bhimphedi and then on foot. September 1962: Nepal’s 3-Year Plan aimed at broadening and black-topping the road between Bhainse and Raxaul, bypassing the Chure tunnel, and constructing several bridges along the route. 1963: Travelers going to Kathmandu by land: Road, 158,000, Nepal Government Railway, 66,500. Railway passenger service ended in June 1965.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_2a95eb144dad74271a0fa3a27fab6b45bbab0a1c4be59d21120ad14c08e258fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2026041610044_2a95eb144dad74271a0fa3a27fab6b45bbab0a1c4be59d21120ad14c08e258fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1344" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>A bus providing ‘deluxe service’ in 1963 is ready to leave Amlekhganj for Kathmandu. Note the railway tracks of the Nepal Government Railway. Photo: RON ELLIOTT</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_d02013692e84d6add7a6e0ce66c2b552cd53bb084db2aa8df0593bbcf84c2c04.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2026041610044_d02013692e84d6add7a6e0ce66c2b552cd53bb084db2aa8df0593bbcf84c2c04" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1352" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Vehicles found it difficult to pass on many parts of the Rajpath in 1963. Photo: RON ELLIOTT</figcaption> </figure>  1965: Tribhuvan Highway was considered a useful addition to Nepal’s economic infrastructure, but it could not act as a prime mover in the nation’s economic development. It did play a major role in the 1960s in transporting material and equipment needed to implement development projects in the Kathmandu Valley. September 1966: Nepal took over maintenance of the Tribhuvan Rajpath from the Indian Aid Mission.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_5488ba1e92f6395ff882392ccbaef2270622632682eccb412d8de7b128f6f397.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2026041610044_5488ba1e92f6395ff882392ccbaef2270622632682eccb412d8de7b128f6f397" data-rendition-name="original" width="1764" height="1184" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Trees still lined the Rajpath near Thankot in 1967. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>  1971: A UN-Nepal study said the best alignment for an alternative road was from Kathmandu, Pharping, Kulekhani, Bhimphedi to Bhainse. 1975: Nepal's Department of Roads’ engineer concluded: ‘The Tribhuvan Rajpath has been built without design speed consideration… The pavement was not constructed to any designed standard… irrespective of quality of material, and later the road was black topped without consideration of traffic intensity and load-bearing capacity of sub-base… utilisation of low-quality material in the Bhainse-Thankot section… Quality control was neither maintained in Bhainse-Thankot nor the Bhainse-Raxaul section. Local materials were used irrespective of their quality to complete the work in the earliest possible time and in the cheapest possible manner. Brick work was done in negligible quantity. Cement used was ordinary portland cement…’ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041610044_26c74f45991efb3dc29d616e8acafb3163661ae6573c5314538e59c54d5ca0a5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2026041610044_26c74f45991efb3dc29d616e8acafb3163661ae6573c5314538e59c54d5ca0a5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2368" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Highways NT"> <figcaption>Bhainse in 2017. The road divided here, one going to Bhimphedi on the right, the main road proceeding to Kathmandu on the left. Photo: DAN EDWARDS</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260416100416_4d9321abf4d912796842fe963a493501e1aceff462300ecdd9bd5e0b8ba7f294.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20260416100416_4d9321abf4d912796842fe963a493501e1aceff462300ecdd9bd5e0b8ba7f294" data-rendition-name="original" width="649" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Highway info NT"> </figure>  Even 70 years after it was built, there is still speculation about India's security concerns vis-a-vis China, and how Indian Army engineers purposely made the road longer than it needed to be over the 2,500 Sim Bhanjyang pass instead of following the river route.&nbsp; There is also some evidence that although the Rana regime had first requested the US for help with the highway, Nehru did not want the Americans involved in Nepal. Which is why the Tribhuvan Highway became an Indian military project.&nbsp; There was similar concern from India about the Kodari Highway linking Kathmandu to China, and King Mahednra is famously supposed to have said: "Communism will not come here in a taxi."&nbsp; Geopolitics still affects Nepal's strategic highways. After decades, links to China are still rough and often blocked. Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track is delayed by years, and not expected to be completed during this decade. Trucks and buses still bypass the Tribuvan Highway with a 200km detour via Mugling because the other alternative routes like the Tika Bhairav or Chhaimale routes are not suitable for heavy vehicles.&nbsp; The shortcut through Chitlang that the Swiss proposed in the 1950s is still too difficult. And a 25km section of the Japanese-built BP Highway to the eastern Tarai has been knocked out by the 202 flood. Dan Edwards was a Peace Corps volunteer in 1966 and is the author of several books on Nepal. This is the fourth instalment in a new limited series in Nepali Times on the historic transportation infrastructures of Nepal.

The long and winding road to India

Bottom

There is widespread outrage on social media over the APF enforcing the government’s decision to tax any item worth more than Rs100 that people bring back from India. Videos of Nepalis being harassed by Nepal’s own police have gone viral. &nbsp;

Customs enforcement

Civil servants will now get paid every two weeks instead of every month to ease financial pressure on public employees. The Financial Controller General Office has already started on setting up the technical and administrative preparation needed to implement the system.

Bureaucracy pay

The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) registered 166,520 corruption complaints over the past five years in Nepal, reflecting a steep rise — from 12,496 complaints in early FY 2021/22 to over 37,000 in FY 2024/25. Despite the surge only 55 individuals were proven guilty out of 4,662 defendants brought before the Special Court.&nbsp;

Corruption complaints

The past, the present, and the future are really one: they are today. -Harriet Beecher Stowe  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122609120_5c63a3201a7231b9334f98a3a1af867acfc1264e29fc3081810a565a270bde6f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024122609120_5c63a3201a7231b9334f98a3a1af867acfc1264e29fc3081810a565a270bde6f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="2700" loading="lazy" alt="Miss Moti #1241"> </figure>

The past, the present, and the future are really one

The new government’s 100-point good governance plan was released on 28 March, just one day after Balendra Shah was sworn in as prime minister. This was a statement of ambition, and the first move of a government that has promised to be focused on delivering results. 
 
It was a document that moved with the times with its main theme being digital governance. &nbsp;Over 35 of the 100 points mention tech in one form or another: tech reforms in taxes, healthcare, agriculture, project monitoring, accountability and law enforcement. 
 
However, the timelines are deemed unrealistic, and sometimes outright contradictory. While there are specific gems, digitisation has been thrown around as a panacea that will cure all our ills. In that sense it is not really a strategy document, more a to-do list. 
 
Successful implementation will require careful planning and execution. The good news is that the RSP government, with its near supermajority in the legislature for the next five years (hopefully) has a reasonable timeframe to deliver on many of the clauses. 
 
The document does identify the biggest problems that hold the country back: the governance obstacles that cause the average Nepali the most pain and loss of time. 
 
Clause 10, for example, states candidly: ‘To address the situation where service delivery across all public bodies has become slow, costly, and ineffective due to duplication, complexity, and unnecessary processes, conduct a comprehensive review of procedures in each institution; remove unnecessary and duplicative processes; limit approval layers to a maximum of three...’ 
 
The document identifies that there must be a way for related offices and ministries to share data and talk to each other. Clause 67 points out that the Company Registrar’s Office, Department of Industry, and Ministry of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection must be digitised and able to use each other’s data. 
 
Startup registration should be done within two days with an autofill system. Indeed, if Nepalis have to go through labyrinthine processes to get a citizenship certficate, national ID and passport, the least the state can do is make all three easy to get. And the way to do that is to retrieve digital data instantly whenever needed.&nbsp;
At the moment, forms for IDs and licenses have to be filled online, but a hardcopy still needs to be printed out for fingerprinting and signatures.&nbsp;
The Plan aims to fit all public transport with dashcams and CCTV cameras, and Clause 64 envisages a ‘central dashboard with KPIs for nationally prioritised projects, ministry-level performance tracking, and a problem and obstacle resolution mechanism’ so the PMO can review progress at the click of the mouse.
The document aims at a faceless, time-bound, trackable digital systems, somewhat like a blockchain approach. Most of the document is not that specific, and read as if digital transformation of government will be magical and super-efficient. 
 
Clause 50, for example aims to ‘resolve irregularities, misuse of advance payments, and delays’ by implementing a ‘data-based end-to-end e-procurement monitoring system’ in three months. But why did these irregularities happen in the first place? What elements of the procurement process, such as hiring the cheapest contractors, allowed for substandard systems?&nbsp;
Digitisation puts the cart before the horse. The new government first needs to take a long hard look at the culture of government, its inertia, lethargy and greasing palms.&nbsp;
Otherwise, the inefficiencies will just make their way into the technology.&nbsp;
The timelines look overly ambitious. Complex, national-level systems that need coordination and data sharing are given only 30, 60, or 90 days to accomplish. This is a hope, and not a plan. 
 
Also, it is not possible to draft an IT and E-governance Bill (Point#40), establish an Independent Regulatory Authority (Point#38), and build out a national data exchange platform (Point#36) all within 60 days, in parallel. These are steps that must happen one after another. 
 
The part about Digital Governance is actually the weakest. Points#28 to #42 contain multiple targets to reduce unnecessary steps, setting up different bodies and regulators, and passing bills. This would actually add redundancy and bureaucracy The Plan was supposed to do away with. 
 
There are glaring omissions. Such a complex, interconnected national data sharing system should have cyber security safeguards as the highest priority. There is also no acknowledgement of the existing digital infrastructure used by the government. Will these systems be scrapped? Integrated? Superceded?
AI and its applications are conspicuously absent from the document. And what of integrating feedback from citizens who will be the end consumer of these digital systems and services.&nbsp;
Despite these flaws, the 100-point Plan identifies what needs to be done and setting goals. This is a lot more than any previous government has done. But given how prominently tech appears in the plan, perhaps we are owed another document about how it is all going when the government has completed 100 days.&nbsp;
Nepali tech talent is booming both domestically and in the diaspora. Under the right conditions and for decent salaries, the government could certainly put together the requisite teams to build the digital skeleton on which Nepal will function from here on out.
Vishad Raj Onta

The Great Digital Leap Forward

Krishna Bahadur Ramtel was returning home after visiting a temple when his family insisted on climbing the Dharara viewtower in Kathmandu. He climbed up the narrow steep stairs with his mother-in-law and sister-in-law. His wife was nine months pregnant and chose to stay behind. At the top, Ramtel was holding the balcony bars when the tower started swaying at 11:56AM on 25 April 2015. The 62m tall Dharara, built and rebuilt after previous earthquakes, then collapsed into a jumble of bricks and masonry. “I heard screams everywhere, I told my mother-in-law and sister-in-law not to panic,” recalls Ramtel after regaining consciousness on a pile of rubble (pictured, below). Rescuers extricated his legs from under a brick arch and rushed him to the hospital, which was already crowded with patients writhing in pain.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260423120420_76bbf4eefc3b54464f585ac4fac81ac602cc10f7be56871860114724074847bb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260423120420_76bbf4eefc3b54464f585ac4fac81ac602cc10f7be56871860114724074847bb" data-rendition-name="original" width="801" height="399" loading="lazy" alt="Dharara survivor"><figcaption>Photo: KRISHNA BAHADUR RAMTEL / FACEBOOK(Photo: Sonia Awale)</figcaption></figure>  His wife survived, but his in-laws did not. Ramtel was devastated, more so for his wife who was going to be a new mother, but lost two family members. His right leg needed an operation, but he made a complete recovery. His child was born soon after, and Ramtel’s wife had to take care of her baby as well as her injured husband. But tragically, she lacked the help of her mother and sister. The 7.8M earthquake 11 years ago this week killed 8,962 people in Central Nepal. Because it was Saturday, Dharahara Tower was more crowded than usual, and at least 180 bodies were later retrieved from the ruins. Most like Ramtel who miraculously survived were on the balcony, while those climbing or descending the staircase were killed. Built by Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa in 1832, there were originally two towers. But one collapsed and other was damaged in the 1834 earthquake and rebuilt. Exactly 100 years later, another earthquake brought it down again. It was again restored only to collapse in 2015.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260423120420_25be3e1f9f78a3c08dcf16d5ac6663f8fbb860073d1eaf740c02b8dd18e1ea21.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260423120420_25be3e1f9f78a3c08dcf16d5ac6663f8fbb860073d1eaf740c02b8dd18e1ea21" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Dharara survivor"><figcaption>Photo: ADITYA KHARE(Photo: Aditya Khare)</figcaption></figure>  Only the base of the original tower remains as a memorial inside the Dharahara complex, where a reinforced concrete tower now stands. Dubbed ‘Seto Tower’ by Prime Minister Balendra Shah when he was mayor of Kathmandu is broader than the previous tower and even has a lift that goes up to the viewing deck. But Ramtel says he not going anywhere near Dharara. He says, “That place holds memories that I do not want to remember, but I cannot forget either.” Soon after his operation, Ramtel returned to his hometown in Dhading where more members of the extended clan offered support. But now he lives in Kathmandu with his family, his son is now 11 and he recently had another child.. “Being alive is a blessing. As long as one is living, there will be struggles, and I am ready to face them all,” he tells us.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260423120420_4a205fcd45f87cf1251742f6ed09f447d5f3ff363f1c65c646da46c9c456339d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260423120420_4a205fcd45f87cf1251742f6ed09f447d5f3ff363f1c65c646da46c9c456339d" data-rendition-name="original" width="640" height="427" loading="lazy" alt="Dharara survivor"><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI / NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE(Photo: Sonia Awale)</figcaption></figure>  NO PREPAREDNESS While 25 April serves as a reminder of the last major earthquake in Nepal, 16 January is marked annually as Earthquake Safety Day, coinciding with the 8.3M megaquake of 1934. Seismologists say the 7.8M disaster was not the big earthquake that Kathmandu experiences every 80-100 years, and the Big One is yet to hit. Building standards are still regularly flouted in densely populated parts of Kathmandu, which worries Ramtel. “The government acts only after the disaster has happened, people and the authorities forget quickly and move on. There is little preparation, and we expect God to save us,” says Ramtel, who also survived because of divine intervention.

Living to tell the tale

The dawn air in Muktikot is dewy as the sun sets over the horizon in the mountains of western Nepal. A sad farewell song drifts across the village from a mud plastered house.&nbsp; Rani BK sings a half melody, half lament: “I feel like my own hands are being cut off as you leave.” She is bidding farewell to her youngest brother, 37-year-old Ranne, his wife Akashe. They are going to Bangalore in India to find work. Neighbours gather quietly in the gathering light, some wiping their eyes, others joining in song. “Please, don’t cry,” Ranne says softly. “These tears will haunt us on the journey.” Migration is not new to Muktikot, but the tears are. For decades, nearly every household here has sent its men to India every winter to work. They return in spring to plant their crops.&nbsp; What is new is that women like Akashe BK are now also going, and for longer periods. The couple is leaving their two of their children behind, and will be away for at least five years.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260203130224_f8d2d5980da1f3c1e22944003969d64cffd10f280c523ab207f983ef42b4cb9b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260203130224_f8d2d5980da1f3c1e22944003969d64cffd10f280c523ab207f983ef42b4cb9b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1067" loading="lazy" alt="women migrating"> <figcaption>Daughter and son left behind with Rani BK after departure.</figcaption> </figure>  Ranne has been a daily wage labourer since he was 17, moving across Nepal and different parts of northern India. This journey is different — it will be to southern India.&nbsp; He had borrowed Rs50,000 from a local lender to cover the travel cost, hoping to recoup it from his earnings as a security guard. Aakashe plans to work as a household helper.&nbsp; “We would not go if we have a choice,” Aakase says quietly, her eyes fixed on “We are forced to leave our children. We cannot afford to educate them, there is little to eat here, no water, no work, no electricity.” Their daughter Sitala, 12, and son Dipson, 10, put auspicious red tika on their parents’ foreheads. Aakase sobs as she asks relatives to look after their children and their house.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260203130224_a6316df8ff8a7f95d963396f2a01a7549dca3dcc1ac0364763eecd9f29b7bed7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260203130224_a6316df8ff8a7f95d963396f2a01a7549dca3dcc1ac0364763eecd9f29b7bed7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1067" loading="lazy" alt="women migrating"> <figcaption>Departure of Ranne BK.</figcaption> </figure>  “We may return by the time you finish school,” Ranne tells Sitala, who is in Grade 6. Sitala stands forlorn by herself, not saying anything. Across Muktikot, women who once stayed back to raise children and manage households now join their husbands in India to support families in these remote mountains of western Nepal.&nbsp; Unnati BK, 30, and her husband Barune BK decided to migrate to India after their home was damaged by landslides in 2021 and the family was nearly killed. The arid farms did not produce enough food as rains failed. “Nothing grows here,” says Unnati, who is also leaving for Bangalore with her husband, along with Ranne and Akashe.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260203130228_50db0f2d1827584bc9aa6d19d7d79b385ea1211192ccfc1f1147b245c941912e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260203130228_50db0f2d1827584bc9aa6d19d7d79b385ea1211192ccfc1f1147b245c941912e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1067" loading="lazy" alt="women migrating"> <figcaption>Unnati BK</figcaption> </figure>  After 54 families lost their homes in landslides four years ago, the district administration has set aside Rs500,000 for families including Unnati and Barune. But although nearly complete, they have received only Rs175,000 each. Unnati had realised and told her husband that if they stayed in the village, their sorrows would multiply. So they planned to leave, hoping that a little extra hardship in India would allow them to pay for the education of their three children, who are 11, eight, and six years old. “We chose Bangalore because relatives told us it is easy to find jobs there for both men and women,” Barune says. They plan to leave their children with Unnati’s parents for now, and later send them 250km away to Kailali to attend school.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260203130228_3ee37136e936fe7dba7d1320452c83a17f08805663a7cbb4b6efa986c79147ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260203130228_3ee37136e936fe7dba7d1320452c83a17f08805663a7cbb4b6efa986c79147ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1067" loading="lazy" alt="women migrating"> <figcaption>Landslide four years ago caused 54 families to lose their homes.</figcaption> </figure>  More than 75 couples from 350 households in Muktikot have left for cities like Mumbai and Bangalore in the past three years alone, leaving behind their children either with their in-laws or in the Tarai cities where they go to school. Ajay Kumar BK, chair of the rural municipality of Muktikot says, “There is a clear intention to leave the village altogether.” &nbsp; Diksha BK, 25, has three sons aged six, three, and one. Her husband Dhirjan works in Surkhet. She and her husband have given up on Muktikot, saying they see no future there. DISASTER-PRONE Muktikot is populated mostly by Dalit families, and used to be named Dumkot after a derogatory term used by higher caste people for Dalits. During the Maoist conflict, many Dalit boys joined the guerrillas and the rebels renamed it Muktikot, meaning ‘freedom’.&nbsp; The village clings to a steep mountain flank wrinkled with rain-fed farm terraces. Many of the men who have left for India have never come back, and now even the women are leaving. The 2020 Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan of Bajura identifies Muktikot as a disaster-prone area, making its rain-fed agriculture vulnerable to droughts. The denuded slopes above are at risk of landslides.&nbsp; The 2021 International Migration in Nepal report counted 13,482 people migrating to India from Bajura alone that year. There are an estimated 3.5 million Nepalis living and working in Nepal — mostly from the western mountains.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260203130228_df4f333c7a5bc0b0a7fd75ae6c2e9f02444a097fc5b13c24dc61a276ea6ac3ff.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260203130228_df4f333c7a5bc0b0a7fd75ae6c2e9f02444a097fc5b13c24dc61a276ea6ac3ff" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1067" loading="lazy" alt="women migrating"> <figcaption>Houses being built under resettlement plan.</figcaption> </figure>  National Environment and Equity Development Society (NEEDS) Nepal found that 70% of households in Sudhurpaschim Province have had at least one member migrating to India at some point in their lives. “Female migration used to be low, but there is now an observable trend of women migrating for work from Sudhurpaschim,” says Prakash Madai of NEEDS Nepal. However, anthropologist Jeevan R Sharma says female migration is not new, what is different is the scale and duration of women migrants. Increasing demand for part-time household help in India makes it a pull-factor for Nepali women from the rural west to enter the informal workforce. “Women used to go only when opportunities arose, working for half a year to maximum two years, and frequently going back and forth,” says Sharma. “The potential rise is likely due to the need for greater income driven by rising cash-based expenses for health, education, food, and purchase of consumer goods.” COST OF LEAVING “Previously people struggled for basic needs, and we did not have the money or the roads to travel to Kathmandu, which is why most people went to India for manual work,” says Kartik Kami, 60, of the rural municipality. “Migration trends have changed because both men and women can make money washing, cooking, and cleaning in cities. Soon, there will be no one to conduct weddings or funerals, only children will remain.” While women from other parts of Nepal began participating in foreign employment three decades ago, women from traditional Sudurpaschim families are only now venturing into the Indian labour market. “This surge is filling a labour vacuum in India created when its domestic migrants shifted their focus to Gulf countries,” explains historian Yadab Devkota. Yet, research paints a social cost. A 2020 study found that children of migrant parents suffer loneliness and neglect due to the absence of parental care and love. Children fall back in studies, and girl children are burdened with excessive workload managing the household and siblings.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260203130232_e1e02cd082e7cbb77243103b2197fd1dfca75531bb9d6f518763afccb9ed452c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260203130232_e1e02cd082e7cbb77243103b2197fd1dfca75531bb9d6f518763afccb9ed452c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1067" loading="lazy" alt="women migrating"> <figcaption>Sitala BK, daughter of Ranne and Aakashe.</figcaption> </figure>  The emotional toll is manifested in anxiety, stress, depression, and in some cases, suicide, especially for those whose mothers have migrated.&nbsp; “The significant shift towards couple migration is driven by families making difficult and high-cost decisions in the hopes of breaking the cycle of poverty,” says Arjun Kharel at the Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility (CESLAM ). “Migration remains primarily a strategy for subsistence rather than development, it is a calculated family decision made in the absence of local opportunities.” Migration to India remains largely invisible to the Nepal government. The country’s foreign employment framework does not extend to migrants going to India. And because they travel through the open border, they are not regulated by formal systems.&nbsp; There is no accurate count of how many Nepalis are working in India, or of Indians in Nepal. According to the Indian Population and Housing Census, there are 600,000 Nepalis working in India, but this is a gross underestimation.&nbsp; A study by Aapti Institute describes Nepali migrants in India as ‘liminal’ neither fully protected as citizens nor recognised as foreigners there, exposing them to exploitation and risk.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260203130232_14a613729f6ebb1db0bec63032cc78abe3087341680b2f88bc0ab4456621b012.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260203130232_14a613729f6ebb1db0bec63032cc78abe3087341680b2f88bc0ab4456621b012" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1067" loading="lazy" alt="women migrating"> <figcaption>Ranne and Aakashe's last night at home.</figcaption> </figure>  “Nepali migrants in India are not covered by compensation if they fall sick and or if die, unlike migrants to other overseas destinations who can receive compensation of up to Rs700,000,” notes labour migration expert Saru Joshi. The recent draft National Labour Migration Policy 2025 of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, and Social Security offers a flicker of hope for migrants to India with provisions for welfare, social security, and mental health support for families left behind. The draft also mandates better data collection of the movement of people.&nbsp; It is unlikely that these initiatives will make any difference to the people who remain in Muktikot. Many like Ranne and Akashe are likely to go to India for work. “If I had only two or three children, I would take my wife to India too,” says Jaya BK, 46. But he has seven children, including newborn twins, whom he has stayed behind to help his wife look after this time, rather than leaving for Uttarakhand in winter like he usually does.&nbsp; With the support of Internews' Earth Journalism Network.

Mass migration from Muktikot

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Daniel J Miller arrived in Nepal as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1974, and spent four years in villages above 3,500m, recording the lives of livestock herders.&nbsp; His photographs and ethnographic observations offer a valuable visual documentation of how the lives of Himalayan humans were (and are) intertwined with their yaks, sheep, goats and the ecosystems they shared. Miller later worked for USAID, the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). He travelled across Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Tibetan regions of China, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Nepal, documenting livelihoods of the inhabitants of High Asia.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_8c73e8c123a1b4cb9f9dd3a2fe8b4b8f97ac9ad16486651bfe14bba15a903e2a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260425060420_8c73e8c123a1b4cb9f9dd3a2fe8b4b8f97ac9ad16486651bfe14bba15a903e2a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1017" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>A fast-moving herd crosses the dry plateau.ICIMOD - All Rights Reserved.</figcaption> </figure>  The Himalaya is not just a high altitude wilderness, it is a living ecosystem that includes grasslands, shrublands, forests, wetlands and a cold desert. These accounts for 60%, about 2 million sq km, of the region.&nbsp; Miller's work captured the essence of this diverse landscape, its pastoralists and their livestock, and communities whose livelihoods depended on seasonal movement across high passes. &nbsp; Miller’s photographs romanticised the rangelands and the nomadic lives of its people, while encapsulating its inherent beauty and resilience. He photographed nomad camps and caravans, documenting seasonal landscape use and migration as herders moved up to summer pastures and down in winter. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_ff707c0855b3743a372dbcbde79d4d3ea7e9e56a5cdbb9c188b72c2eb525230d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260425060420_ff707c0855b3743a372dbcbde79d4d3ea7e9e56a5cdbb9c188b72c2eb525230d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1515" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>Mounted herders gather on a green alpine slope.ICIMOD - All Rights Reserved.</figcaption> </figure>  Miller wrote in his book Drokpa: Nomads of the Tibetan Plateau and Himalaya: ‘Moving across the grasslands with their animals, their home a tent, nomads evoke freedom.’ His images show a world shaped by indigenous knowledge, vibrant culture, and a harmony between people and their ecosystems.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_daa370021ec4fa2c95210154d37ab7f2512a542d6217c158752052b558438bb8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260425060420_daa370021ec4fa2c95210154d37ab7f2512a542d6217c158752052b558438bb8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1107" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>Daniel J Miller with his book.</figcaption> </figure>  CLIMATE CHANGE From the Yunnan mountains to Afghanistan, the Himalayan arc supports the livelihoods of 30 million pastoralists, sustaining a rich bio-cultural diversity. Today, this balance is being disrupted in an unprecedented scale by climate and demographic change.&nbsp; Because crops struggle to grow in this harsh, high terrain, livestock is what sustains mountain communities. For the Drokpa, Bakarwal, Brokpa and Changpa, livestock is their biggest asset. &nbsp; The animals can survive temperature as low as –40°C. But global warming over the last 25 years has severely impacted the herds, weather systems and ecology of the Himalaya.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_379bdaf911d92d43e9fea7e460200b85efb32afd4fb72ac70efdeab783208b59.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260425060420_379bdaf911d92d43e9fea7e460200b85efb32afd4fb72ac70efdeab783208b59" data-rendition-name="original" width="1511" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>Sheep spread across a wet meadow showing pastoral livelihoods depend on pockets of fragile forage in high-altitude rangelands.ICIMOD - All Rights Reserved.</figcaption> </figure>  Livestock increasingly suffer respiratory problems, loss of appetite and stress, weakening age-old pastoral systems. The mortality among the animals has increased, forcing herders to seek alternative migration routes and graze animals in unfamiliar and often riskier terrain.&nbsp; What were once well-established pastoral routes are also being disrupted by border controls, protected areas, highways and hydropower plants. Pastoral livelihoods that relied on predictable climatic rhythms are increasingly vulnerable. Wildlife populations are declining, and with them, centuries-old knowledge systems.&nbsp; The gradual loss of rangelands is threatening ways of life that depend on mobility, and intergenerational transmission of pastoral wisdom.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_bee79ad2f8c40ab562e184a836194da9b69d85c4f9ecafb93e986dd169738de4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260425060420_bee79ad2f8c40ab562e184a836194da9b69d85c4f9ecafb93e986dd169738de4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1554" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>A pastoral camp spreads across the high rangelands, where tents, horses and open pasture show the mobility that has long sustained herding life in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.ICIMOD - All Rights Reserved.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_1b0a939b622148631f1aab81f17b0291146baef69eac1bcce635e988104a3f3c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260425060420_1b0a939b622148631f1aab81f17b0291146baef69eac1bcce635e988104a3f3c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1539" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>At a seasonal camp, pastoral households stand at the centre of the rangeland, holding together family, livestock, culture, and mobility.ICIMOD - All Rights Reserved.</figcaption> </figure>  Miller’s work reminds us of what it was like in the 1970s, how much things are changing today. His photographs show lush pastures and fluid seasonal movement in regions where grasslands are now turniong into desert, springs are going dry, and extreme weather disrupt long-established migration cycles.&nbsp; Miller’s photographs of caravans and herders are an urgent call for action. They remind us that rangelands are livings sytems, interlinked with human survival, biodiversity and cultural identity. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_43067c16b97b0646b37b9bfa52602222a266a849bf8a2870ac628daa44a14c37.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260425060420_43067c16b97b0646b37b9bfa52602222a266a849bf8a2870ac628daa44a14c37" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1247" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>At 72, Miller is ready to ride.</figcaption> </figure>  Often, the burden of these changes falls on women and the elderly. Their traditional skills spinning wool into blankets, weaving hand-knotted carpets, crafting garments, and building yak-hair tents are becoming a lost art. &nbsp; In pastoral kitchens, the craft of preserving raw milk by turning it into chhurpi and ghee is declining with outmigration, water scarcity and warming trends.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_3fe1b1475afa1708587e7dcaebda539854c855a4d4283c360c2a3befbe98ce3d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260425060420_3fe1b1475afa1708587e7dcaebda539854c855a4d4283c360c2a3befbe98ce3d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1739" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>Goats and sheep are handled in a dusty enclosure, showing the daily labour and care of livestock by pastoralists in harsh terrain.ICIMOD - All Rights Reserved.</figcaption> </figure>  RECOGNISING PASTORIALISM The future of Himalayan rangelands depends on recognising pastoralism not just as an endangered way of life, but &nbsp;a system that must be valued and sustained. This demands innovative approaches that support the people who continue to serve as the custodians of these fragile landscapes.&nbsp; The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) 2026 unites global institutions and offers opportunities to recognise the value of rangelands and safeguard them before the loss is permanent.&nbsp; Saurav Thapa Shrestha is a Communications Associate at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu.

Rangelands of the Himalayan Range

Money may not grow on trees, but much of our prosperity does.
Forests quietly support trillions of dollars in economic activity, millions of jobs, and essentials like the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the climate we depend on. In reality, the global economy cannot function without healthy forests.
Forests are far more than timber. They stabilise soils and regulate water vital for agrifood systems and industrial productivity, supply energy and a wealth of forest products, and create space for recreation and ecotourism.
The formal forest sector alone <a href="https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/4c8bd12f-d6b8-4755-a82f-1284c41bf012" target="_blank">contributes an estimated $1.52 trillion annually to the global economy</a>, while <a href="https://www.weforum.org/publications/nature-risk-rising-why-the-crisis-engulfing-nature-matters-for-business-and-the-economy/" target="_blank">more than half of the world’s gross domestic product – some $44 trillion – relies on nature</a>, including forests.
For more than 2 billion people, wood fuel is essential for cooking and heating, and hundreds of millions of people depend directly on forests for their livelihoods. Beyond wood, forests provide foods, medicines, resins, fibers, animal feed and ornamental plants that <a href="https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cd6709en" target="_blank">support around 5.8 billion people worldwide</a>. These non-wood forest products are <a href="https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cd6709en" target="_blank">worth at least $9.41 billion annually</a> and could grow much further.
By storing carbon, forests help protect economies from climate impacts that can cost billions. In Brazil, for example, converting tropical forests to farmland has reduced evapotranspiration – the movement of water from land to the atmosphere – by 30%, raising local temperatures and putting rainfed agriculture at risk. Without forests, global food production simply cannot sustain.
Forests are also part of the natural solution as the world starts to transition towards a bioeconomy based on climate‑friendly alternatives from more emission‑intensive materials such as steel, concrete and plastic. As populations grow, renewable, sustainable wood used in construction for housing can become a cornerstone of a low-carbon economy, while innovative products such as wood-based textiles, food packaging and even transparent ‘glass’ are already a reality.
This will mean increased demand for forest products which is already at record levels. For example, by 2050, the world may <a href="https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/897149ba-87f1-43e8-9514-e7adb6729d57/content" target="_blank">need 1 billion cubic metres of industrial roundwood, </a>more than the 4 billion cubic metres currently being produced each year.
As it is, forests are already under pressure. They are home to up to 80% of biodiversity on land, yet they continue to be cleared for other economic uses, even if <a href="https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cd6709en" target="_blank">deforestation and forest degradation are slowing around the world</a>.
As climate change intensifies, the global economy of the future must look different: more sustainable, more circular, and more closely linked with nature. To get there, we need to bring protection and production together rather than treating them as opposites.
The <a href="https://www.fao.org/home/en/" target="_blank">Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations</a> (FAO) is working to promote the concrete steps needed to realise this vision of healthy forests that support livelihoods and deliver ecosystem services, including through sustainable products.
First of all, meeting rising demand does not have to mean taking more from nature than it can regenerate. Using wood more efficiently, smarter recycling and reusing wood products can reduce pressure on forests.
Long‑lasting uses, such as timber buildings, store carbon for decades, “stretching” each harvested log further. Sustainable forest management is vital to ensure that harvesting of timber and non-wood forest products stays within ecological limits and that forest ecosystems remain healthy.
International trade can also help balance global supply and demand, allowing regions with abundant forest resources to support those with fewer. But trade must be anchored in strong sustainability standards and governance to prevent deforestation and overharvesting of non-wood forest products and to ensure local communities benefit.
Incentive schemes and innovative financing can also help by rewarding those who protect forests and manage them responsibly, from smallholders to larger producers.
The growing bioeconomy, built on renewable materials like wood and bamboo, is ready to be scaled up and offers a promising path forward – as long as it remains firmly grounded in sustainable forestry. To that end, safeguards, clear rules and good governance are essential.
As we celebrate <a href="https://www.fao.org/international-day-of-forests/en" target="_blank">the International Day of Forests</a> on 21 March, one conclusion stands out clearly: without forests, there are no economies. The decisions made now will determine whether we can protect forests and, at the same time, build strong, resilient economies for generations to come.
Zhimin Wu is Assistant Director-General and Director of the Forestry Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

No forests, no economies

The wide <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-river-of-life">Karnali River</a> looks like the sea here in the Tarai, and thick fog makes it impossible to see the other shore. Farmers melt into the mist as they head off to their farms. A weak sun filters through by mid-morning. Pigs nap in their pens, goats are dressed in cardigans fashioned out of jute sacks for warmth, hens peck listlessly at the mud courtyards. Ducks waddle across the country roads, and cars swerve to avoid them. The indigenous Tharu and Sonaha communities here have deeply-rooted socio-cultural ties to the river. They have fished in it for generations, and fish is associated with births, deaths, and weddings. As their name suggests, the Sonaha have also traditionally panned for gold in the sand along the banks. But in recent decades, over-fishing, pollution and infrastructure have led to a decline in the Karnali’s fish population. Last week, near the Satti bridge connecting Sudurpaschim and Lumbini Provinces, the fog lifted to reveal the blue-green Karnali glimmering in the sun. Hundreds of people from Kailali’s Tikapur and Bardia’s Rajapur gathered for the inauguration of the Sakhi Fish Sanctuary — the first conservation effort of its kind in Nepal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260116130120_ef2493a1124a33e90ca39f3a0b861ffef4a8bde6b5d3839f96e2fe7f583d0de8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260116130120_ef2493a1124a33e90ca39f3a0b861ffef4a8bde6b5d3839f96e2fe7f583d0de8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Karnali aquatic reserve"> <figcaption>The Sonaha community have traditionally panned for gold in the sand along the banks of the Karnali River. Photos: GAYATRI PRADHAN / WWF NEPAL</figcaption> </figure>  The sanctuary covers nearly 4 sq km of the Lower Karnali that falls within the two municipalities, and is ecologically significant since it serves as critical breeding, spawning, and nursery habitats for endangered fish, reptiles and mammals.&nbsp; Here are found the rare Gangetic River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica), the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/crocodile-chronicle">Gharial</a> (Gavialis gangeticus) &nbsp;fish-eating crocodile, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-the-karnali-otters">Smooth-coated Otter</a> (Lutrogale perspicillata). In addition, there are 197 species of fish in the Karnali, of which 136 are found here in the Tarai section of the river. The pebbled riverbed is a breeding ground for fish when the river is low, while the oxbow lakes and loops created by the nearby Satti bridge are nursing grounds for fish. This is what makes this section of the Karnali ideal to be declared a sanctuary. But what makes the conservation effort really unique is that it is an initiative of the two local municipalities, the local Tharu, Sonaha and other indigenous communities. The sanctuary will support the river’s aquatic biodiversity, and is supported by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Dolphin Conservation Centre, Freed Kamaiya Women Development Forum, Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation, and the Sonaha Bikas Samaj.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260115110116_f844434e0191df09ad6d6d7887a69491eaf15f0ff1b093c7866ab22cfb0c6c95.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260115110116_f844434e0191df09ad6d6d7887a69491eaf15f0ff1b093c7866ab22cfb0c6c95" data-rendition-name="original" width="1358" height="1312" loading="lazy" alt="6-7 map"> </figure>  MEKONG LESSONS The mayors of Tikapur and Rajapur visited fish conservation zones in Laos along the Mekong River to learn about their conservation practices. &nbsp; “We have indiscriminately killed the fish in the Karnali during the breeding and nursing season,” said Rajapur Mayor Dipesh Tharu at the inauguration. “We felt that if this continued there would be no fish left.” Tharu is aware that some locals are wary of conservation initiatives, fearing that it will ban fishing altogether. The sanctuary will allow sustainable fishing but ban the use of dynamite and poison to kill fish.&nbsp; “The sanctuary will contribute to the conservation of not just fish species, but also the mammals and reptiles that live here,” explained ichthyologist Suresh Wagle. “It will protect the spawning and nursing grounds, restore the natural habitat of fish and ensure their genetic continuation.” Tikapur’s mayor Ram Lal Dangaura Tharu recalled his own childhood spent fishing in the Karnali: “Even two decades ago there used to be plenty of fish here, we used to bring baskets full of them home. Now, it is looking like there will be no fish left. This is why the sanctuary is important.” Local governments taking the lead in conservation allows them to have ownership, and help citizens understand the importance of protecting the riverine ecosystem better.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260116130120_fddc696800b9b38d02736195af2b3535667cde365d56151ccf85eb0756f1ad8f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260116130120_fddc696800b9b38d02736195af2b3535667cde365d56151ccf85eb0756f1ad8f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Karnali aquatic reserve"> </figure>  “The commitment of the local government towards resource conservation, management and sustainable development is what makes this sanctuary so unique,” says Ghana Gurung of WWF Nepal. “In Nepal and across the world, we are seeing indigenous culture and traditions disappear with the biodiversity. This initiative will not just protect freshwater aquatic species but also the culture and heritage of indigenous groups linked to the river.” Komal Sonaha grew up fishing and panning for gold along the banks of the Karnali. The fish provided food, and the gold brought additional income. Sonaha also remembers Karnali brimming with fish when she was young. “But now, there are hardly any left,” she said. &nbsp; Sonaha is also a WWF Otter Champion, and part of the community-run river conservation groups that mobilise local communities for awareness. “Initially there was anger and suspicion among local communities, but now, there is a realisation that the sanctuary is the best thing that could have happened here,” Sonaha added.&nbsp; Sonaha and her family still pan for gold, but with the fish scarce, their primary means of livelihood has shifted to livestock like many other families in Tikapur and Rajapur, supported by national and local institutions.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260116130120_23d679da5c49f22342b4fd80f0d0ec5a1fb4c38fb4ac379d276a959f435b4f68.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260116130120_23d679da5c49f22342b4fd80f0d0ec5a1fb4c38fb4ac379d276a959f435b4f68" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Karnali aquatic reserve"> <figcaption>Local communities whose livelihoods are linked with the Karnali river have been supported by organisations like WWF Nepal and other national and local organisations to set up alternative means of income generation.</figcaption> </figure>  Ashmita Tharu and Pratima Tharu also used to depend on fish, but now have shifted to vegetable farming in Rajapur. This time of year, there is spinach, cucumber, and cauliflower ready to be sold to nearby markets. The women are now financially independent and actively contribute to their household expenses and their children’s education. Said Pratima: “We used to fish in this river without thinking about the consequences. We had no idea how important conservation was.”&nbsp; Ashmita nods in agreement. “Now, we are self-employed and so busy with our vegtables that we do not even have time to fish anymore,” she said. With Tikapur and Rajapur municipalities leading the charge, conservationists hope that other local governments and communities along other rivers in Nepal will follow suit to preserve aquatic biodiversity.&nbsp; “This initiative from the two municipalities is a milestone in conservation,” said Bijay Shrestha of the Dolphin Conservation Centre. “This will serve as a model and can be replicated across the country to conserve our freshwater habitat and the people who rely on them.” Local officials also hope that the sanctuary will provide an opportunity to explore options like fishing tourism. &nbsp; Said Tikapur Mayor Ram Lal Dangaura Tharu: “The Karnali, with its biodiversity, is a river of opportunity and possibility, we are determined to protect it, and make what this river has to offer known to Nepal and the world.” &nbsp; This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251224141220_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20251224141220_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG"> </figure>

Karnali Aquatic Reserve

Frontpage topic

Every time the price of fuel rises in Nepal, the country performs a familiar ritual: a longer weekend is announced, officials speak of austerity, an odd-even for vehicle is mulled, and the nation tightens its belt, waits for the global market to settle, and then quietly returns to exactly where it was before: exposed and dependent.
With barely ten days of petroleum in reserve, this is not crisis management but crisis theatre. And we have been performing it, with minor variations, during every crisis in the past 50 years.
Crude oil prices have surged past $100 per barrel (from $72/barrel before the war) and further increase is expected if the Strait of Hormuz continues to be disrupted much longer. The oil shock hit Nepal hard with the new government raising fuel prices four times in the past month and petrol hitting Rs232 per litre, up from Rs152.&nbsp;
But it is spoken of as an external factor, something visited upon Nepal from the outside over which we have no control. That framing may be comforting, but dishonest. This is not the cruelty of circumstance. It is a harvest of a structural negligence so deeply embedded that successive governments mistakenly treat it as normal.
In 2015, Nepal’s economy was brought to its knees when fuel supply from India was stopped for nearly five months. Factories shuttered, hospitals ran short of medicines, private vehicles were off the roads, and earthquake relief was stuck.
Black market petrol was sold in mineral water bottles by the roadside for three times the official rate. When it was over, the reckoning was swift and the promise was absolute: Nepal would build strategic petroleum reserves sufficient to last 90 days.&nbsp;
This was not an ambition. It was treated as a covenant, a debt owed to the 800,000 during that bleak winter 10 years ago. A decade later, Nepal holds only up to 13 days of fuel reserves.
That number, not any trade statistic, policy paper or any diplomatic disagreement, is the failure of every government that has held power since to give Nepal a breathing space on energy during a crisis. It is the ledger on which their energy stewardship should be judged.&nbsp;
The Lothar oil terminal is under construction, and its expansion plans exist only on paper. Construction timelines slip, budgets stretch, and in the meantime the country wakes every few years to the same queue outside every petrol station, the same panic, the same ritual of weekend closures and official proclamations.
What makes this particularly difficult to defend is not the vulnerability itself, Nepal is landlocked, import-dependent, and subject to geopolitical pressures it cannot fully control. These are genuine constraints. The tragedy is that the vulnerability is entirely foreseeable, and has been for years.&nbsp;
Strategic petroleum reserves are not a sophisticated intervention. They are a buffer, the most elementary form of national insurance. Every major economy that imports fuel maintains them. The International Energy Agency (IEA) sets 90 days as the global standard. India holds 25 days and is working toward 45. Jordan, similarly, dependent on imports, holds 60 days. Nepal, with the full knowledge of what it means, holds just 13 days.&nbsp;
The argument has never been that storage capacity is impossible to build. It is that they have never been made a legislative obligation, never written into law with a deadline, a penalty, and a mechanism for enforcement. Every government has treated it as a target rather than a threshold. And targets, in the history of governance in Nepal, have an unhappy tendency to drift.
Nepal now exports electricity to its neighbours. The country that cannot keep its petrol stations stocked for a fortnight earns revenue from selling hydroelectric power. Many new passenger vehicles sold here run on electricity. The grid is more than 95% renewable. By these measures, Nepal is ahead of countries with vastly more resources.&nbsp;
This is no small achievement, it reflects a genuine and organic momentum in the economy, driven as much by citizens choosing electric vehicles for practical reasons as by any government mandate.
But this momentum is built on an unstable foundation. The energy transition, however real, has not yet reduced Nepal’s vulnerability to petroleum shocks. Diesel still moves nearly all freight. LPG still cooks most meals. Aviation, industry, and heavy transport remain entirely fossil dependent.&nbsp;
The tactical response, price adjustment, tax relief, demand suppression, addresses none of this. It is the work of a country that has accepted its own fragility as a permanent feature, and learned to manage the symptoms rather than treat the condition.
The new government arrives with something its predecessors did not have: an unambiguous parliamentary majority and a mandate built explicitly on the promise of structural reform. Political capital of this magnitude must be spent on hard decisions, or it is spent on nothing at all.
The hard decision here is not complicated: it requires a single piece of legislation, an Energy Security Act that mandates a minimum strategic petroleum reserve of 60 days within three years, establishes an independent monitoring body, and makes non-compliance a matter of ministerial accountability rather than administrative aspiration.&nbsp;
This is not a target, not a policy. It is a law.
There will be other wars, droughts, border disruptions, geopolitical tremors and crises that create a fuel shortage and sky high prices. The question is not if that day will come, but when.
Will Nepal, by then, have built itself a margin of survival? The pledge of 2015 to build strategic reserves is still unfulfilled. The new government can finish the job.&nbsp;
Ashutosh Dev is a PhD researcher at Victoria University of Wellington and a New Zealand Award Scholar specialising in renewable energy systems, energy resilience, and the socio-technical transitions of the Global South.&nbsp;

Nepal is a 13-day country

In 2024, renewables accounted for the largest share of growth in global energy supply. For the first time, solar and wind generation exceeded coal and gas in the European Union. In the United States, solar and wind reached 16%, overtaking coal. In China, solar and wind generated about 20% of total power. More than 51% of India’s total installed electricity capacity now comes from non-fossil fuel sources.&nbsp; Together, these shifts point to a system in transition at a time when the world is once again confronting a global energy crisis due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. But this is not an isolated disruption — it is a structural signal reminding us that fossil fuel dependence is not only environmentally unsustainable, but also economically and geopolitically precarious. History shows that crises can be turning points. They disrupt inertia, challenge established systems, and open space for transformation.&nbsp; Many countries are responding to the war by accelerating their energy transitions. In <a href="https://asianinsiders.com/2026/03/31/asia-energy-transition-plans-oil-crisis/" target="_blank">Asia</a>, India, Indonesia and Vietnam are scaling up renewables and electric mobility, while also exploring storage and grid upgrades. China continues to lead globally in solar and wind expansion, rapidly increasing domestic capacity to reduce exposure to external shocks. Japan and South Korea are investing in hydrogen, offshore wind and next-generation energy systems. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/16/south-korea-solar-power-renewables-revolution" target="_blank">South Korea</a> is expanding community-based solar programs, linking clean energy with local development and economic benefits. In Europe, the response has been both immediate and strategic. The <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/topics/energy/repowereu_en" target="_blank">European Union’s REPowerEU plan</a> aims to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels while accelerating renewables, improving efficiency, and diversifying supply. Germany, Spain, and Denmark are expanding wind and solar at scale, with renewables increasingly outcompeting fossil fuels. Chile is advancing solar and green hydrogen, Brazil is strengthening its renewable-based power system, and South Africa is opening space for private renewable investment to address power shortages. Efforts are underway even in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/15/cuba-beat-us-energy-blockade-investment-renewables" target="_blank">Cuba to scale renewables</a> to reduce reliance on imported fuels. Energy security and climate action are no longer competing priorities, they are deeply aligned. Renewable energy offers not just emissions reduction, but independence from volatile global markets. The question is no longer whether the transition will happen, but how quickly it can scale. The current crisis is also reshaping global climate diplomacy. Initiatives such as the <a href="https://transitionawayconference.com/" target="_blank">Santa Marta Conference</a>, bringing together countries committed to accelerating the fossil fuel transition, signal growing political momentum for systemic change. These efforts reflect increasing frustration with slow progress and a recognition that incremental change is no longer sufficient. This aligns with broader developments under the Paris Agreement. The outcome of the first Global Stocktake marked a historic shift in global consensus, reaffirming that the 1.5°C goal requires not just emissions reduction, but a fundamental transformation of energy systems. The COP30 Presidency in Brazil has further championed this by advancing roadmaps for transitioning away from fossil fuels and scaling up clean energy deployment. It serves as a catalyst to translate global commitments into practical pathways, linking ambition with implementation. NEPAL'S EXAMPLE  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260426090444_cb2659cf00a284ab7f6578963a4fed861133cfbb0141c6d13bb779a42f9f50aa.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260426090444_cb2659cf00a284ab7f6578963a4fed861133cfbb0141c6d13bb779a42f9f50aa" data-rendition-name="original" width="906" height="460" loading="lazy" alt="energy trandition due to West Asia conflict"> </figure>  Despite rising global prices, Nepal’s overall spending on fuel imports has declined for the last four consecutive years, driven by the expansion of hydropower, increased electrification, growing adoption of electric vehicles (page 5) and electric cooking, and policy measures aligned with Nepal’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Together, these efforts are beginning to reshape the country’s energy landscape. Also, from last fiscal year the country is &nbsp;exporting clean hydro electricity. Nepal’s experience shows that transitions do not always require massive technological breakthroughs. It often begins with incremental changes, better policies, targeted investments and shifts in behaviour. It demonstrates that even in the face of structural challenges, it is possible to reduce fossil fuel dependence while advancing development goals. Too often, short-term responses to crises, such as fuel subsidies or increased fossil fuel production, undermine long-term goals. Rather than increasing dependence on fossil fuel, <a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/energy-prices-are-spiking-again_a68e5c37-en/full-report.html" target="_blank">investments should focus on diversification</a>, efficiency and clean energy systems. The transition is not a question of feasibility, but of priorities. Choices made today will shape the future for decades to come.&nbsp; We can choose to treat this as a temporary disruption, patching up the system and returning to business as usual. Or we can recognise it as a turning point, an opportunity to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable, resilient and equitable energy system. What is needed now is the will to act and invest because every crisis holds the seeds of a new beginning. Manjeet Dhakal is the Head of the LDC Support Team at Climate Analytics and Director for Climate Analytics South Asia.

Silver lining in war clouds

Even 11 years later, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/disaster-journalism">25 April 2015</a> is etched into the psyche of every Nepali who lived through it.&nbsp;
Some remember the first crack on the walls. Others recall the low, deep rumbling. Many flash back to the silence that followed, when phone lines were jammed, and how the time stood still between aftershocks.&nbsp;
Many remember waiting for news, for help, for certainty that never came. April 25 did not just shake buildings, it exposed some harsh realities of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/disastrous-preparedness">Nepal's disaster management system</a>.&nbsp;
Disasters in Nepal are not isolated events, they are what medicine would call an 'acute on chronic' crisis. They reveal the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/it-better-be-better-next-time">deeper, long-standing weaknesses</a>: in our road network, our hospitals, governance, and most critically, our lack of preparedness.&nbsp;
Nearly 10,000 lives were lost, entire districts were flattened, thousands of livestock and homes were lost. While attention was drawn to Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas, most of the devastation was in hard to reach rural areas.
The first responders were not professionals. They were our neighbours who dug through rubble with bare hands. They were mothers who pulled children from collapsed homes. They were communities who organised themselves without training, without equipment, without formal leadership structures.&nbsp;
The first 48-72 hours after a disaster determines who lives and who dies. In Nepal, those hours often pass before outside help can arrive, especially in areas where geography and infrastructure delay response.&nbsp;
If 2015 is too far back to remember, let us look at the 2023 Jajarkot earthquake: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/poverty-killed-a-mother-not-the-quake">a pregnant woman dying from the cold</a>, supplies bottlenecked in district offices instead of reaching villages, and rubble cleared days later.
All of this means that survival depends on communities. And yet, despite having disaster response frameworks on paper, there was no meaningful implementation of community-level preparedness in 2015.&nbsp;
Plans spoke of training, simulations, and local capacity building, but these were not translated into action where they were needed the most. When the earthquake struck, communities responded with courage and improvisation despite their own losses.
But now we have evidence that things can be different. In places like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/devolution-for-development">Ramaroshan village in Achham district</a>, community responders have been trained to recognise emergencies, control bleeding, splint fractures, and stabilise patients after road accidents and falls. They are showing us that when communities are equipped, they can deliver emergency care.&nbsp;
This is crucial not only during disasters but every single day. A bus goes off the road, a child is injured, a woman falls from a tree, a landslide cuts off access, and so on. In these moments, the difference between life and death is often what happens before a patient reaches a hospital.&nbsp;
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/building-back-not-better-after-2015-kxble6c6">Preparedness</a> is not just about earthquakes. It is about building a system that works during everyday mishaps that quietly define our health outcomes.&nbsp;
Sooner or later, there will be another earthquake in Nepal. It is a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/past-disasters-foretold">geological certainty</a>. The 2015 disaster did not release all the energy and there has not been a major quake in western Nepal in over 500 years.&nbsp;
Besides, we also have to be prepared for floods, landslides, and fires, all of them made worse by the climate crisis.&nbsp;
Community-based responses should not be treated as a backup plan, we need to scale it up. We must build local disaster leadership, conduct real drills, and equip communities with basic tools, first aid, and communication systems.&nbsp;
After a disaster event, people also need reassurance that they have not been abandoned, that their lives matter whether they live in Kathmandu or Jajarkot, and that the system sees them. Because when communities feel neglected long enough, the consequences are not only humanitarian but political.
Rural neglect, lack of opportunity, and absence of state presence have contributed to instability and conflict in the past. The Maoist armed insurgency is an example.&nbsp;
Disasters do not create these fractures, but they deepen them. Hence, preparedness is not just about saving lives, it is also about building trust in a state.
25 April should be a day of remembrance, a day where we hold ourselves accountable. It should also be a day of possibility. Disasters, painful as they are, create opportunities for countries to change their trajectory.&nbsp;
The 2015 earthquake was one such moment. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/demographics-of-disaster-in-nepal-quake">Jajarkot was another reminder</a>. We cannot keep letting these moments pass.
This is a call to our new government to invest in systems that start from the ground up, and to take what has worked in places like Achham and scale it nationally. The government has a real opportunity to build communities, not just for them.
This is also a reminder to communities that preparedness is not a privilege, but a right. As we mark the 2015 disaster and mourn the lives lost, we should honour them through action, through real preparedness.&nbsp;
The next disaster is just waiting to happen, and when it does, it will once again test us and our systems. We can either choose to confront it the way we did in 2015 or with communities that are trained, equipped, connected, and ready.
25 April is not over. But our preparedness will vastly differentiate the outcome. &nbsp;
Ramu Kharel is an emergency medicine specialist and Assistant Professor at Brown University in the USA. Hefounded the non-profit <a href="http://www.hapsaglobe.org/" target="_blank">HAPSA Nepal</a> that works to strengthen community based emergency and trauma care in Nepal.

25 April is not over

EVs in Nepal have come a long way since the micro-segment Reva was first introduced in the early 2000s with 2-seat occupancy and giving no more than 80km of range.&nbsp; Mahindra acquired Reva and introduced the upgraded e2O which was well-suited for city driving, but alas they are no longer made. Now, <a href="https://youtu.be/nXFjV_YJiZg?si=B5N4PB2Exoup6JV4" target="_blank">Mahindra’s latest flagship the BE6 </a>crossover EV is a whole new breed, evolving leaps and bounds with its jet fighter-inspired cockpit design and a boatload of futuristic tech. But with such an impressive history of EVs in Nepal and the whole range of models to choose from, it seems we are still addicted to fossil fuels. Not everyone has, or wants, to make the transition to battery-powered locomotion just yet.&nbsp; Even though range anxiety may not be as much of an issue anymore, drivers may not want to wait a whole hour for a fast DC charge to 80% on their EVs, when a quick 5-minute pit stop at a gas station allows them to hit the highway again quickly.&nbsp; But Nepal was second only to Norway last year in the proportion of new cars being battery-powered. And this has to some extent cushioned us from the full impact of the fallout on fuel prices due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade. The uptake of EVs in Nepal was a direct result of tax rebates. As Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle prepares the annual budget, it could be an opportunity to extend tax breaks to public vehicles to further reduce Nepal’s petroleum import bill. Even if the war ends and the strait is opened to tanker traffic, however, energy experts say it will take months for oil prices to stabilise. This means petrol in Kathmandu will stay at Rs219/l or thereabouts for some time yet. It was only Rs160/l before the war. Nepal is 100% reliant on imported fuel from India, which in turn relies mostly on imports from the Gulf states. We are directly affected by the escalating conflict and geopolitical tension. Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) usually <a href="https://noc.org.np/retailprice" target="_blank">publishes</a> a new fuel price every 15 days, for petrol, diesel and kerosene at the beginning, and another at the middle of the English month.&nbsp; But departing from the 15-day rule, NOC has made large out-of-schedule overnight revisions to the fuel prices in the pst month to accommodate global fuel fluctuations. The two-day weekend may help, but the higher prices have already forced consumers to travel less. There are rumours that if supplies from India are further constrained, the government may implement an even/odd number plate rule. Driven by relentlessly rising fuel prices, the willingness to transition to electric mobility, whether two-wheelers or four-wheelers, has never been higher. Your columnist has also observed a surge in inquiries from both new and old EV owners, reflecting a clear shift in consumer sentiment, and recently took out the BYD Atto 2 on a test drive (review below). This growing demand for EVs has its own set of challenges. Global supply chains are already under severe strain, and as demand for electric vehicles accelerates worldwide, production bottlenecks are inevitable.&nbsp; The question then arises: will Nepal have sufficient EV stock to meet this surge, or will consumers be faced with longer waiting periods and limited choices? For the time being, Nepalis must look beyond quick fixes and begin actively reducing fuel dependency in more ways. While switching to EVs offers an immediate alternative, it is not a complete solution.&nbsp; The current oil shock is not just about fuel, but about the future economic model this country will have to adapt to.&nbsp; <h2>Versatile e-vehicle</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260421130444_0ad98a38fd48172bec5d5e83005b0a2f6c06ef5f4d6672d27777b429a70a3848.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260421130444_0ad98a38fd48172bec5d5e83005b0a2f6c06ef5f4d6672d27777b429a70a3848" data-rendition-name="original" width="1784" height="1004" loading="lazy" alt="BYD Atto 2"> </figure>  I got into the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRG23MQKPcY&amp;t=879s" target="_blank">BYD Atto 2 </a>knowing that it met almost all the requirements on my checklist:&nbsp; <ul> <li>Muscular-looking SUV design</li> <li>Decent size battery pack (51kWh Blade Battery) that gave over 300km range (345km WLTP claim)</li> <li>Powerful enough motor with good acceleration (100kW motor producing 290Nm torque)</li> <li>Healthy amount of features and space on the inside&nbsp;</li> <li>Above all, an abundance of ground clearance (200mm) greatly needed for our roads.&nbsp;</li> </ul> The cherry on top was that all this came at a sub Rs5 million price tag. But one nagging question on my mind was: will the Atto 2 drive as well in real life, as it sounded on the <a href="https://www.byd.com/np" target="_blank">BYD website</a>?&nbsp; Getting in, the almost all-black cabin felt premium. Shifting in my seat and turning on the seat ventilation with a push of the accelerator pedal, I found the vehicle had more pull than anticipated.&nbsp; The <a href="https://www.byd.com/np/car/atto2" target="_blank">Atto 2</a> turned out to be a jack of all trades, it had something for everyone. Whether you need to drive from Kathmandu to Nepalganj, rough it to West Rukum, or get stuck in Kathmandu traffic, this was one versatile vehicle. Arnav Upadhyay is a content creator who reviews automobiles and promotes road safety for his Nepali Times column, Drive Line. He is also on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@casuallyannoyeddriver">Youtube</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@casuallyannoyeddriver">Tiktok</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/casuallyannoyeddriver/">IG</a> under the handle Casually Annoyed Driver.

Petrol panic to plug-in promise

When Nepal decided to mark the annual National Yak Day on 20 April 2025, it celebrated an animal that has been the backstay of mountain livelihoods for centuries.&nbsp; The sure-footed yak is more than just an iconic bovine. It is the guardian of the high Himalaya and integral to the identity of pastoralist communities. Yaks provide a lifeline: hauling goods across treacherous trails, providing milk, butter and warm wool for clothing, and providing dung that serves as fertiliser and fuel.&nbsp; (In English, yak is used to refer to both the male and female, while in Himalayan languages it refers strictly to the male, while females are called dri or nak. A dzo or chauri is a crossbreed between a yak and a domestic cow.)  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260420130436_8d828e6e87963b6be7efbf6752f708d06ac026f8b212de382f24d6ce8e023da3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260420130436_8d828e6e87963b6be7efbf6752f708d06ac026f8b212de382f24d6ce8e023da3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="1313" loading="lazy" alt="Yak"> <figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  At above 3000m, where the air is thin and cold, yaks and chauri have made mountain agro-pastoralism coexist. This transhumance herding and livelihood system, practiced by the Sherpa, Tamang, Thakali, Rai, Limbu and other communities shapes pastoralist identities.&nbsp; The yak also holds deep cultural ties, often featuring in folklore and festivals. Their presence has led to a rich indigenous pastoral knowledge of the alpine ecology, embodying a unique harmony between people and nature. But despite their value and reverence, the animals and the customary practices around them are in peril. Nepal's yak population has plummeted from around 200,000 in the 1960s to just 53,000 today.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260420130436_6684dbdf0990c5f0a4dd8ac353f3ab3c803ad77d99f45b62ec4793ecbe9c55e0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260420130436_6684dbdf0990c5f0a4dd8ac353f3ab3c803ad77d99f45b62ec4793ecbe9c55e0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="National Yak Day 2026"> <figcaption>Photos: FAO NEPAL</figcaption> </figure>  Climate change has led to the degradation of alpine pastures, increasing temperatures, while prolonged winter droughts and unseasonal snow have reduced nutritious pastures. Traditional grazing areas have shrunk, or claimed for other uses. Nepal’s highland youth are migrating to cities or abroad, leading to a decline in second-generation pastoralists as well as a loss of traditional knowledge in yak husbandry. Those who remain face rising losses from predators and disease outbreaks, compounded by scarce veterinary services.&nbsp; At present, fewer than 10,000 households across Nepal still rear yaks, endangering an important cultural heritage.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260420130432_7098ab71303f70ab82c665d1038da8bd28a173b08183d4ec1599021a1fcdffb5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260420130432_7098ab71303f70ab82c665d1038da8bd28a173b08183d4ec1599021a1fcdffb5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="National Yak Day 2026"> </figure>  National Yak Day, therefore, marks an important step in Nepal’s effort to revitalise the yak economy, focusing national attention to its role in food security, livelihoods, ecology and culture.&nbsp; The UN's Food and Agricutlure Organization (FAO) in Nepal is also integrating yak development into its agricultural investment programs, market facilitation, and support for high-mountain communities.&nbsp; Yak herders from 25 districts across five provinces have formed a national federation, uniting to advocate for their needs from grazing rights and market accessibility to better veterinary and extension services.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260420130432_088d493721e598e01e5fed3b5cffaabf85f3267839b50358898edcc3403177c3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260420130432_088d493721e598e01e5fed3b5cffaabf85f3267839b50358898edcc3403177c3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="National Yak Day 2026"> </figure>  National Yak Day has become more than symbolic: it has evolved into a collective platform to drive policy support and cooperative action to keep yak pastoralism alive. The conservation of Nepal’s yak populations is important for the rights, mobility, and the preservation of highland cultures, but it also presents an economic opportunity. The most effective way to sustain yak herding and retain the communities that depend on it is to make it a financially viable livelihood. What has long been practiced as a subsistence activity can, through innovation and value addition, evolve into a driver of economic growth and resilience for herding communities.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260420130436_1fa5a1b49c6171a7f6b1b89661f060c5fabaec8d3364e6bd0a2834f7e4acdca7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260420130436_1fa5a1b49c6171a7f6b1b89661f060c5fabaec8d3364e6bd0a2834f7e4acdca7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="National Yak Day 2026"> </figure>  Yak-based products ranging from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-story-of-langtang-cheese">Himalayan yak cheese in Langtang</a> to churpi and yak wool already secure premium value in niche markets. With enhanced processing, improved cold-chain systems, stronger branding, and greater recognition of the collective rights of herding communities, these value chains hold considerable potential to further increase income. Herder-led homestays and tourism also presents promising avenues for diversification. But <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/langtang-emmentaler">yak herding </a>is inherently dependent on seasonal mobility across highland pastures, yet access to traditional grazing routes is becoming increasingly constrained, and land tenure arrangements remain insufficiently defined.&nbsp; The long-term viability of yak herding systems needs to be addressed. Access to rangelands and recognition of transhumance practices are not secured, the foundations of the yak economy will continue to erode.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260420130432_efc69e496af84a5904b3e101929e2a8124a02f525ac9cc137dbd303d6e0cb724.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260420130432_efc69e496af84a5904b3e101929e2a8124a02f525ac9cc137dbd303d6e0cb724" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="National Yak Day 2026"> </figure>  Revitalising this sector, therefore, requires more value chain investment and private sector coordination; it will also need policy reform and state support.&nbsp; Highland communities need pastoral grazing rights, and strengthened claims on the lands of which they have long been the custodians. Targeted subsidies, transport support, and tax exemptions for high-altitude enterprises can help offset the structural disadvantages of remoteness.&nbsp; With investment, Nepal can create green jobs, curb out-migration from mountain areas, and give young people a reason to carry forward a livelihood that is their heritage. The yak is a climate-resilient animal, and its economy could yield high returns across social, economic, and environmental dimensions.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260420130436_529793aac7a8497a9fefd35a054f256ee611ee2dad09d53a7ba9af91dbb7bec3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260420130436_529793aac7a8497a9fefd35a054f256ee611ee2dad09d53a7ba9af91dbb7bec3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="National Yak Day 2026"> </figure>  The second annual National Yak Day on 20 April arrives as the world prepares for the UN’s International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) 2026, a global initiative to safeguard pastoralist communities and the fragile rangeland they nurture.&nbsp; By aligning National Yak Day with IYRP themes, Nepal has amplified its message and tapped international partnerships. The shared goal is the economic empowerment of yak-herding families. With secure livelihoods and a voice in policy, Nepal’s mountain pastoralists can continue as stewards of the high mountains, protecting nature as they have for generations. FAO is leading this momentous effort, calling for stronger support for pastoralists from the Andes to the Himalayas. Nepal’s yak herders have been the bedrock to food security, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation through their traditional livelihoods.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260420130436_3ed4e181a51ab8beef1dbd84e19d19040e7de39448a07fc4242971d9d69feea8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20260420130436_3ed4e181a51ab8beef1dbd84e19d19040e7de39448a07fc4242971d9d69feea8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="National Yak Day 2026"> </figure>  In Nepal, FAO has been working with the government and national partners to co-host a forum to strengthen Nepal’s Rangeland Policy, aiming to ensure herders have better access to pastures and support services. FAO Nepal is also engaged in the value chain and digital innovation to support yak pastoralists. National Yak Day 2026 is an opportunity to promote a development model that builds on, rather than replaces, traditional livelihoods. Supporting yaks and pastoralists is not just about preserving their past, it is a pragmatic approach to supporting climate-resilient mountain livelihoods.&nbsp; This means recognising pastoral mobility, securing grazing rights, investing in value chains, and ensuring highland communities are not sidelined in national development. The moment for Nepal to act is now by enabling policies, targeted investment, and greater recognition, yak herding can serve as a foundation for a future where economic opportunity, ecological sustainability, and cultural continuity are mutually strengthened for better livelihoods across Nepal’s mountain communities.&nbsp; Ken Shimizu has been the FAO Country Representative for Bhutan and Nepal since 2021.

Nepal’s yak economy

In a swift and decisive move, US forces abducted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife to the United States. The current government in Caracas has little choice but to largely submit to Washington’s dictates.&nbsp;
Trump’s motives for the war against Iran remain unclear, partly because the US president has cited various reasons: to finally destroy the Iranian nuclear program, to end the Iranian threat to the Middle East, to support the Iranian people, and to overthrow the terrible regime in Tehran. He remains vague about his reasoning and seems to make off the cuff suggestions for regime change.&nbsp;
Trump had a lofty idea at how he envisions the end of this war. He has suggested “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/2026/03/why-iran-regime-wont-surrender/686422/" target="_blank">unconditional surrender</a>,” followed by his personal involvement in the <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/05/iran-leader-trump-khamenei" target="_blank">selection of a successor</a>: I must be involved in picking Iran’s next leader.
The swift victory against Iran failed to materialise, an end to the war is not in sight, and a new leader has been chosen without Trump’s involvement. The structures of the mullah regime appear so entrenched that the anticipated regime change following the rapid decapitation of the leadership did not occur. Yet Donald Trump had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/magazine/iran-trump-regime-change-history-eisenhower.html" target="_blank">proclaimed</a>: “What we did in Venezuela is, in my opinion, the perfect, the perfect scenario.”&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/trump-venezuela-hostile-takeover/686469/" target="_blank">The Atlantic</a> calls this attitude a “hostile corporate takeover of an entire country”. Now the <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2026/03/17/politics/video/trump-cuba-honor-ldn-digvid" target="_blank">US government</a> expects Cuba to surrender. “I think I could do anything I want” with Cuba, Trump declared, now that the island is virtually cut off from energy supplies and its economy is in ruins. He is demanding the removal of Cuban President Diaz-Canel.
In the business world hostile corporate takeovers sometimes work, sometimes they fail. Similarly with Trump’s idea of swift government surrenders. In the case of Iran, he was misguided by the Wall Street playbook. Irresponsibly, he called on Iranians to overthrow the government before the bombing campaign started. Regime change in Iran has now been forgotten and Trump is agnostic about democracy. He is interested to get the oil price down and the stock market up.
Lessons from the past
The concept of regime change—replacing the top of the government to install one more agreeable to the US—is not new to US foreign policy. Proponents of regime change usually point to Japan and Germany as positive examples of successful democratisation. Often, however, the goal is not, or at least not primarily, democratisation, but rather the installation of a government that is ideologically close to the US or amenable to them.&nbsp;
But the “Trump Corollary”, as explicitly stated in the National Security Strategy to enforce the Monroe Doctrine, is not new either. In reality, it was already the Kennedy, Nixon, Reagan, and Bush doctrine.
Both Trump’s idea of ​​regime change and his rigorously pursued territorial ambitions (Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal) are reminiscent of the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, particularly the version of this doctrine expanded by President Roosevelt in 1904.&nbsp;
This doctrine legitimised American interventions in Latin America. At the beginning of the 20th century, the US intervened in numerous Latin American countries in ‘its backyard’, using military and intelligence means: in Colombia, to support Panamanian separatists in controlling the Panama Canal; repeatedly in the Dominican Republic; they occupied Cuba from 1906 to 1909 and intervened there repeatedly afterward; in Nicaragua during the so-called ‘Banana War’, to protect the interests of the US company United Fruit; in Mexico, as well as in Haiti and Honduras.
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/magazine/iran-trump-regime-change-history-eisenhower.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> recently suggested that Trump’s current enthusiasm for regime change is most comparable to that of Dwight D. Eisenhower. During his two terms in office from 1953 to 1961, the once coldly calculating general allowed himself to be seduced into a downward spiral from one coup to the next.&nbsp;
In 1953, the US succeeded in overthrowing the elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh with Operation Ajax. Mossadegh wanted to nationalise the British-owned oil industry. The coup succeeded with CIA support. The US installed the Shah as its puppet. He ruled with absolute power until the so-called Iranian Revolution and the dictatorship of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979.&nbsp;
After the successful overthrow of the government in Iran, Eisenhower decided to intervene in Guatemala. The elected president, Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán, who initiated far-reaching land reform laws, was overthrown in a coup d’état in 1954 and replaced by the pro-American colonel, Castillo Armas.
During this period, the US government also formulated the so-called domino theory, which aimed to prevent governments, particularly in Asia, from aligning themselves with the Soviet Union. The assumption was that if one domino fell, others would follow. It was during this time that the costly war in Korea ended in an armistice. Therefore, countries like Vietnam, Laos, Burma, Indonesia, and others were on Eisenhower’s domino list.&nbsp;
However, the destabilisation campaigns carried out by the CIA sometimes had the opposite effect. Governments in Indonesia and Syria emerged strengthened from the interventions. Eisenhower left Kennedy with the loss of American influence in Cuba. The failed Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961, intended to overthrow Fidel Castro, was the starting point for the decades-long blockade of Cuba, which Trump is determined to end now through regime change.
The most dramatic example of failed regime change in recent history is undoubtedly the Iraq War, which began in 2003 under President George W. Bush. The stated goal was to remove Saddam Hussein from power and destroy his weapons of mass destruction. The war led to the overthrow of the regime.&nbsp;
The United Nations and US teams found no weapons of mass destruction despite intensive on-site investigations. Attempts to establish an orderly state in Iraq failed. These experiences, and especially the disastrous outcome of two decades of military intervention in Afghanistan, discredited the concept of regime change.
What are the implications?
The most important lesson taught by efforts to affect externally forced regime change is that interventions often lead to crises that were ostensibly meant to be prevented or solved. The temptation was too great for Trump to miss the opportunity to depose the despised Maduro government.
Scholarly studies of the numerous attempted regime changes and democratisation efforts reveal three key findings. First, simply removing the government from power (whether through assassination, as in the case of Saddam Hussein in Iraq or now in Iran, or through kidnapping as in Venezuela) is insufficient, as such actions often lead to chaos, state collapse, or even civil war. Thus, it will be interesting to watch further developments in Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran.
A second lesson from empirical studies of regime change is that democratisation is more likely to succeed if democratic experience already existed in the country. However, this is often not the case.
Finally, if the real goal is democratisation (and not just to secure spheres of influence or oil supplies etc.), it is far more promising not only to hold elections (as in Afghanistan, for example), but to renounce violence and initiate a long-term program with development aid and support for civil society.
Whether the US government will be impressed by these findings, or even acknowledge them, is doubtful. Currently, the American president is euphoric, despite the strong reaction from the Iranian government which he, surprisingly, did not expect. His promises to end the senseless wars and not start any new ones, however, seem to have been forgotten.
Herbert Wulf is a Professor of International Relations and former Director of the Bonn International Center for Conflict Studies (BICC).
This article was issued by the Toda Peace Institute and has been republished from <a href="http://toda.org/global-outlooks/regime-change-sometimes-it-works-often-it-doesnt/">the original</a> with permission.

Regime change – sometimes it works, often it doesn’t

NT #1308

A concept popularised by Richard Morgan in his 2002 cyberpunk novel, Altered Carbon — set in a future where consciousness can be transferred between bodies — ‘birth sleeve’ is the body an individual is born with.
Using that ideological framework, Jonathan Armour, currently visiting Kathmandu as a resident artist with Space A, has created a <a href="https://thearmourstudio.com/" target="_blank">series of artworks</a>.
Transhumanism can be alarming, but I could connect the idea of sleeves to my own ongoing preoccupation with deconditioning as it relates to depth psychology — ‘a therapeutic process of dismantling deeply ingrained, unconscious patterns, limiting beliefs, and automatic behavioural reactions formed by early socialisation, familial upbringing, and cultural conditioning’.
Anyone can benefit from some deconditioning, but queer and/or disabled individuals might find instant resonance with approaches that support transcendence, whether mentally from narrow societal standards or physically from one’s birth sleeve.
Armour uses numerous cameras to scan an individual’s body from multiple angles and creates 3D images on a computer. Guided by conversations with participants, he then opens up the 3D image using software to create flat portraits of their sleeves.
Before coming to Kathmandu, Armour asked to be introduced to any Nepali artist who might also be working with the human body, and he corresponded with Kapil Mani Dixit online for three weeks in order to plan an immersive collaboration during his residency.
Dixit is known for pioneering nude figurative art in Nepal, a genre still considered taboo in this country, but he had never collaborated so closely with another artist.
As an art student in Dallas, he was uninspired by the Texan flatness. Used to drawing landscapes, he was at a loss. Then a professor invited him to his first class in life drawing: ‘the practice of drawing the human figure from direct observation of a live model, often nude, to develop skills in anatomy, proportion, and gesture’.
Armour’s exploration is a departure from this more traditional, representational art practice. Perhaps, being queer himself, he is mindful of the Gaze Theory and seeking to destabilise power dynamics between subject and object.
On one of their trial studio sessions, Armour and Dixit stood on either side of a semi-transparent drafting film hanging vertically. Using each other’s bodies as surfaces, they used oil pastels to trace, creating impressions rather than clear figures.&nbsp;
In an introduction to their upcoming exhibition, they have described that the material “became a membrane, an interface, a skin between two artists, each from very different backgrounds.”
The Body: Anatomy and Neurology, featuring output from their collaboration as well as from a workshop with six other Nepali artists, will open Friday 24 April at Kathmandu Art Gallery.
Armour was keen to work with Nepali artists, and he says drafting film, “became the surface on which the collaboration played out. It was the meeting point … a synaptic metaphor where their neurons connected, communicated and responded to each other”.
“I used to be afraid of colours,” Dixit says, limiting himself to blacks and browns, but he has been expanding his palette while working with Armour.
After his Dallas exposure to life drawing, Dixit began viewing human bodies as landscapes as well. He has becoming more experimental lately. Instead of focusing solely on anatomical representation, Dixit’s recent drawings have been anthropomorphic and even surreal.
Armour’s methods are even more transgressive. In another collaborative session, a male model lay flat on the drafting film itself while the two artists rotated around the body, sketching impressions from six pre-determined spots.&nbsp;
This allowed the artist to focus on specific body parts from a very close distance within a fixed time frame, while working on the same sheet of drafting film. They used a similar methodology with the six Nepal artists.
One might be doubtful of this whole project, since painting has <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/painting-performance-era-art-reveals-2763962" target="_blank">merged</a> with performance in the social media age. But collaboration is centred in this practice, the marks are witnesses and records of exchanges between artists which were ‘competitive, cooperative and conflicting’.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <video controls src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260424080428_34d2a74ff976da0aa8c12ce69ae41d7734e05b290f9c6765d84c669bea591e4e.mp4" alt="" width="100%" height="100%"></video>
 <figcaption>Body landscape</figcaption>
</figure>

The Body: Anatomy and Neurology
by Jonathan Armour, Kapil Mani Dixit
Opens 24 April, 4PM
Kathmandu Art Gallery

Birth sleeves and synapses

An invocation is an act in which one appeals to a higher being for support and inspiration. Italian artist Sara Guberti set out to do just that with her ongoing exhibition Invocation to the Goddesses at Siddhartha Art Gallery, exploring themes of womanhood and divine femininity. Guberti trained in the mosaic medium at the Gino Severini School in Ravenna, Italy, before getting a degree in art at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna. While her usual medium is Byzantine tile work, she has tried out a new medium, acrylic on canvas, for this exhibition.&nbsp; Guberti explains this choice: “Each piece is a simple invitation, acrylic on canvas using only three colors: red, black, and white.” She has exhibited in both group and solo showcases across Italy, Europe, and India before arriving in Nepal. Guberti traveled across the world seeking inspiration for her work, encountering women from many different cultures. Throughout her journey, she asked the women to write a message, or simply the name of a goddess in their own culture, inviting them to call upon these figures and embrace the power of femininity.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260419060448_adf861918d14dd47f465bdab692f072c91fb0b8a5d63afdc5dc1c8eca4c2e1b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260419060448_adf861918d14dd47f465bdab692f072c91fb0b8a5d63afdc5dc1c8eca4c2e1b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1347" height="1796" loading="lazy" alt="Drawing divine femininity"> </figure>  Spread out across the two floors of the gallery are portraits of different goddesses spanning cultures and religions, surrounded by paintings of flowers. Each goddess’s portrait is paired with a different type of flower, from the lotus to the rose, representing a divine offering.&nbsp; In her titular piece, Guberti incorporated the messages she collected from the women she met along her travels, featuring writing in Newari, Sanskrit, Urdu, French, Italian, English, and Hindi. Many of her portraits are simply titled the name of the goddess depicted: Laxmi, the Virgin Mary, and Saraswati. One portrait, however, has a different title, Mater semper certa est, an ancient Roman principle that directly translates to the phrase ‘the mother is always certain’. The portrait features a powerful female figure with her arms curled inward toward her womb, signifying the undeniable truth of her fertility. A halo radiating around her and a crown above her reinforces her sanctity and power.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260419060452_e20c252b0ba658975c60872389d2c592a80f0f303cf3f67c1866ae263a6c1080.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260419060452_e20c252b0ba658975c60872389d2c592a80f0f303cf3f67c1866ae263a6c1080" data-rendition-name="original" width="721" height="482" loading="lazy" alt="Drawing divine femininity"> <figcaption>Photo: SIDDHARTHA ART GALLERY</figcaption> </figure>  WOMEN AND POWER Guberti chose this portrait as the promotional image of the exhibition. It was the right choice because it represents the core message of her work: that women are undeniably powerful. Guberti’s clear celebration of femininity and shared spiritual identity stands out, creating a space that feels both personal and collective. The exhibition invites reflection not only on shared expressions of devotion, but on what it means to celebrate femininity in this modern age.&nbsp; However, this exhibit is not just calling on women to embrace their power, but for men to recognise it too. “This also serves as a call to action for men to embrace femininity in the world,” Guberti explains. For her, this not only means uplifting women, but also embracing what she calls “feminine qualities” such as compassion and empathy. All audiences should feel invited to visit this exhibition, perhaps with their own invocation in mind. &nbsp; Invocation To The Goddesses Siddhartha Art Gallery Baber Mahal Revisited Until 30 April&nbsp; 11AM - 5PM, Sunday to Friday 12PM - 5PM, Saturday &nbsp;

Drawing divine femininity

‘One early morning, we heard the ambassador’s wife cry out, “Ram, Ram, Ram!” A disaster has befallen Nepal!” She had heard on the radio that a fire had consumed Singha Durbar." This is not about the arson attack on 9 September 2025, but the one on 8 July, 1973. It started in the South Wing of the then single-largest building in all of Nepal. It took two days to bring the blaze under control, requiring the use of explosives to demolish one wing to protect the imposing western facade. As Bhekh Bahadur Thapa recalls in the English translation of his memoir A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy, he was then on leave from the Nepal government serving with the IDRC in Ottawa.&nbsp; He had already served as Nepal’s Finance Secretary at age 25, went on to be Finance Minister and Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank. He was already younger than some of the GenZ ministers in Nepal’s present RSP government. Thapa, now 89, was at the launch of the book in February which was attended by former diplomats and bureaucrats. After speeches by panelists, there was a question from the audience about how Thapa had managed to be the diplomat he was, managing Nepal’s international relations on the world stage.&nbsp; Writer and journalist Akhilesh Upadhyay, who was moderating the panel, responded by going into the section of the book where we see Thapa as an ambassador to the US, playing tennis with White House officials, cultivating a network of contacts to project the identity and welfare of Nepal, and making it possible for a state visit by King Birendra to Ronald Reagan’s America. The book is full of anecdotes that suggest Thapa was a clever and strategic diplomat, always calm and unruffled, easily making friends in high places with his maturity and engaging sense of humour. Thapa’s memoir is heavy on details about Nepal’s administrative history during the years he was active in public service, serving as minister and ambassador under three kings: Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra, and alongside five prime ministers.&nbsp; Aside from an insider look on how certain treaties, development deals and research projects in Nepal came into fruition, Thapa goes into great detail about his personal and professional relationships with the kings, ministers, ambassadors, foreign leaders and politicians.&nbsp; As a reader, one is struck by the level of detail around the events that unfolded in Nepal over the years during Thapa’s tenure. Was Thapa recording a journal over the years of the events and the conversations that transpired, or were they committed to his phenomenal memory? Either way, the reader gets a glimpse of Nepal’s recent history from the early days of the Panchayat, through the People’s Movement and the democracy period, the Maoist insurgency, Royal Palace massacre of 2001, and Gyanendra’s coup of 2005.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How to win friends and influence nations NT"> </figure>  Not enough is said about the political parties of the time whose presence led to the way Nepal’s multiparty democracy came to be shaped. The book keeps its focus on the administration and the key figures around it, mostly those in the Panchayat era. Towards the second half of the book, we do start to hear about political parties, but not in great depth. Another figure whose presence in the book is conspicuously less prominent is that of his wife, Rita Thapa — the person who seems to have rescued him every time financial quandary or family care became a challenge. Yet, we do not see her as a full person. Perhaps because of the personal tragedies in his life, the children are also barely mentioned.&nbsp; The book is therefore less personal and more technical. Throughout, we learn about Thapa’s thinking as he navigated the world of diplomacy to win him the trust of those who mattered. There are tips here for a new generation of Nepali officials and diplomats about how much commitment and focus is needed to be good at one’s job and serve the national interest. This book adds to tomes that have been written on Nepal’s fragile relationship with India. ‘India has always wished for Nepal to remain dependent on it,’ writes Thapa, who served as Nepal’s ambassador to India and later in the Eminent Persons Group &nbsp;on Indo-Nepal relations that has been allowed to languish. The book has several insights into the Indo-Nepal trysts with diplomacy and agency.&nbsp; China’s role is also recorded, viewed through conversations during a visit to Beijing, but all that was before Nepal’s neighbour to the north emerged as a world economic and military power. The book also has such sudden instances of quirkiness and humour. For instance, we see a young Thapa in America explaining to a government official why he would like to return to Nepal instead of settling down in the US. “Because, Nepal is beautiful,” he said. The text is immaculate and does not read much like a translation, credit for which clearly goes to the team that put the edition together: translator Prawin Adhikari, &nbsp;Anagha Neelakanthan and Bhekh Thapa’s daughter, Manjushree. As Nepal enters a new era of governance and diplomacy, A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy should be essential reading for students of political science, economics and foreign affairs who can gain a fresh perspective on the country’s trajectory.&nbsp; There are dozens of forgotten state secrets recorded in the book, but the reader must also remember this is a story told from one person’s perspective and there may be others.&nbsp; So, what really made Thapa the diplomat he was? I met him in 2004 at the Kantipur TV studio when he was serving as king Gyanendra’s foreign minister. He was there for a studio interview, and I was just done with my English newscast.&nbsp; He surprised me at the door: “Pratibha! I’ve been reading your articles in The Kathmandu Post. You must keep writing.” I thanked him, glad to have been noticed for my work by a stranger. That was perhaps one of the things that set Thapa apart — he excelled at staying close to those in power, while also noticing those who were not.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Book details"> </figure>

How to win friends and influence nations

Officials of the Nepal government were handed rare archival documents during a ceremony in Heidelberg on 24 April this week. The collection, assembled by Bavarian collector Josef Peter Walter Rindfleisch between 1980 and 2000, had been previously entrusted to the Indologist Axel Michaels of Heidelberg University with the explicit aim of eventual repatriation. Scholars say the holdings which include 465 Newari palm-leaf rolls, most of them bearing clay seals and dating to the medieval Malla period are likely one of the largest collections of Nepali palmleaf rolls outside Nepal. The archive also includes royal decrees, court records, Sanskrit manuscripts, and a wide range of historical materials—from legal documents and ritual texts to photographs, maps, and personal writings. Fifteen bound volumes in the collection document palace life, state expeditions, and official correspondence from the 19th and early 20th centuries. “This collection offers a unique window into Nepal’s political, legal, and religious history across several centuries,” said Michaels, who heads the project “Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal” at the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260429160428_a849d0103b3e93a088ea40d532f941eac177df6940fac65e22b4569aa0da6f59.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260429160428_a849d0103b3e93a088ea40d532f941eac177df6940fac65e22b4569aa0da6f59" data-rendition-name="original" width="1204" height="1360" loading="lazy" alt="repatriation"> <figcaption>A German newspaper also covered the ceremony.</figcaption> </figure>  When the manuscripts first arrived in Heidelberg, their provenance was only partially documented, and many items were in poor condition. Mold, insect damage, and earlier repair attempts had left visible traces. Conservation specialists carried out extensive restoration work: fragile palm-leaf scrolls were humidified, carefully opened, cleaned, repaired, and digitised before being rolled again and placed in acid-free archival storage. The project received support in 2022 from the Flagship Initiative “Transforming Cultural Heritage” (FI TCH), enabling systematic cataloguing and digitisation. Today, the collection is accessible online via Heidelberg University Library and integrated into the Documenta Nepalica research database. An open access cataogue of metadata of the collection will soon be released from Heidelberg University Publishing. Manik Bajracharya and Rajan Khatiwoda, leading scholars of the project were at the handover ceromony, as well as Prof Christiane Brosius, a researcher at the Heidelberg Center for Transcultural Studies who presented the “Nepal Heritage Documentation Project” which systematically records endangered cultural assets in Nepal—such as temples, monasteries, palaces, and inscriptions—and makes them digitally accessible. Marc-Philippe Weller, Vice-Rector for International Affairs and Diversity, and Prof Hans Harder, Director of the South Asia Institute gave welcome remarks. With the handover, a substantial body of Nepal’s written heritage will be returned home – preserved for future generations, yet accessible to researchers around the world. Receiving the manuscripts, Sagar Phuyal, chargé d’affaires a.i. of Nepal’s embassy in Berlin expressed sincere appreciation to Prof Michaels and all those involved in the preservation and repatriation. He highlighted that this gesture reflects a deep respect for Nepal’s cultural heritage and contributes significantly to the country’s ongoing efforts to recover and safeguard its historical assets. For Michaels, the dual approach—digital access and physical return—was essential. “Making the materials available worldwide is one goal,” he said. “But returning them to Nepal is equally important. It acknowledges their cultural significance and our responsibility toward their history.

Nepal manuscripts return home from Germany

Three years ago, Alicia Bayer had never run a marathon. In fact, she was not even a regular runner. Now, she runs at a pace of a marathon per day through the Himalaya. On 16 April, Bayer completed her ultra run of 140km, summiting Kyanjin Ri (4,700m) and Tserko Ri of Langtang Valley (4,985m) in just seven days. A few weeks before that, she had run 640km along from Mumbai to Goa along the western coast of India in 15 days.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026042813040_cfeafda5a101c6e2c8d7ac135433d713ffca9faa8f8d6aaff79d61c119a87083.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026042813040_cfeafda5a101c6e2c8d7ac135433d713ffca9faa8f8d6aaff79d61c119a87083" data-rendition-name="original" width="3024" height="4032" loading="lazy" alt="Alicia Bayer"> </figure>  Bayer’s runs are documented daily on her Instagram page, amassing nearly 25,000 followers. Through photographs, short videos, and personal stories, her goal is to draw attention to the rights of women. As a young woman, Bayer witnessed firsthand and through news reports that women are exploited around the world. She used to think that if women across Europe, and her home country of Germany still struggle with equality it has to be worse in more traditional parts of the world.&nbsp; “I saw the problem, but I didn’t see how I could change it,” Bayer recalls thinking.&nbsp; But last November as she meditated at a monastery in Nepal she decided to turn inwards, reflecting on these feelings. Bayer knew that running empowered her personally, but doing it solely for competition was not making an impact. So she asked herself: how can I turn what I do into something meaningful? “Then I realised that if you really want to change something, you need to do little things on small levels rather than trying to help everyone at once. You have to rebuild systems and support the people who are already helping,” adds Bayer. This is how Bayer found ultra running and social media as her medium for advocacy. Her goal is to draw attention from global audiences through her extreme running feats, and then direct that to women’s rights organisations already doing grassroots work.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026042813040_4688f3e0cc6ab0605169ce5de77352ccd1bd35706085b70913915e11dd8aacd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026042813040_4688f3e0cc6ab0605169ce5de77352ccd1bd35706085b70913915e11dd8aacd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="3024" loading="lazy" alt="Alicia Bayer"> </figure>  In Nepal, Bayer ran on behalf of Freedom in Disasters, a 'for-purpose organisation' that works globally to prevent disaster victims from being traffickied as happened in Nepal post-earthquake in 2015. Because Nepal is disaster-prone, many women fall into human trafficking during the times of crises.&nbsp; Freedom in Disasters is an umbrella organisation working across different regions and crises. In Nepal, it partners with groups deeply rooted in the community, including Alliance Against Trafficking in Women and Children in Nepal (AATWIN ), the Sunita Foundation which works to aid survivors of human trafficking, Chhori that empowers young women through education and skill training, and Shakti Samuha that supports survivors of abuse.&nbsp; Each of these organisations play different roles in the various stages of recovery for vulnerable women and children. Bayer included a donation link to Freedom in Disasters in each post and story during her seven-day run, encouraging followers to support the organisation.&nbsp; She also works directly with women in villages along the trail where she runs. In India, she visited schools and spoke face-to-face with girls, encouraging and empowering them.&nbsp; “Fathers would proudly bring me their daughters to speak to me, it brought me so much joy to see them feel inspired,” Bayer tells Nepali Times, adding that she plans to continue partnering with charitable groups in Nepal working on menstrual health and equity in sports.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026042813040_3c1c8c65706e79537c7c4b6f331cc9e99c0ff50d5610a1a126a68af5541f06a6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026042813040_3c1c8c65706e79537c7c4b6f331cc9e99c0ff50d5610a1a126a68af5541f06a6" data-rendition-name="original" width="3024" height="4032" loading="lazy" alt="Alicia Bayer"> </figure>  On 29 May Bayer is hoping to become the first German woman to complete the Everest Ultra-Marathon, running 70km from Everest Base Camp to Namche Bazar.&nbsp; Says Bayer: “I hope my accomplishments will show women across the world that even if systems try to convince us all the time that we are the weaker gender, that we don’t deserve education or rights, we should never forget how powerful we are and that we deserve the same opportunities and rights as men.” Instagram: @runtheworldwithalicia

A long run for women’s rights

In the arid trans-Himalayan town of Lo Manthang, Rinzin Sangpo leans against his spade, manure for his farm at his feet. It is just a few weeks after the election, and while the RSP’s blue wave swept the rest of the nation, Mustang stood by legacy parties, reelecting the incumbent Nepali Congress candidate to Parliament.&nbsp; “I’m just a farmer,” 72-year-old Sangpo says, yet, he has high hopes for his town and district including an improved water supply, clean canals for agriculture, and better schools for his grandchildren playing on the streets. Voices like Sangpo’s from Nepal’s rural and underserved communities have been largely overlooked by mainstream media and political leadership. Because of this, he has little faith that the new government will deliver.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260427110456_1d96640d3bf9e135a5e8ac6886d6bad8f8c777982bc21e4010db133d7732603b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260427110456_1d96640d3bf9e135a5e8ac6886d6bad8f8c777982bc21e4010db133d7732603b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1536" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Mustang locals"> <figcaption>Rinzin Sangpo, 70, outside of his home. </figcaption> </figure>  But Mustang should not be overlooked. Even though a majority of people might not have voted for the RSP, those who did look forward to what the new leaders will do. Rinzin Guru, a 45-year-old hotel owner, was one of 759 people in the district who voted for the RSP in March, in hopes that the younger generation of elected officials would invest more in the youth of Mustang.&nbsp; Guru echoes Sangpo’s wish for better schooling. His two young children are enrolled in boarding school far away from Lo Manthang because government schools here only have classes up to Grade 5. The school fees he pays amount up to Rs 300,000 yearly, adding to financial pressure.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026042712040_70bdd1cb1cd7cd44124a1e72dc52158c1040abe4fa23403f6ba29ed04c4b67c7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026042712040_70bdd1cb1cd7cd44124a1e72dc52158c1040abe4fa23403f6ba29ed04c4b67c7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1228" height="1786" loading="lazy" alt="Mustang locals"> <figcaption>Rinzin Guru 45, in front of his hotel.</figcaption> </figure>  These challenges in Mustang’s education sector are only a part of a larger picture of infrastructural failures that impact the everyday lives of its residents.&nbsp; Sonam Tsering, 60, works at the local hospital, and laments the lack of adequate facilities, outdated equipment, and limitedtreatment options to better care for patients in the region. “The medicines the government sends are simply not effective or sufficient,” he says. Tsering explains how this means that many residents have no choice but to travel 6 hours away to Pokhora. “Better facilities always go to bigger, wealthier cities,” he adds. &nbsp; Across town Yang Dolkar, 47, agrees that hospitals in Mustang could use upgrading and improvements: “We don’t have treatments for common problems like cavities. But to ensure that modern machines and equipment operate properly, we need stable electricity.”&nbsp; Dolkar also voted for RSP believing that a new younger government would better address these challengesfacing Mustang people.&nbsp; Moreover, better healthcare for Mustang also depends on access to and improvement of other infrastructure.&nbsp; On this day, Dolkar, along with two other women, are huddled around a pipe that juts out from the ground in Lo Manthang, doing their laundry. In the absence of sustained running water in their homes, this pipe on the side of the road serves as the laundry up centre for residents of Upper Mustang’s capital.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026042712040_7c5f494dfb61271941a619df7a6167a22f75b52f1556d34393feab2110e81cbc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026042712040_7c5f494dfb61271941a619df7a6167a22f75b52f1556d34393feab2110e81cbc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1626" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="Mustang locals"> <figcaption>Yang Dolkar, 45, alongside the open pipe where locals in Lo Manthang do their laundry. </figcaption> </figure>  It is not just electricity or running water, roads need upgrading too. For those who must travel to the city, including to Pokhara, it is often a matter of life or death, and yet the roads remain treacherous and unsuitable for many vehicles. Beyond emergencies, functional roads are imperative to stimulate Mustang’s economy.&nbsp; Better roads would mean improved market connectivity, and would facilitate the ease of movement for tourists traveling to and from Mustang. &nbsp;Poor roads have made transport costs exceptionally high, while tourist permits to Lo Manthang cost $50 per day. The lack of road connectivity, education, healthcare, water supply, electricity, or economic opportunity has pushed young people to leave Mustang, moving to urban centres or abroad. The future of Mustang’s youth is directly tied to the promise for infrastructural change from the new government.&nbsp; At present, there are only 23 young people living in Lo Manthang, including 25-year-old Pema Tenzin and Kunga Sanpo, 23, both of whom voted for RSP in hopes that a younger generation of leaders would bring new economic opportunities.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260427110456_2c05a0f021480d06f3a8e24019230b68d2a962a4fe595fbb4453a7ea8ed07554.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260427110456_2c05a0f021480d06f3a8e24019230b68d2a962a4fe595fbb4453a7ea8ed07554" data-rendition-name="original" width="1536" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Mustang locals"> <figcaption>Pema Tenzin, 25, President of the Lo Manthang Youth Club</figcaption> </figure>  “I can’t say much about how politics works, but I am hopeful to see new faces,” Sanpo says.&nbsp; Tenzin, the president of the Lo Manthang youth club says, “With better roads and fewer restrictions for visitors from the government, Mustang would have the chance to flourish economically through trade and tourism. If this wasn’t so hard, youths would not have to leave.” The overarching feeling among the people of Lo Manthang is that of hope, in the roads not yet paved, the young people who have not yet left, and the shared belief that one way or another, change will come to Mustang.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026042712044_310f9cf67691cdeed8830d0d2582961fcff36d9379729775b45eccd03601599c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2026042712044_310f9cf67691cdeed8830d0d2582961fcff36d9379729775b45eccd03601599c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1536" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Mustang"> </figure>

Highlanders have high hopes

Nepal is experiencing a worrying spread of dengue fever higher up into Himalayan valleys where the mosquito-borne disease was unknown until a few years ago.&nbsp; In 2025, 15 of the country’s 16 high-altitude districts reported infections, marking an unprecedented ascent of the vector and virus over 2,400m. A Tribhuvan University study has confirmed the presence of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes and their larvae, in Jumla (2,438m).&nbsp; In Solu Khumbu district, no systematic scientific research has yet been conducted, but dengue cases have been reported in patients without travel history, suggesting the presence of vectors at the base of Mt Everest as well.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_7f9b36514e85af9da5501f83b2d34c7bb12b01ae8e8e00317898938b47cf4544.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260425060412_7f9b36514e85af9da5501f83b2d34c7bb12b01ae8e8e00317898938b47cf4544" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Chandannath Municipality, 2,438m, in Jumla is the highest that the dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitos have been detected.</figcaption> </figure>  Until recently, Aedes mosquitoes had only been detected up to 2,100m. Over the past two years, however, dengue has spread across almost the entire country, affecting 76 of Nepal’s 77 districts in 2024 and 2025.&nbsp; The Epidemiology and Disease Control Division data shows 42,647 people were infected since January 2024, 19 of whom died. But the number of unreported infections is probably much higher. Scientists from the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), in collaboration with the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, collected mosquito samples to analyse them and examine how they are adapting to warmer temperatures and &nbsp;resistance to insecticides. The specimens are carefully observed, photographed, and catalogued, allowing researchers to document patterns of survival, distribution, and resistance.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_cadd8a73f7f0bff79d174eea921dc6046f3a4f52a0cc34f3d4c2e12a8cc9ce29.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260425060412_cadd8a73f7f0bff79d174eea921dc6046f3a4f52a0cc34f3d4c2e12a8cc9ce29" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Santos Pandey, Pratima Bhandari and Sangita Chand examine dengue vector mosquitoes under a microscope at the NHRC laboratory in Kathmandu.The entomology unit uses stereomicroscopes to identify the subtle differences between the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitos. Differences in thoracic markings in the insects helps determine disease risk and guide surveillance and control strategies for dengue and other mosquito-borne illnesses.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_48b8ed502a8cc47da9c6e8c6bd856e7961ffc0e804174ff7fb190057a286c7b7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260425060412_48b8ed502a8cc47da9c6e8c6bd856e7961ffc0e804174ff7fb190057a286c7b7" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>A female Aedes aegypti mosquito under a microscope. Studying both larvae and adults to detect colour or shape variations may indicate insecticide resistance or adaptation to different altitudes. Each specimen is photographed for analysis and digital archiving.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_cdf3ecfc317963e228ab08134300f38d818f394046f085169a2be9f886a134c2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260425060412_cdf3ecfc317963e228ab08134300f38d818f394046f085169a2be9f886a134c2" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Sushila Devi Shah, 38, at the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital last year. She suffered severe muscle and eye pain, headache, and fever, the main symptoms of dengue. Complications can be serious if untreated.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_4a3ada611edf7551f76969b8ab2b7d7482aedacdfaec570c1024851c9bc57ccd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260425060412_4a3ada611edf7551f76969b8ab2b7d7482aedacdfaec570c1024851c9bc57ccd" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Shiva Rajbanshi of the NHRC captures mosquitos and larvae in a breeding site. This work helps assess mosquito distribution and guides prevention efforts in areas where rising temperatures allow mosquitoes to survive and proliferate.</figcaption> </figure>  Experts attribute the spread of dengue into Nepal’s mountainous regions primarily to global warming, which creates more favourable conditions for mosquito survival and reproduction, even in areas once considered at low or no risk. The dengue-carrying mosquito mainly bites in the early mornings and evenings when people are out and about. Increased mobility within Nepal with the spreading road network and greater international connectivity have also contributed to circulating the virus. As a result, dengue is reaching Himalayan communities with poor healthcare facilities.&nbsp; In these remote and hard-to-access areas, many residents continue to rely on traditional Tibetan medicine, known as Sowa Rigpa, practiced by traditional Amchi healers who enjoy strong cultural trust and have long served as key healthcare providers within local communities.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_fbd0e125f59b7c071a61f700d08f1e37409ecc647afa8ec888c0ed8a7fc991ce.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260425060412_fbd0e125f59b7c071a61f700d08f1e37409ecc647afa8ec888c0ed8a7fc991ce" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Jomsom at 2,743m has seen erratic and extreme weather patterns with dry months becoming drier, and the monsoon seeing intense storms in this arid region. Average temperatures are rising, creating favourable conditions for mosquito-borne diseases. In 2025, nine cases of dengue were reported in Mustang district.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_59398ee65a096665bb5c2c82b92de3443809673e6bdbe1405ee92b6886210cb7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260425060412_59398ee65a096665bb5c2c82b92de3443809673e6bdbe1405ee92b6886210cb7" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Khedup Loden Gurung checks a patient’s pulse in a clinic in Jomsom at 2,743m last year. Amchi are traditional Tibetan healers trained in Sowa Rigpa. Diagnosis is based on pulse reading (nad-par), visual examination of urine and tongue, and dialogue with the patient. Because Sowa Rigpa focuses on the individual’s overall energetic state rather than on specific pathogens, there is no direct equivalent to the biomedical concept of ‘dengue’.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_421aba7152f520b640016061901108a9b7755e0feff157e7585f4f3fd2eb2ca4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260425060412_421aba7152f520b640016061901108a9b7755e0feff157e7585f4f3fd2eb2ca4" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Handmade Sowa Rigpa herbal remedies crafted using traditional methods. After drying and processing, medicinal plants are ground by hand and combined according to precise traditional formulas. The mixtures are prepared into powders, pills, or pastes using simple tools and manual techniques passed down through generations. Before distribution, the medicines are ritually blessed.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_22970174d6ad5a7c192ec43d89eae0a8aed47ed77e9a670d85f1f473ddcfe136.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260425060412_22970174d6ad5a7c192ec43d89eae0a8aed47ed77e9a670d85f1f473ddcfe136" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Khedup Loden Gurung treats a young patient in a clinic in Jomsom. Rooted in Buddhist monastic culture, many amchis approach healing as an act of compassion and service, practicing medicine as a vocation rather than a commercial activity for profit.</figcaption> </figure>  Practiced across the Himalayan region and influenced by Indian Ayurveda and Buddhist philosophy, Sowa Rigpa combines clinical observation, herbal remedies, and a holistic view of health, in which body, mind, environment, and spiritual dimensions are deeply interconnected. To curb the spread of dengue, Nepal’s health authorities have a two-pronged prevention and awareness. Strategy involves using insect repellents and mosquito nets, proper household environmental management, and community campaigns to eliminate stagnant water and strengthen vector surveillance.&nbsp; The goal is to improve the capacity of communities to respond promptly to emerging health threats in a territory increasingly exposed to the impacts of climate change. Vaccines against the two main strains of dengue exist, but they are expensive and have side effects. Prevention and vector management are therefore the primary strategies available to combat dengue.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_4ca7d50a4edd99f2ac930a21794a9e9a42d070565bf0fc1d7254405f5bd2e329.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20260425060412_4ca7d50a4edd99f2ac930a21794a9e9a42d070565bf0fc1d7254405f5bd2e329" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Solukhumbu District Hospital at Phaplu, 2,413m. Hospitals in these highland areas work under challenging conditions, managing a range of health needs with the resources at hand.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_3e51b4047b04ce428a171efc1047a71d2e5cbe1dbf6dfe2738d2c8ac433fee05.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20260425060412_3e51b4047b04ce428a171efc1047a71d2e5cbe1dbf6dfe2738d2c8ac433fee05" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Bijay Singh Kushwaha collects sample blood from Nara Maya Khatri, 87, admitted with suspected dengue for a rapid diagnostic test. In recent years, such cases have become more familiar in the region, and the hospital is increasingly accustomed to managing them.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_61aa4750bf8948fce4ad2f2c1d80ca6d9849f58827c8232a2c3649c9d4c8b2c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20260425060412_61aa4750bf8948fce4ad2f2c1d80ca6d9849f58827c8232a2c3649c9d4c8b2c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Sunita Baral and her team work in the NHRC laboratory.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_2742b31fa889984e5c87c41c614a4b9d848fc41095ec1dd70d2b303ec29d8435.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20260425060412_2742b31fa889984e5c87c41c614a4b9d848fc41095ec1dd70d2b303ec29d8435" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Pramod Shrestha installing a data logger at an NHRC mosquito breeding site last year to track temperature and humidity in real time — conditions that determine the mosquito life cycle, influencing development, survival, and egg hatching. Certain species including Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, prosper only within narrow climatic ranges, so these measurements help understand how mosquitos adapt to climate change.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_09706a1f0d5ea8e7e9f393b770a52e3b34e95e1fc5e01b816e0c39920582faf1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20260425060412_09706a1f0d5ea8e7e9f393b770a52e3b34e95e1fc5e01b816e0c39920582faf1" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Fog in Pokhara Valley moving up the Annapurnas, just as dengue-carrying mosquitoes move up the mountains. Rising temperatures, coupled with unseasonal pre-monsoon downpours provide ideal breeding conditions for dengue-carrying mosquitos. These conditions enable vectors to survive at increasingly higher altitudes. Public awareness and prevention remain key factors to limit the spread of the dengue virus.</figcaption> </figure>  ©2026YuriSegalerba ©YuriSegalerba ©YuriSegalerba©YuriSegalerba

Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest

Security forces under the instructions of Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s government began demolishing squatter settlements built along Kathmandu Valley’s riverbanks on Saturday, starting with encampments along the Bagmati in Thapathali and Gairigaun. The razing extended to Manohara on Sunday, where tensions escalated after residents pelted stones at law enforcement, injuring several security personnel. In Thapathali and Gairigaun, evicted squatters largely, albeit reluctantly, cooperated with officials on Saturday. The government had given residents a final deadline of 7PM on 24 April to evacuate their settlements, with many having nowhere to go with their belongings, including livestock. Squatter residents of Thapathali, Shantinagar and Manohara are currently being temporarily hosted at Dasrath Stadium in Tirpureswor. In Nagarjun, workers are busy preparing government-owned housing to relocate the unhoused.&nbsp; So far, 144 families are said to have been in contact with government officials. Once the government verifies them as ‘genuine squatters’, they will be moved to the units apartment in Nagarjun within two weeks. This will be followed by long-term rehabilitation, according to the official statement. &nbsp; As Kathmandu Mayor, Shah had formerly tried to evict in 2022, but was met with much resistance and critcism, from within the UML-NC led coalition government as well as the squatters themselves.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission has also deployed a team to ensure no human rights are being violated in the process. &nbsp;Glimpses from the settlement in Thapathali on Sunday.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260426040412_bf10fb33499b24a97377cef9d82f4e5b0d8d9019895684d4a0cbb3e92b47329a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260426040412_bf10fb33499b24a97377cef9d82f4e5b0d8d9019895684d4a0cbb3e92b47329a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Thapathali encampment NT"> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260426040412_5f63184002f2845beabddce695969cc4078fcaca1b26f11e0de38a36d4144381.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260426040412_5f63184002f2845beabddce695969cc4078fcaca1b26f11e0de38a36d4144381" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Thapathali encampment NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260426040412_f7eb110314460945514a16102602df76c6fb2ca533aef4218b60c4b4b8a2cefd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260426040412_f7eb110314460945514a16102602df76c6fb2ca533aef4218b60c4b4b8a2cefd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Thapathali encampment NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260426040412_c8ade95acfa48ba330a4814dc39e68c2827eee82a886bcc3b2cccc71a32924fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260426040412_c8ade95acfa48ba330a4814dc39e68c2827eee82a886bcc3b2cccc71a32924fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Thapathali encampment NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026042604048_82eaafeb02da5715d822e64a30a89858a80aa5e92e76832bc6a045174d4e9a2a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2026042604048_82eaafeb02da5715d822e64a30a89858a80aa5e92e76832bc6a045174d4e9a2a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Thapathali encampment NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026042604048_0675463c202fe21d410b26881479bf4a51dc9b86e8e1948c553f0f55b37fc632.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2026042604048_0675463c202fe21d410b26881479bf4a51dc9b86e8e1948c553f0f55b37fc632" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Thapathali encampment NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026042604048_33eff72e2e83152470ef044cdd42d52f5fbefad876e29d5d95d8a82556aaafd2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2026042604048_33eff72e2e83152470ef044cdd42d52f5fbefad876e29d5d95d8a82556aaafd2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Thapathali encampment NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260426040412_c5a53d49716b9664b5fb5aa58555389c01bdefa93026ec6783b5ec6da7df85b5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260426040412_c5a53d49716b9664b5fb5aa58555389c01bdefa93026ec6783b5ec6da7df85b5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Thapathali encampment NT"> </figure>  See more photos in our gallery.

Kathmandu's squatter settlements demolished

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Twenty years ago this week, we reported about how malnutrition was indirectly responsible for 70% of all child mortality in Nepal, and how inadequate food increased susceptibility to diarrhoea, measles and acute respiratory infection.
In 2025, malnutrition is still one of the biggest causes of child mortality, except now it is not simply a lack of food but also too much junk food in the diet. Purchasing power has increased, but we are eating more of what we should not be eating.
Excerpt of a <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=570">report </a>published in <a href="https://d1i1jdw69xsqx0.cloudfront.net/digitalhimalaya/collections/journals/nepalitimes/pdf/Nepali_Times_256.pdf">issue #256 15 – 21 July 2005</a>:
Despite recent official statements about rising average living standards, grinding poverty and the conflict, the effects of junk food in cities have made undernourishment and malnutrition a serious national epidemic.
Protein-energy malnutrition affects 63 percent of Nepali children which means they don't get enough food to ensure normal physical and mental development. More than half of Nepali children are therefore physically stunted, and although this is reversible if the child starts eating enough after age two, they may suffer learning disabilities as well if undernourishment persists .
Hunger increases their susceptibility to diarrhoea, measles and acute respiratory infection. Diarrhoeal dehydration alone causes an estimated 30,000 child deaths every year as undernourished children are weaker and more likely to be brought down by the vicious spiral of disease and malnutrition. Combined with worms, undernourishment is seen by many as Nepal's primary health concern for children.
Malnutrition hits many Nepali children even before they are born because their mothers don't have adequate food while pregnant. Between 30-50 percent of Nepali children are born underweight, below 2.5 kg.
For archived material of Nepali Times of the past 20 years, site search: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/">nepalitimes.com</a>

Malnutrition

Just three weeks in, Prime Minister Balendra Shah has already shed two ministers, and is having to contend with the economic fallout of the West Asia war plus the global order that it has upended.&nbsp;
The new dispensation in Nepal has aroused interest in New Delhi, Beijing as well as Washington. The ouster of Home Minister Sudan Gurung, whose first act in office was to arrest former prime minister K P Oli, has foreign policy wonks scratching their heads.
The US sent Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Samir Paul Kapur on a special mission to figure out what is happening in Kathmandu. In town at the same time was Cao Jing, Deputy Director General of the Asian Affairs Department of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And Prime Minister Shah is preparing for an official visit to India.
For the Americans, it is mostly about containing China and looking after the welfare of Tibetan refugees, while pushing its own MCC Compact and State Partnership Program (SSP). Beijing is mindful of the post-Dalai Lama era, and does not want instability in Nepal to encourage free-Tibet activities. India lately seems more wary of American activity in what it considers its backyard.
The Chinese appear relieved to see Sudan Gurung go. Only last week, Ambassador Zhang Maoming met Gurung during which he raised the issue of Tibetan and Taiwanese activities in Nepal, seeking firm commitment that Kathmandu would not harbour activities hostile to Beijing.
“Geographically we are close to Tibet and not to the Mainland, so China remains suspicious of us, especially after the TOB and free-Tibet components that emerged from the GenZ protests,” says geopolitical analyst Indra Adhikari.
Kapur, for his part, met RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle and Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal. Although investment and infrastructure was on the agenda, the main issue seems to have been about Tibetan refugees. In nearly parallel meetings with ministers, Cao Jing warned Nepal not to be too cosy with the Americans.
For Indian academic and Nepal watcher Sukh Deo Muni, all this harks back to American activity in Nepal during the height of the Cold War. He tweeted: ‘US senior diplomat Paul Kapur's statement in Kathmandu must be understood carefully in New Delhi. He said the US does not want China or any other country to dominate Nepal.’&nbsp;
‘Any other country’ could be a pointed reference to India, and what this means is that Nepal may now have to navigate even more carefully a tri-polar world order reshaped by the West Asia war.&nbsp;
Nepali journalist based in New Delhi Akanshya Shah agrees that the United States may not be seeing Nepal through the Indian lens anymore, while New Delhi does not want heightened US activity in what it considers its sphere of influence. All this is further complicated by recent frostiness in Washington-New Delhi ties.
“New Delhi doesn’t have that familiarity factor it used to with old leadership in Nepal, but it is curious about what the young Balen Shah will do and what kind of relation he will pursue with India,” she adds. “Certain decisions of the Balen government such as ending VIP culture and delivering passport at homes have hugely resonated with the Indian people, he has in some ways become a role model among the youth in India as well.”
India has invited Prime Minister Shah for an official state visit, which will be his first foreign trip as per tradition. Shah graduated in structural engineering from a college in Bengaluru, and knows India well. Shah has injected religious elements into his public exposure as prime minister and this could help project Nepal’s ‘soft power’ in dealing with India.
But he has also been a nationalist on the Limpiyadhura map dispute, and there are other thorny issues like air connectivity, river projects and power exports that need to be ironed out.&nbsp;
Sukh Deo Muni warns that the old Indian diplomatic approach based on religio-cultural stakeholders in Kathmandu may not work anymore. He wrote: ‘India's Modi government must prepare itself well to deal with new Nepalese leadership and their empowered support base, which is self-confident, highly nationalist, aspirant and impatient.’
The RSP’s 22-page National Commitment document said Nepal should abandon its historical ‘buffer state’ identity to serve as a ‘vibrant bridge’ between regional and global powers. Much of this debate is theoretical, and there is much navel-gazing that distracts from regional realpolitik.&nbsp;
“Whether we are a buffer state or a vibrant bridge, in today’s heightened geopolitical scenario we have to have good relations with good neighbours,” explains Akanshya Shah. “What is of paramount importance is that our ties are based on the aspirations of the young generation, so that they are engaged.”
Indra Adhikari goes as far as to say that the concepts of “buffer state” and “vibrant bridge” have both failed and Nepal is neither. “We have had zero roles in mediating or de-escalating the tensions between India and China to call ourselves a buffer state. As a vibrant bridge, we cannot facilitate trade of the two countries. The new government should have researched and consulted more before proposing the same outdated and failed foreign policy concepts.”&nbsp;
What will be much more important for Prime Minister Shah is to continue Nepal’s traditional policy of ‘equidistance’ and convince his interlocutors that it is not an anti-Indian stance.&nbsp;
“At a time when there is increased interest of big powers in Nepal, we need to do a bit of our own homework for the systemic reforms we want,” says Akanshya Shah. “As for India, we first need to clearly define what we want on connectivity, energy and culture. But most importantly, we have to capitalise on the goodwill of India which we haven’t been able to in the past.”
Adds Indra Adhikari: “When it comes to fundamental aspects of foreign policy that ensures and enhances the well being of our citizens, national parties should all have one unified voice that doesn’t change when the government does. Only then the future generations can own it.”

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