Amidst the members of the LGBTQIA+ community gathered to celebrate Pride month around Phewa Lake in Pokhara this week, was Sukundhara Sunar, carrying a pride flag and enjoying with the rest. Sukundhara herself does not belong to the queer community but came to the Pride Parade to support her son, Aveen Gahatraj. Aveen came out to his parents at the age of 16. Now 22, he is a student in the US. Initially, it was difficult for Sukundhara and the family to understand their son but eventually, they came around. “Because I love my son, we accepted his identity and supported him,” says Sukundhara. In the beginning, the family also had to face a lot of problems in society, but Sukundhara says that with time things have gotten much better. On Sunday, Sukundhara participated in the parade with her daughter Khusbu Sunar, who came to show support for her brother and others from the community. According to Angel Lama, advocacy officer of Blue Diamond Society which organised the event with Naulo Bihani Pokhara, Pride month is a month for the LGBTQIA+ community to show their identity and take pride in their achievements.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023060611064_7c71694766bcd6ef6d4680bec2428513c2991a0f45901616f75e870e351c26d2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2023060611064_7c71694766bcd6ef6d4680bec2428513c2991a0f45901616f75e870e351c26d2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1295" height="653" loading="lazy" alt="A mother celebrates Pride"> <figcaption>Sukundhara with her daughter Khusbu.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023060611064_ebeff65e80d54379a6097a1082f775c8a34eababe64529ef615e821ec4ed4514.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2023060611064_ebeff65e80d54379a6097a1082f775c8a34eababe64529ef615e821ec4ed4514" data-rendition-name="original" width="1800" height="1013" loading="lazy" alt="A mother celebrates Pride"> </figure>  &nbsp; 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News

A mother celebrates Pride

One of the agreements announced during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to India last week was a long-term electricity trade deal that makes it more difficult for third-country investment and construction of hydropower projects on Nepal’s rivers.&nbsp; Nepal can now reduce its widening trade imbalance with India by exporting surplus electricity in the coming years, Dahal told Parliament on Monday.&nbsp; “The power trade deal with India is an initial agreement and it still needs to be edorsed by cabinets in both countries, but it is a breakthrough,” explained Dinesh Kumar Ghimire, secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation.&nbsp; Indeed, because it is a preliminary announcement, the details about how Nepal will benefit from the deal is not yet clear. Despite the agreement, India has still not agreed to increase its power import quota from Nepal.&nbsp; Nepal Electricity Authority had got permission in November 2021 to bid for sale of power in India’s Energy Exchange Market. Initially, India only allowed the sale of 39MW in the day-ahead market, but after Sher Bahadur Deuba’s visit to Delhi in April 2022 that threshold was increased to 346MW, and later to 472MW. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-water-and-electricity">geopolitics of Himalayan waters</a> means that India buys power generated only from only six plants that do not have any Chinese involvement, and furthermore the agreement has to be negotiated and renewed every year. NEA has already started the renewal process for the coming year and has asked for the quota to be increased. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-water-and-electricity">The geopolitics of Nepal’s water and electricity</a>, Ramesh Kumar Nepal will have surplus electricity as soon as the monsoon sets in this month. As river levels rise, generation capacity will go up to 2,700MW, while total summer demand for power in Nepal is only 1,600MW.&nbsp; Nepal has not pushed efforts to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/securing-nepal-s-electric-future">increase domestic demand</a> aggressively enough by encouraging households to use electric stoves and appliances, incentivise battery-operated vehicles, and push industries to switch from diesel and coal to electricity. This means hundreds of megawatts of precious clean <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-precious-electricity-going-waste">renewable energy will be wasted</a> this monsoon, as in previous rainy seasons.&nbsp; Nepal had proposed a 25-year long-term deal with India during Prime Minister Dahal’s visit, but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi only gave verbal assurance to buy 10,000MW of power from Nepal in the next years, with the unspoken caveat that these will be generated by Indian-built plants.&nbsp; While in Delhi Dahal also tried to convince the Indian side to buy power from the Upper Tamakosi project which is being built by both Chinese and Indian contractors. But India did not give an immediate response. Ghimire at the Energy Ministry says the agreement during Dahal’s visit has changed the modality of power trade from short-term to a long-term arrangement between the utilities of the two countries to buy electricity in bulk. “Instead of renewing every year, there is now the possibility to have 5, 10 or even 25 year power trade agreements and specify the price by year and month,” he explains. The proposal for a long-term framework agreement now needs to be augmented by further bilateral negotiations between NEA and NTPC on price, duration and modality.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-precious-electricity-going-waste">Nepal’s precious electricity going waste</a>, Anita Bhetwal Dahal told Parliament on return that Nepal now has a guaranteed market to sell its surplus electricity, and would increase investment in power projects in Nepal. However, it is clear to many that the deal only opens Nepal’s rivers for Indian companies and not those from other countries. In fact, reading between the lines of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs communique last week, Nepali experts say the long term purchase will only be from power projects in Nepal that India is involved in. This is the same model in which Indian state-owned companies build power plants in Bhutan.&nbsp; Ghimire assures skeptics that the agreement will benefit both Nepal and India, and says the Indian side has no problems buying power from plants with Nepali investment. But past experience shows that it has always been difficult for NEA to increase India’s import quota for Nepal’s electricity.&nbsp; Most affected will be hydropower projects nearing completion which have Chinese investment or are being built by Chinese contractors.&nbsp; “Even after the announcement of the longterm power trade agreement, we will still have to get Indian consent on a plant-by-plant basis,” says NEA’s chief Kuman Ghising. In 2019, India had passed a Conduct of Business Rule (CBR) under which it would only buy power from companies belonging to countries with which it has a bilateral energy trade agreement.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230606100652_b90f01bac5b0f056fd8817441a9a11a616bfbc9cd01aba4b3b1f2c4b757cb926.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230606100652_b90f01bac5b0f056fd8817441a9a11a616bfbc9cd01aba4b3b1f2c4b757cb926" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="639" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal-India power play"> </figure>  This singled out mainly hydropower companies in Nepal with Chinese investment which are involved in the ongoing construction of projects generating a total of 1,000MW. India’s objection is not just to companies which have Chinese investment, but even the involvement of construction contractors from China would put Nepali companies on India’s blacklist for electricity import. For example, the 456MW Upper Tamakosi project has Nepali investment and is being built by three big Indian contractors. But India is not buying power from this project because the Chinese company Sino Hydro had got the civil works contract.&nbsp; “It is humiliating that we have to provide the Indians with details of contracts for every project we are involved in,” said one hydropower investor who did not want his name used. “There is no guarantee they will buy power even in projects we build ourselves. This means ultimately Nepal will not be able to build anything on its own rivers without Indian approval.”&nbsp; Other experts point out that while all the discussions have been about electricity, New Delhi’s priority is actually to regular the flow of the tributaries of the Ganges by storing monsoon runoff. With the climate crisis changing the hydrology of Himalayan rivers, India is now eyeing large <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/reservoirs-of-suspicion/hydropower-geopolitics%20,3991" target="_blank">reservoir projects in Nepal</a>. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/geopolitics-of-nepal-s-rivers">Geopolitics of Nepal’s rivers</a>, Ramesh Kumar Almost two-thirds of the water in the Ganges that flows through some of the most densely-populated regions in the world in the north Indian plains come from rivers of Nepal. And most of that flows down in the four monsoon months between June-September. One large reservoir project is the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-water-and-electricity">Budi Gandaki</a>, and it has been delayed by geopolitical pingpong between India and China. In 2017, Pushpa Kamal Dahal awarded the project to China’s CGGC when he was prime minister, but the subsequent Deuba government reversed the decision. In 2018, K P Oli’s administration restored the contract, only to have Deuba cancel it again in 2022.&nbsp; In the current climate, Budi Gandaki would be the kind of project that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/geopolitics-of-nepal-s-rivers">India would try to prevent the Chinese from building</a> even if it did not want to buy electricity from it because of its water storage capability.&nbsp; Prime Minister Dahal is in a coalition with Sher Bahadur Deuba of the Nepali Congress (NC). When he became prime minister in 2022, he awarded a series of river projects to Indian companies: the West Seti reservoir project, the 480MW Phukot Karnali and Seti River-6. &nbsp; A Nepali company signed an agreement with China Construction during the visit to Kathmandu by President Xi Jinping in 2019 to build the 762MW Tamor project in eastern Nepal. But because India will not buy power from the project, the Nepali side has revoked the contract with China Construction and is likely award it to India’s state-owned <a href="https://sjvn.nic.in/">Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam</a>, which is involved in projects on the Arun that will generate 2,000MW. Indian companies are building hydropower projects which will add a combined total of 4,000MW to the grid, three of which were rushed through only in the past year. Three more Indian projects are in the pipeline.&nbsp;

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Nepal-India power play

Even before Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal returned from a four-day official trip to India on Saturday, commentators and the social web back home had given the visit an F in his report card. Welcoming Dahal before their bilateral talks on Thursday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already declared that Dahal’s visit would be a “super-hit”. And indeed, from an Indian perspective it was. Nepal had a long wish-list of things to be sorted out during the visit, but India was not giving in on any of the really substantial ones, and most of the outcomes were cosmetic.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-pm-to-india-to-reboot-ties">Nepal PM to India to reboot ties</a>, Chandra Kishore The Nepali side has tried to highlight some of the positive achievements of the visit, but had to be satisfied with less than what it wanted.&nbsp; Nepal had demanded a 25-year energy cooperation deal with India, but Modi only verbally announced that India would procure up to 10,000MW of power from Nepal in the next ten years. The agreement on exporting only 40MW of power to Bangladesh via India was largely symbolic. The MoUs were signed in the presence of Dahal and Modi for the Lower Arun and Phukot Karnali hydropower projects (pictured below) had already got the green light in March.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230603030648_08ef06d22b8a78dff275060ab89359323f1e9d2ef12cf00b7a7d1e57a3f9975b.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230603030648_08ef06d22b8a78dff275060ab89359323f1e9d2ef12cf00b7a7d1e57a3f9975b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1776" height="1152" loading="lazy" alt="Prachanda New Delhi"> </figure>  There is criticism from commentators in Nepal that those river project agreements, the Butwal-Gorakhpur transmission line as well as the ground breaking of two more petroleum pipelines in Nepal would disproportionately benefit India. Even the building of a new integrated checkpoints in Nepalganj and Dodhara Shandani would facilitate Indian exports to Nepal.&nbsp; Building petroleum infrastructure at a time when Nepal should be focussed on meeting its 2045 net-zero decarbonisation goals appeared incongruous to many. Nepal had insisted on two-way traffic on the L626 and B345 air routes west from Kathmandu that would shorten travel time and make inbound flights to Pokhara and Bhairawa airports more attractive to international operators. But India grudgingly agreed only to lower flight level traffic eastbound on L626 below 15,000ft. This would only benefit short-haul turboprops into Nepal, and not international flights from Delhi, the Gulf or Europe. India also agreed to provide access to its air space for ILS landings at the new Bhairawa airport, but said that inbound flights on B345 could not be allowed because of security concerns of its nearby air force base in Gorakhpur. Instead of air routes, Nepal got a promise to allow the use of India’s inland waterways for transportation. And while the agreement for cross-border digital payments would make it convenient for citizens of both countries, there are misgivings about privacy issues of personal data of Nepalis.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230603030648_04dd622c8dddea5a28a52443867703af8218a2558b5170565561db9b9add8562.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230603030648_04dd622c8dddea5a28a52443867703af8218a2558b5170565561db9b9add8562" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Prachanda New Delhi"> <figcaption>Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was welcomed with a classical dance performance in Delhi. Photo: RSS</figcaption> </figure>  India appears to have flatly refused to even discuss the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) report which has suggested a revision of the 1950 India-Nepal treaty that Nepalis have regarded as being asymmetric. There was also no progress on the Lipu Lek-Kalapni border dispute. However, Dahal in a meeting with Nepali editors on Friday said that he had raised Kalapani with Modi and both had agreed to find a resolution through negotiations. But he floated the controversial idea that Kalapani could be swapped with India for a road corridor across 26km of Indian territory to Bangladesh from southeast Nepal. He did not seem to know that Nepal had already secured an agreement with India’s I K Gujral government 30 years ago that allowed this corridor, which was never implemented. The Kalapani swap proposal is bound to raise nationalism hackles in Nepal. Dahal’s Delhi visit had other photo-ops that did not sit very well back in Nepal. The photograph of his daughter-private secretary Ganga Dahal sitting in during the prime minister’s meeting with India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra (and not Nepal’s foreign secretary) has been much criticised in Nepali social media.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230603030656_922355b75e4806b9f715bcf888d0dda65a41e6774bfb298fc4c758bc72e05aec.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230603030656_922355b75e4806b9f715bcf888d0dda65a41e6774bfb298fc4c758bc72e05aec" data-rendition-name="original" width="1399" height="788" loading="lazy" alt="Prachanda and Ganga Dahal in Delhi"> <figcaption>Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval with visit Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and his daughter Ganga Dahal in New Delhi on 31 May. Photo: RSS</figcaption> </figure>  Members of the Nepali delegation, who are not government officials but friends of ministers, taking selfies during solemn occasions like the wreath-laying at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial has also been lampooned in Nepal.&nbsp; But the most glaring contradiction was the sight of a Maoist prime minister of Nepal clad in saffron and holy thread, offering prayers at a Shiva temple in Indore (pictured below). Another photograph showed three senior Nepali cabinet ministers also in the same attire offering prayers.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230603030648_5ac04014aeeacb5be677111702fdf301083d8a8d7493dbb4b947e6630339666d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230603030648_5ac04014aeeacb5be677111702fdf301083d8a8d7493dbb4b947e6630339666d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="658" loading="lazy" alt="Prachanda New Delhi"> <figcaption>Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal offering prayers at Shiva temple in Indore. Photo: BABURAM BHATTARAI/TWITTER </figcaption> </figure>  Commentators pointed out the contrasting irony of this with the Maoists assassinating Hindu priests and desecrating temples during their armed struggle in 1996-2006, and being the most aggressive proponents of making Nepal a secular republic after the peace accord. Many have said the transformation of Prachanda to Pushpa Kamal Dahal is now complete, and it is only a question of time before the Maoist Centre drops the ‘Maoist’ label from its party name.

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Super-hit, or super-flop?

Migrant workers in the Gulf lack health and safety protection from the region’s extreme summertime heat and humidity now made worse by the climate crisis.
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/labour-pains">Extreme heat exposure</a> can cause rash, cramps, heat exhaustion, or heat stroke, which can be fatal or have lifelong consequences.
Heat stress is also suspected to be one of the reasons behind what is now termed as ‘<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/disproportionate-number-of-deaths-of-Nepali-workers-in-Malaysia,2812">sudden death syndrome</a>’. Outdoor migrant workers mostly from South Asia engaged in construction and agriculture are disproportionately affected.
“Despite substantial scientific evidence on the devastating health impact of exposure to extreme heat, Gulf states’ protection failures are causing millions of migrant workers to face grave risks, including death,” says Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch (HRW).
He adds: “Gulf states should prioritise creating a comprehensive strategy to address occupational heat stress, and international organizations that claim to champion international labour rights should speak out about the issue.”
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/labour-pains">Labour pains</a>
Between 2021 and 2023, Human Rights Watch interviewed 90 migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, Kenya, and Nepal about heat and health safety issues in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Researchers found that workers were unable to sufficiently recuperate from the heat, in part due to a lack of sufficient rest areas, air-conditioned accommodations and water.
Workers were not always allowed to set a safe pace either. These conditions cumulatively often lead to serious consequences, including heat-related deaths.
The average daytime temperatures in the Gulf during summer months often exceeds 40°C with temperatures sometimes climbing to 55°C at over 80% humidity. All Gulf states apply a summer midday work ban that prohibits employers from continuing outdoor work during pre-defined times and months.
Qatar's 2021 legislation goes further, at least on paper, as it prohibits any outdoor work when the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) rises beyond 32.1°C.
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/north-indian-heat-wave-hits-nepal">Wet bulb temperature</a>, the threshold temperature for what a healthy person can endure for several hours is estimated to be around 30°C and 31°C in warm humid environments.
While enforcement gaps remain, the 2021 Qatari legislation is a positive foundation because the wet-bulb temperature is a more accurate tool for monitoring heat stress risks, states HRW.
Other Gulf countries should adopt similar legislation because midday work bans have failed to protect workers.
“At work [in Qatar], we had to pour out sweat from our shoes,” says one former construction worker. “Our socks and t-shirts would become so soaked that we had to wring them out multiple times a day.”
Multiple studies focusing on heat exposure risks in Gulf states found a strong correlation between heat stress and deaths due to cardiovascular problems and indicated that extremely hot days are associated with higher mortality risk, with migrant workers disproportionately exposed.
<a href="https://oem.bmj.com/content/80/6/347">A study in Kuwait</a> has found a substantial increase in the risk of occupational injuries associated with extremely hot temperatures despite the midday work ban.
<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333293731_Assessment_of_Heat_Stress_Exposure_among_Construction_Workers_in_the_Hot_Desert_Climate_of_Saudi_Arabia">Another study</a> found that the highest heat intensity for workers in Saudi Arabia was from 9AM to noon, while the ban is in effect between noon and 3PM.
Says a UAE returnee: “While the company never tried to make us work during the summer afternoons, people would still fall ill or faint earlier in the mornings, between 10AM and 12 noon.”
Adds another: “[Even] excluding these three hours… the air is as hot as fire.”
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/turning-on-the-heat">Climate change</a> has further exacerbated the problem. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Gulf’s ‘extreme wet-bulb temperatures are expected to approach, and possibly exceed, the physiological threshold for human adaptability (35°C).’
Governments have also failed to enforce the inadequate heat protections they have in place. Many workers said their companies violated the rules partially or fully.
“Sometimes the employer made us continue the work [during summer ban hours] secretly. In such cases, we used to deploy some workers to guard if someone from the government or inspection department came,” says another UAE returnee.
Ironically, Gulf countries where migrant workers are exposed to heat stress are the world’s biggest exporters of fossil fuels and are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/oil-rich-gulf-turns-to-renewable-energy">major contributors to climate change</a>. The hotter it gets the more air conditioners are used, and these are powered by fossil-fueled thermal power plants.&nbsp;
“One day I fainted at work,” a worker in Saudi Arabia said. “Colleagues took me to the resting room … and poured water on my head. Within minutes I was conscious. I rested for a while and started working again because my colleagues told me this is very common.”
And yet, workers continue working because the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/migration-not-a-wish-but-necessity-for-nepalis">alternative is no income</a>. Self-pacing and maintaining work-rest schedules are useful heat mitigation strategies but it is nearly impossible under abusive supervisors or in time-bound employment projects.
Meanwhile, deaths not attributed to work-related causes, which exclude adverse health outcomes attributed to heat exposure, are not eligible for compensation under labour laws in the Gulf, and life insurance seldom covers deaths described as ‘acute heart failure due to natural death.’
Says Michael Page: “To knowingly put migrant workers in harm's way without substantial protections from heat is inhumane, and Gulf states need to act with urgency ahead of the scorching summer to address these problems.”

Gulf workers need protection from heat

Background Nepal’s new Constitution had just been endorsed by the Constituent Assembly, but Madhesi <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/un-centralising-the-federal-structure">activists</a> were not happy and there was violence in Tarai cities. Following the promulgation of the Constitution in 2015, the Tharuhat Struggle Committee (TSC) rejected the seven-province federalism model that placed Kailali and Kanchanpur in Far-west Province, demanding greater autonomy for their indigenous group in a separate Tharuhat Province.&nbsp; However, the Akhanda Sudur Paschim movement that had been demanding a separate Far-western state had been celebrating the passing of the new Constitution, leading to a confrontation between the two organisations.&nbsp; On 24 August 2015, armed supporters of the TSC <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2015/08/24/kailali-carnage/">confronted police in Tikapur</a> of Kailali district. Madhesi activists were reported to have instigated the indigenous Tharu community to join the Madhes Movement.&nbsp; Eight police officers were killed: lynched, knifed, or burnt alive. A two-year-old baby was also shot. Police filed charges in the Kailali District Court against 58 suspects, naming Resham Chaudhary, the district coordinator of the Tharuhat Struggle Committee, as the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/01/22/tikapur-finding/">mastermind behind the attacks</a>. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/tikapur-s-protracted-trauma">Tikapur’s protracted trauma</a>, Tufan Neupane  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230529120548_0c6976eb2e6b43f40a0dfcc835c28d72cab53f804840bf9c0900b34a2b2ba19a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230529120548_0c6976eb2e6b43f40a0dfcc835c28d72cab53f804840bf9c0900b34a2b2ba19a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1064" loading="lazy" alt="Resham Chaudhary"> <figcaption>Resham Chaudhary with wife Ranjita Shrestha, who is the Minister of Land Management and the chair of the Nagarik Unmukti Party.</figcaption> </figure>  What did the courts do? While still on the run, Resham Chaudhary ran for elections in 2017 as Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) and was elected to Parliament from Kailali-1. &nbsp; As MP, he turned himself in to police in February 2018, but was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment along with 11 others by the Kailali District Court and the High Court in 2019. On 17 May this year, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict of the two lower courts.&nbsp; Why was he released? On Nepal’s Republic Day on Monday, President Ram Chandra Paudel included Resham Chaudhary in his amnesty list on recommendation of the coalition government led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.&nbsp; Article 276 of Nepal’s constitution stipulates that the President may, in accordance with the law, grant pardons, suspend, commute or remit any sentence passed by any Court, judicial or quasi-judicial body or administrative authority or body. From behind bars, Chaudhary last year got his wife Ranjita Shrestha to form the Nagarik Unmukti Party (NUP). Shrestha herself was elected to Parliament in the 2022 federal elections, and is Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation. But she had not participated in Cabinet meetings.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/displacement-and-defiance/">Displacement and defiance</a>, Tom Robertson  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230529120548_eb2eee37cde4dc6626f7765be55322637668e28f6cdd1615da9d09ffac72f4b6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20230529120548_eb2eee37cde4dc6626f7765be55322637668e28f6cdd1615da9d09ffac72f4b6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1066" loading="lazy" alt="Resham Chaudhary"> </figure>  Although the NUP is a part of Prime Minister Dahal’s coalition government, it had made <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/government-of-the-leaders-for-the-leaders-by-the-leaders">Chaudhary’s release a primary agenda</a>, threatening to pull out of the coalition if that demand was not fulfilled.&nbsp; The coalition was looking fragile after the exit of the independent RSP, the fourth largest party in Parliament with i21 members.&nbsp; Chaudhary’s pardon will now ensure the the NUP remains in the coalition for the time being. But this is bound to have a ripple effect on other smaller parties in the coalition to use similar bargaining tactics to gain political leverage. The Dahal-led coalition government was pushing for Chaudhary’s inclusion in the President’s Republic Day amnesty list which also includes 482 others serving prison terms. Besides Chaudhary, 19 prisoners were also pardoned. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/atrocities-against-tharu-expressed-in-art/">Atrocities against Tharu expressed in art</a>, Sakina Abidi  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230529120548_572f971d19c8bd2edf1918dc64853f00ad7004673c83e694b54015770e133850.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20230529120548_572f971d19c8bd2edf1918dc64853f00ad7004673c83e694b54015770e133850" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1064" loading="lazy" alt="Resham Chaudhary NT"> </figure>  What is the fallout? The fallout of Resham Chaudhary’s release is sharply divided. Activists and members of the Tharu community, who have long demanded that the Tikapur protests be treated as a political movement and not criminal activity, have welcomed the government’s decision.&nbsp; Human rights activists and others say that his pardon undermines Nepal’s judiciary, encourages impunity and compounds the injustice to the victims and families of the 2015 killings.&nbsp; 'It is abundantly clear that the government, by disregarding the judgement of the court and infringing upon the judicial rights of victims, is institutionalising impunity, ignoring the spirit of the Constitution, and making a mockery out of the republic,’ read a statement put out by the Accountability Watch Committee (AWC). 'It is reprehensible that the government, which has a responsibility to protect the fundamental rights of the victims, has repeatedly sided with the perpetrator.' The opposition UML has been especially vocal, and has accused Dahal of pardoning a criminal solely to keep his shaky coalition intact.&nbsp; Resham Chaudhary’s release and the ongoing agitation in Kosi Province by activists who want Nepal’s easternmost province to be named after the Kirat ethnic group underscores the Constitution’s inability to address the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/ground-zero-kailali-nepal,2535">grievances and demands</a> for representation by Nepal’s ethnic groups.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/chitwan-s-bote-people-in-a-changing-world">Chitwan’s Bote people in a changing world</a>, Sravasti Ghosh Dastidar

Shristi Karki

Who is Resham Chaudhary …

On 23 May, hundreds gathered at Kathmandu airport to greet Hari Budha Magar who created history as the world’s first double above-knee amputee to summit Everest, becoming an ultimate icon of hope and courage. “We made it!” Magar, 45, is said to have shouted as he made it to the summit of the world’s highest mountain at 3:10PM on 19 May. Magar posed for a photo sitting on the top holding his two prosthetic legs.&nbsp; Mt Everest, even in the most favorable of weather conditions, poses extreme challenges for the best of climbers. Till press time on Thursday, nearly 500 mountaineers had made it to the top, while 11 lost their lives on the mountain. Magar climbed with the help of fellow-Nepali high altitude guides in extreme weather, defying all the odds and breaking stereotypes. The former British Gurkha soldier has since received much praise from the world over for his exceptional achievement. After losing his legs in a mine explosion in Afghanistan in 2010, Magar fell into hopelessness before his ambitions for the great mountains reignited. Before long, he went paragliding, ventured onto tough roads cycling and skiing, and climbed mountains with his prosthetic legs. Eventually, he set his eyes on Everest. And led by former Chief Mountain Instructor at the British SAS commando unit, and world-renowned climber Krish Thapa, the team crossed the treacherous Khumbu Icefall paths from Base Camp to the South Col and onto the summit. ‘Congratulations, Hari Budha Magar. Unbelievable,’ wrote British actor Tom Hardy on his Instagram following the climb. Indeed, the publicity he has generated has now become an unprecedented source of inspiration, especially for individuals with disabilities, not just in Nepal but worldwide. Says Magar: “I am climbing Mt Everest to inspire people with disabilities, to show that we can achieve the same feats as able-bodied people.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230524140520_b2c0a8d9735e7c1be864f2f2c4e461bdcb8271ef541de2ced3fdde3fe1a859fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230524140520_b2c0a8d9735e7c1be864f2f2c4e461bdcb8271ef541de2ced3fdde3fe1a859fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1664" loading="lazy" alt="The pinnacle of determination and courage "> </figure>  Since the first successful ascent in 1953 by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Edmund Hillary, up until 2022 a total of 6,383 people have reached the summit. The proportion of individuals with physical disabilities is only 20, two of whom are Nepalis. Born in the secluded village of Mirul in Rolpa, Magar spend much of his life grazing cattle on a hilltop from where he would view Sisne Himal and Dhaulagiri every day, igniting in him an early fascination with mountains and a longing to climb them someday. In adherence to village tradition, his parents got him married at the age of 11 while Rolpa was in the war zone during the Maoist conflict. Magar had two distinct choices: either join the Maoist militia or the state military.&nbsp; Magar’s father charted a third route by sending him to Liwang municipality to complete his education. After completing school, Magar was among the few to be enrolled in the British Royal Gurkha Rifles in 1999. He served in the British Army for 15 years in five continents. In 2010, in Afghanistan's Helmand province he was on NATO patrol when he was hit by a roadside bomb. But the time he regained consciousness in hospital, both his legs had been amputated.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230524140516_95388e7493a3eda576e929cb19c77ab115ee1a990b9ed5a3dc81a9a78e1cd961.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230524140516_95388e7493a3eda576e929cb19c77ab115ee1a990b9ed5a3dc81a9a78e1cd961" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="The pinnacle of determination and courage "> </figure>  Coming to terms with his disability was an uphill challenge, the very thought of having to rely on someone else even for the simplest acts like eating, sleeping, and using the restroom had him depressed. He descended into alcoholism and despair. Magar got himself admitted to Rakshya Medical Rehabilitation Centre for rehabilitation, and soon discovered new possibilities with his prosthetic leg. He started finding solace in adventure, and started out by learning to paraglide. . “This restored hope in me that even a person with a disability can accomplish great things,” says Magar, who then turned to his childhood dream of mountaineering. He travelled around the world to build up his climbing skills and stamina, climbing Mount Blanc (4,810m), Kilimanjaro (5,895m), Cho Oyu (6,059m) and Mera Peak (6,476m), all of which were preparations for his ultimate goal, Mt Everest. By 2018, Magar was all prepared but Tourism Ministry imposed a ban on individuals with disabilities, citing safety concerns. Dissatisfied with this decision, Magar filed a writ petition in Nepal’s Supreme Court which ruled in his favour. Then the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the climb, and he used the time to prepare. Magar is now an icon of the triumph of the human spirit. He says: “Dreams and challenges may seem unattainable, but with the right mindset, everything is possible.” Adapted by Shrijan Pandey from the Nepali original published in <a href="http://himalkhabar.com/" target="_blank">himalkhabar.com</a>

The pinnacle of determination and courage

This has been a season of new records on Nepal’s Himalayan peaks, with more than 1,000 mountaineers attempting 25 peaks. Mt Everest alone has more than half those climbers, exceeding the pre-pandemic peak in 2019. High winds and early pre-monsoon blizzards are expected to hit the mountain this week, and climbers are scrambling to the summit before the season officially closes on 1 June. So far this year, at least 10 climbers have died on Mt Everest alone, but many records have also been broken, including some multiple times on successive days. Kami Rita Sherpa summited Mt Everest twice in one season, taking his total to 28 times. Kami Rita is once again ahead of Pasang Dawa Sherpa who had tied his record of climbing 27 times only 24 hours previously.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230523150540_a3ec9f5f2680fa993f71e5257a10a5a98b20d151185ac41a755e6af3e93c60a5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230523150540_a3ec9f5f2680fa993f71e5257a10a5a98b20d151185ac41a755e6af3e93c60a5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1293" height="709" loading="lazy" alt="Kami Rita SHerpa"><figcaption>Kami Rita Sherpa</figcaption></figure>  More than 500 people have summited Mt Everest this season, and that is another record, but the climbers have spread themselves out to prevent a repeat of the notorious traffic jams that gave Himalayan climbing a bad reputation in 2018. This year is the 99th anniversary of the disappearance of Mallory and Irvine on the north ridge of Everest in 1924, and the 60th year of the first traverse of the world’s highest mountain up the West Ridge and down the South Col route by Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld of the 1963 Mt Everest expedition. Hornbein died earlier this month, only 16 days shy of the 60th anniversary of the historic climb. With the record numbers of climbers, there has also been the problem of waste. Although a Nepal Army expedition his season cleaned up some of the trash left by previous years’ expeditions, it represented a small proportion of the garbage. The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) requires each expedition group to deposit $4,000 which is refunded if everyone brings back at least 8kg of garbage even though an average climber leaves behind much more. “I believe that climbers who spend five to six weeks on an expedition produce more waste than that,” says Billi Bierling of the Himalayan Database. Human waste from Base Camp is supposed to be carried to a landfill in Gorakshep lower down the valley. Plans are underway to build a biogas plant generating methane gas from waste to heat base camp. Besides the race for records by Kami Rita and Pasang Dawa Sherpa, there were other records. Kilian Jornet, a Spanish ultra-runner who summited Everest twice in a week without supplemental oxygen in 2017, is back on Lhotse trying out a non-standard different route. The gender gap is closing on Mt Everest with more and more women attempting to summit each season. Nearly 7,000 different climbers have summited Mt Everest, and out of them 822 were women. Only nine of them have reached the top without bottled oxygen, compared to 154 men. This season, several women are attempting to climb Everest without supplemental oxygen. Among them is Nepali Dabuti Sherpa and if she succeeds, will be the first Nepali woman to have achieved this on the 45th anniversary of the first Everest ascent without bottled oxygen by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler in 1978. Another climber who made history this year was Hari Budha Magar, a double above-the-knee amputee who lost both of his legs in Afghanistan. After being discharged from the British Gurkha, Hari had been training to climb Mt Everest since 2017 with special gear. Magar is a climate champion and is raising funds 100 times more than the height of Mt Everest (£884,900) for charities that helped rehabilitate him.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230523150540_44bb6ef305565b0ab5af3439c20e2efc5f7ef3239eb39dffab0f9cf0f52a9ded.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230523150540_44bb6ef305565b0ab5af3439c20e2efc5f7ef3239eb39dffab0f9cf0f52a9ded" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="854" loading="lazy" alt="Hari Budha Magar"></figure>  Other notable climbs included Naila Kiani’s summit which made her the first Pakistani woman to get on top of five highest mountains, and compatriot Sajid Ali Sadpara, who was the first Pakistani to climb Everest without oxygen and plans to climb the remaining seven eight-thousanders. Vietnamese climber Nguyên Thi Thanh Nhā became the first Vietnamese woman to reach the Everest summit, and Xu Zhuoyuan, 16, became the youngest Chinese female climber to get to the top of the world’s highest mountain. Both climbs were made from the Nepal side, since there is only one national Chinese expedition from the north. There have been 10 deaths on Mt Everest from icefall collapse, exhaustion and high altitude cerebral edema. Although there have been seasons with more deaths (avalanches in 2014 and 2015 killed a total of 34 climbers) the average is four fatalities per season. Annapurna 1 recorded fatalities early in the season. An avalanche forced climbers off higher camps, three of them were reported missing, one Indian climber was miraculously rescued from a crevasse after three days. And Noel Hanna, a renowned Irish mountaineer died at Camp 4 the night after he summited the world’s tenth highest mountain. Several mountaineers who had reached the top were airlifted from high camps raising questions from purists whether theirs could be really called a ‘summit’. Mountaineers Jonathan Lamy from France and Pakistani Naila Kiani were caught in the middle of that debate. The Himalayan Database has introduced a new category of summits that indicates whether a climb was ‘aviation assisted’. On 3 May, Norwegian Kristen Harila, atop Cho Oyu, became the fastest woman to climb all 14 eight thousanders in a year. She had planned to break Nims Purja’s record of summiting all 14 peaks in six months and six days, but could not get a Chinese visa last autumn for Cho Oyu and Shishapangma. Harila now aims to climb all 8,000 mountains again, this time in four months, and is re-climbing the mountains all over again, summiting Lhotse and Everest in a record eight hours on Monday. Counting Shishapangma on 26 April and Cho Oyu on 3 May, Kristen has begun her 2023 ‘14 Peaks’ attempt in less than 6 months. She has already completed 4/14 peaks, climbing Makalu on 13 May and Kanchenjunga on 18 May in under 22 days. Her website allows her followers to track her rapidly progressing journey with an online GPS. “Since Nims (Nirmal Purja) climbed the 14 8,000ers in record time, there has been a shift in mountaineering,” says Billi Bierling talking about the athleticism and speed which is now sought in the high Himalayas. Harila’s record surpassed her female predecessors’ by years, one of them Austrian mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner who took 14 years to ascend all 14 8,000 peaks. Harila has climbed expedition style, while Kaltnebrunner is a true alpinist who climbs without supplementary oxygen and Sherpa and helicopter support. Alpine style climbing is what Polish climber Votyek Kurtyka describes as "meeting the mountain one-on-one" and is gradually being displaced by commercial military-style assaults on mountains. Experts say the style of climbing is more important than record-setting. With commercial expeditions, there were also reports of theft of oxygen cylinders, climbing equipment and food at higher camps, including the South Col this season. But there are still less-publicised alpine style climbs, including a new route on Kabru South (7,318m) by a team of Slovak and Solvenian climbers who got to the top of this side peak of Kangchenjunga without oxygen, Sherpas and setting up tent camps. On Dhaulagiri 1 Bartek Ziemski from Poland became the first person to complete a full ski descent of Dhaulagiri, the world’s seventh highest. Two Russian climbers also skied down Mt Everest, but it is not clear where they started and where they stopped. High winds are battering the mountains ahead of this week’s storms, and there will be many at base camps following the progress of the last summit teams.

On Mt Everest’s 70th, records and fatalities

When Nepalis in the Gulf make it into conversation, the last thing that comes up may be about a pair of head-banging rock artists. Nepalis are better known for being hardworking construction workers, long-distance lorry drivers, or serving as security guards in the Gulf nation. But in Qatar’s underground rock and metal scene, you will find Ameet Kunwar rocking the drums and Satish Thapa Magar grooving the crowd with his bass and vocals, defying the stereotype of a Nepali in the Arabian desert. Winterburn, a hard rock band fronted by Gibson-endorsed guitarist and singer Naser Mestarihi, and the two Nepali musicians is the first and only rock band performing original music in Qatar. Having received much acclaim and international play for their singles, the trio has been labeled as the pioneers of the rock scene in the country by Musivv digital platform, Vents Magazine, and Fox Sports. Back home in Nepal, Satish was a digital marketing officer by day and performed music gigs by night. Yet, it was not enough to support his family. Three years ago, he left to work as an accountant in a bar in Qatar. Ameet migrated 14 months ago for similar reasons. “I missed the music I was really passionate about. I have been playing since I was 17,” says Satish, now 27. “So when I was introduced to the music circle here, I took the risk to quit my job and pursue music professionally.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230523080540_d1f4b64591dd70ec8cbf0de90da639c61821ae4b01caa8c893a034edfd3a9ade.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230523080540_d1f4b64591dd70ec8cbf0de90da639c61821ae4b01caa8c893a034edfd3a9ade" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis rock in the desert"> </figure>  The duo plays in three bands in Qatar: Kathmandu Musical Band for the Nepali diaspora audience, Afterlife, a rock-cover band for the expatriate community here and Winterburn, an ambitious original rock music project. “The pay difference between Qatar and Nepal is huge, just two to three gigs a week can give us a good income,”adds Satish. “Even the entire band is not paid this much in Nepal.” However, being an independent rock musician in an expensive city like Qatar is not as glamorous as it sounds. Audiences prefer cover music and DJs compared to live, original music. But the band members are committed to keeping the spirit of real rock alive, even at the cost of losing lucrative performance offers. This means that more often than not, it is Naser’s local friends who make up most of the crowd. But it is hard to get the recognition the band deserves in Qatar. While Winterburn is gaining popularity, the music scene is still very challenging. “Since we are an original band, it is hard to earn money given we can’t perform original music every day,” says Ameet who has balanced his passion to supporting his family back home in Nepal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230523080540_c3923b7a3fe3a280aa6cf7d575665051c53cd29f47a3b70a0e4ebac90ac8ab87.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230523080540_c3923b7a3fe3a280aa6cf7d575665051c53cd29f47a3b70a0e4ebac90ac8ab87" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis rock in the desert"> <figcaption>Ameet Kunwar.</figcaption> </figure>  Satish and Ameet have been approached by multiple bars to sign contracts for a monthly income, which they have refused. The contract binds them to a single bar where the musical expectation is specific and leaves little room for self-expression and experimentation. Moreover, the market is saturated with Filipino bands, who often play covers for lower pay. And as a Nepali band, many here expect them to perform Bollywood hits. “It is especially hard being Nepali, and by extension South Asian, here. The music scene is perhaps the only place where we don’t have to worry about racism,” says Ameet. Nepalis are often branded as low-paid menial workers. People fail to recognise the Nepali identity beyond KFC counters and Talabat rides. When Satish and Ameet climb on stage, most are surprised they are Nepali. However, some sign them on just for the novelty of having a Nepali rock band. And it is the very rebellion in their musical expression that has given Satish and Ameet their identity as strugglers against stereotypes and racism.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230523080544_e348b02f332476fd9b6a95c264e1182908ded016fd795fca78ab4bf94e0f1ff8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230523080544_e348b02f332476fd9b6a95c264e1182908ded016fd795fca78ab4bf94e0f1ff8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis rock in the desert"> <figcaption>Satish Thapa Magar.</figcaption> </figure>  “When I am up there on stage, it doesn’t matter if I am a Nepali. It is cathartic to see music erase boundaries and pre-concepts,” adds Ameet. Despite facing some uncomfortable situations off the stage, the music community in Qatar at large respects the band for its talent. Satish and Ameet have come across many who have been amazed by the diversity of Nepali music, and that includes their lead Naser. “One thing about Nepalis is that they know their music,” says Naser who is fascinated with Nepali performers like Sabin Rai, Albatross, and other bands. “My bandmates are some of the best musicians in the world who come from Nepal’s rich musical scene. They deserve much more recognition.” At the end of the day, Winterburn just wants to make music and take its originals to as many people as possible. Members are working on their second album, II, to be released globally and a regional tour of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and eventually Nepal in the coming months. Adds frontman Naser Mestarihi: “I want to play where people understand and appreciate our music, and Nepal seems to be the best place for that.”

Nepalis rock in the desert

Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record last week when he climbed the world’s highest mountain for the 27th time, keeping ahead of compatriot Pasang Dawa Sherpa who had tied his 26th climb earlier this season. Kami Rita <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-can-do-it-25-times">has been climbing Mt Everest </a>every year since the first time he helped an international expedition get to the summit in 1994, sometimes reaching the top twice in the same season. The only years he could not climb were in 2014 and 2015 because of deadly avalanches, and in 2020 due to the pandemic. But Kami Rita says with characteristic understatement that for him it has never been about the record. It is just another job that requires him to guide expeditions to the top, and it is a job he does well. “Had I been chasing records, I could have summited many more times,” says Kami Rita, who has turned back several times from near the summit because he had to rescue foreign climbers, or blizzards. “I have seen first hand how unpredictable and unforgiving the mountain can be.’ Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-the-ice-is-gone-we-are-done">“If the ice is gone, we are done”</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230521040552_8387b98b50704cf7ed76007be3d6e6ad3b27c6ade00288923033cf6dd3670434.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230521040552_8387b98b50704cf7ed76007be3d6e6ad3b27c6ade00288923033cf6dd3670434" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1354" loading="lazy" alt="Kami Rita Sherpa NT"> </figure>  He was at Base Camp in 2014 preparing for a live telecast with his brother for a National Geographic expedition when an avalanche slammed into the Khumbu Icefall, killing 16 Sherpas, many of whom he knew.&nbsp; A year later, 19 climbers and Sherpas lost their lives when an <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/big-drops-in-Everest-bookings-affect-livelihoods-of-Nepali-high-altitude-guides,2048">avalanche triggered by the 2015 earthquake</a> destroyed Base Camp. Then the Covid-19 pandemic halted all expeditions, depriving many guides and porters of income. Throughout all this, Kami Rita has remained in Nepal, declining job offers from overseas. “For me, there is nothing more meaningful than serving my community and people,” he says matter-of-factly. "The younger generation is aware of the dangers and some have given up working on the mountains. But if we Sherpas were not here, there would be no mountaineering.” Many, including previous summit record holders like Apa Sherpa, have migrated abroad. A new generation of Sherpas are now scientists, climatologists, businessmen, or airline pilots, and their success has been made possible because of the sacrifices of their parents. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/khumbu-wants-its-share">Khumbu wants its share</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230521040552_c0c351ab9fe199499a4698b6f56a9cee2fdfa61b825593ece63bfe72aa2c5ffb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230521040552_c0c351ab9fe199499a4698b6f56a9cee2fdfa61b825593ece63bfe72aa2c5ffb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Kami Rita Sherpa NT"> </figure>  For Kami Rita, it looks like his family’s involvement in mountaineering may end with him. His son Lhakpa Tenzing is studying tourism as an undergrad and has no desire to follow in his father’s footsteps. His daughter Pasang Dolma is pursuing a computer science degree. “I worked hard all my life so they got a good education, even though mountaineering is an unpredictable business with seasonal income,” he says. “I have made sure that they have opportunities I never got.” <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/where-have-all-the-guides-gone">Expedition guides </a>are now increasingly being replaced by ethnic groups from lower valleys, as younger Sherpas move on to other jobs. Kami Rita says younger Nepalis from other ethnicities should have access to rock and ice climbing training so that they can take over.&nbsp; Born and raised in the Khumbu, Kami Rita attended school in Thame, one of many established by New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary, who along with Tenzing Norgay became the first to climb Mt Everest 70 years ago. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/letters-from-everest-base-camp-1-vfqcer0e">Letters from Everest Base Camp 1</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230521040552_41b36f9ee594f1ec5ecdfce673d21472c3a32738085784d5f1c1f088d01d0e33.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20230521040552_41b36f9ee594f1ec5ecdfce673d21472c3a32738085784d5f1c1f088d01d0e33" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Kami Rita Sherpa NT"> <figcaption>Kami Rita with his family.</figcaption> </figure>  Kami Rita’s own father went to Darjeeling with Tenzing Norgay, and one of his two brothers Lhakpa Rita Sherpa was a climbing guide himself before he went on to become the first Nepali to climb the Seven Summits. Mountains was all that his family knew, so it was no surprise that Kami Rita followed in their footsteps. “I wasn’t able to get much of an education, and working for expeditions would earn me much more money,” says Kami Rita, who became a porter at just 12. His only regret is that the Nepal government has never really helped the Sherpas of Khumbu. He cites the example of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-trail-repaired-during-pandemic">Ang Rita Sherpa</a> who climbed Everest 10 times without oxygen but never got the support due to him. “If someone like Ang Rita does not get respect, what hope is there for the rest of us?” says Kami Rita. “The sad truth is that we have always thought of the nation first, but the nation has not shown us the same consideration.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-are-sherpas-always-happy">Why are Sherpas always happy?</a>, Tom Robertson

“Without Sherpas, there is no mountaineering”

Three people who had gone yarsagumba picking in Darchula were <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/abnormal-rise-in-monsoon-lightning-in-nepal">struck by lightning</a> on Saturday evening. The injured were airlifted to hospital by the Army. On Monday, a family of four was injured when lightning struck them as they slept in their home in Dailekh. Lightning mostly occurs high above the earth’s surface and is harmless, but cloud-to-ground strikes— which make for around 10% of all lightning— can be lethal. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Authority (NDRRMA), there have been 45 lightning strikes just in the last 30 days which killed five and injured 42, and also killed 142 livestock. Lightning strikes are more frequent during the current pre-monsoon season in Nepal and also spark forest fires. Nine people have died from lightning strikes in 2023, four in March, three in April, and so far two in May. 80 people have been injured. “Lightning strikes are becoming more frequent and violent,” says climate expert Ngamindra Dahal, adding that there are more casualties because of greater human mobility. &nbsp; In the last 10 years, lightning accounted for the third-highest number of deaths due to disasters with 905 fatalities, ranking after the 2015 earthquakes and landslides. And yet, there is little awareness or preparedness. Now, studies have linked the increase in intensity and frequency of thunderstorms to climate change induced convection systems. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/lightning-kills-more-people-than-floods-in-nepal/" target="_blank">Lightning kills more people than floods in Nepal</a>, Sonia Awale  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230519040516_59c980a8f0df43561046c4fd631daaac623d3f1d973f2f3acb12cc366fe842a0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230519040516_59c980a8f0df43561046c4fd631daaac623d3f1d973f2f3acb12cc366fe842a0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="1355" loading="lazy" alt="Lightning map"> </figure>  “These changes in climate and weather dynamics make a case for the change in frequency and intensity of lightning strikes being climate change-driven,” adds Dahal. Nepal’s mountains have always been vulnerable to cloudbursts and lightning strikes, with districts like Makwanpur and Tanahu being the most vulnerable. But lightning is a natural disaster that can be prevented in cost-effective manner, at least its impacts, says Dahal. It can be as simple as local governments marking off areas with frequent cloudbursts and putting out information about when the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-if-it-roars-go-indoors,529">public needs to avoid the areas</a>. Another option is to set up public shelters made up of lightning arresters, especially near picnic zones, or areas where farmers take their<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/lightning-kills-500-sheep-in-western-nepal"> livestock</a> to graze. For its part, the NDRRMA on its website allows people to parse which lightning strikes are dangerous by counting from 1 to 30. If thunder sounds within 30 seconds of a lightning flash, seek shelter immediately for at least half an hour as those are closer to the ground, and thus more dangerous. “Our research has so far mostly been limited to keeping records of death and injuries, and not so much looking into evolving climate and weather dynamics or the increasing intensity and coverage of lightning strikes,” says Dahal. “But we can give early warning based on Doppler radar mapping for location of possible lightning storms.” &nbsp;&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/lightning-strikes-killing-people-in-Nepal,2940" target="_blank">Forecast: more thunderstorms</a>, Om Astha Rai