Nepali Minister Resigns

Posted on 10. Mar, 2010 by admin in Uncategorized, War on Terror

Rijwan Ansari maintains he had to resign “on my moral ground. The security condition is deteriorating, and I couldn’t help improve the situation.”

But the minister of state home affairs didn’t stop there when he quit his post late Wednesday. While his boss, Home Minister Bhim Rawal, continued claiming to be working hard on a security plan, in the aftermath of several high-profile murders, Ansari called Rawal out for irresponsibility and ineffective use of Nepal’s police force.

“The entire police administration was used unilaterally and so law and order went on deteriorating,” reads the resignation letter, adding, “My sense of morality does not allow me to continue in my post when cases of murders, abduction and violence are rife.”

Ansari, Rawal and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal are all from the same party – CPN UML. However, the prime minister wasn’t happy with Ansari after the latter publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with Rawal, saying that he wasn’t given any responsibility in the Ministry.

Rijwan Ansari

Ansari is the latest fall-out for the high-profile murders of two prominent media figures. Security Officials said that they are investigating about different groups, especially in the murder of media entrepreneur Arun Singhaniya.

But Ansari’s resignation has further created intra-party complications for the prime minister, at the time the Maoists have been demanding his resignation. And, there is now a lapse in the chain of command in the Home Ministry just as regional violence is increasing.

- Rajneesh Bhandari

Insurgents Target Media in Nepal

Posted on 09. Mar, 2010 by admin in Uncategorized, War on Terror

The Maoists have joined the peace process (and the government) after a decade-long insurgency, but a growing number of armed groups have sprung up to take their place. The most recent target: the media.

Arun Singhaniya, owner of two main news outlets in the southern province of Janakpur, was shot three times at point blank range on March 1 while walking home from celebrations for the Holi festival. So far, 10 people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in his murder, but the police have yet to file a claim.

Not all fun in the sun in the Terai

According to Nepal’s Home Ministry, there are more than one hundred armed groups in the Terai region, which includes Janakpur, on the Indian border. Human rights records show that there were 240 killings last year in the Terai, 89 of which remain unsolved.

Industrialists and entrepreneurs have started putting serious pressure on the government to improve the security situation. In a recent meeting, a group of businessmen warned Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal that the country’s main industries would fail if the violence continues.

In response, the prime minister promised to beef up security – especially in the Terai.

However, the Terai is a vast, rural area of jungles and plain, and the prime minister has had security issues in his own capital.

Barely a month ago, another prominent media figure, Nepali cable TV magnate Jamim Shah, was gunned down in broad daylight in a rich and “safe” neighborhood in Kathmandu, allegedly by Indian gangsters.

Indian newspapers have regularly accused Shah’s TV channels and newspapers of propagating anti-Indian sentiment. Shah was shot dead on February 7—which, according to the Nepali astrological calendar, is supposed to be among the luckiest days of the year for marriage ceremonies.

- Rajneesh Bhandari

Nepal’s Ongoing Electricity Crisis

Posted on 02. Feb, 2010 by admin in Environment, Uncategorized

The Metropolitan Police in Kathmandu had organized a press conference for 6pm on January 3, 2010. It was a big occasion. They were to announce the arrest of Yunus Ansari and seven others on the charge of counterfeiting 24 million Indian rupees (US$500,000). But just as a police superintendent was briefing journalists… the lights went out.

Sadly, this has become a familiar sight in Nepal. Although Nepal is one of the richest country in the world in terms of water resources, most of the country sees 11 hours per day of load-shedding. This means that almost half the time people don’t have the use of lights, appliances and other devices that require electricity.

Don't let the lights go out

This has been particularly problematic for crime. Only the central police headquarters in Kathmandu has a designated alternative energy source, whereas all the district police offices operate with the help of candles or emergency lights.

On top of that, the police have constant troubles charging their communication sets. High crime zones remain in darkness. The jails function with the help of candles, and the CCTV cameras are turned off. It’s no surprise that crime rates are rising fast.

Bigyan Raj Sharma, a Deputy Inspector General on the Nepal police force, said that to fight the load-shedding problem, police have increased the number of officers on the streets. He admitted that load-shedding was making Nepal’s people “psychologically terrorized.” The situation is taking its toll on Nepal’s small and medium-sized businesses, which have to seek alternative energy sources that make their services more costly.

Despite government efforts, load-shedding is only getting worse – due, in large part, to the environment. According Nepal’s electricity authority, a few more load-shedding hours may actually be added this winter as water levels in the rivers are going down.

- Rajneesh Bhandari

A Witness to Global Warming

Posted on 19. Jan, 2010 by admin in Environment

Author Pete Takeda has spent his life climbing mountains all over the world. During this time he has seen clear evidence that the the snow is melting, the climate is warming, and the mountains themselves are drying up.

In our previous excerpt with Takeda, he spoke of a CIA plan gone horribly wrong. Here Takeda discussess his impressions of our changing world.

How the CIA Lost a Plutonium Battery

Posted on 11. Jan, 2010 by admin in Environment, Uncategorized

In 1965, the Cold War was running very hot, and in an effort to spy on the Chinese, the CIA mounted an expedition to Nanda Devi, a mountain in northern India, to place a listening device. Unfortunately, bad weather forced the team off the mountain, abandoning the device in the process. It proceeded to sink into the surrounding glacier, and is still there today. Worse, it’s powered by plutonium, which may or may not be slowly seeping into a rather important river: the Ganges.

Recently, we caught up with Pete Takeda, author of An Eye at the Top of the World about the botched CIA plan. Watch the first part in a three-part interview.

Saving Everest

Posted on 09. Dec, 2009 by admin in Environment, Uncategorized

For the first time in the annals of human history, a government Cabinet met in the lap of Mount Everest. Indeed, the meeting, which took place on December 4th, has set many records. It was the first Cabinet meeting to be held at Kalapatthar – at the height of 17,192 feet. It was the first Cabinet meeting that was totally focused on environmental issues. And for the first time, Cabinet ministers traveled such a long distance together for a meeting.

It was a sight to see the 20 or so ministers wearing oxygen masks to help counter the altitude risk. But Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal couldn’t have looked happier, and the other ministers seemed to be enjoying the majestic beauty of the Himalayas as well. There were tables and chairs, and the ministers used different pens that work at high altitudes.

Just a few years ago, according to the locals, the hills of the Syanboche were clothed with snow, but now a lot of the snow has melted. Unlike before, it is still sunny in the winter on these peaks – which speeds up snow melt. Even the day of the Cabinet meeting was sunny and beautiful.

As is well documented, glaciers the world over are melting at a higher rate than ever before, and so it is in Nepal. According to reports, Nepal’s annual average temperature has risen by about one degree Fahrenheit, but the temperature in the Himalayas has increased twice as much. Forty of Nepal’s 2,300 glacial lakes are identified as potentially dangerous for floods, and 20 of those are considered likely to burst soon.

Lukla: front line for the coming flood

Locals at the town of Lukla, which lies downstream from the Imja Glacier Lake, say they live in the constant fear of the lake bursting. Reports confirm that most of Nepal’s glacial lakes don’t have the necessary protective measures to protect communities from flooding, and Nepal’s government has yet to address this and other issues.

However, the government successfully drew international attention to the impact of climate change and announced a massive campaign to educate people on the issue. The Cabinet also demarcated Gauri Shankar and Api Nampa as conservation areas, and took its ambitious declarations to the United Nations’ Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen.

Yet is it enough?

And the fate of Nepal’s glaciers has resonance for the rest of the region and the world. One billion people in Western China, Nepal, and Northern India – a sixth of the world’s population – are dependent on the water in Nepal’s rivers for fresh drinking water. Unless these problems are adequately addressed, the loss of this water supply will cause massive economic and environmental problems for years to come.

- Rajneesh Bhandari

Can Nepal Charm Its Neighbors?

Posted on 13. Nov, 2009 by admin in War on Terror

Once again, Nepal is caught between the tiger and the dragon. A few months ago, Indian police uncovered a counterfeit currency racket led by India’s most wanted criminal, Dawood Ibraheem, and involving agents in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. For Nepal, initially the bust was a public relations mess—among those charged in the racket was former Nepalese Crown Prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah Dev, who was heir apparent to the throne before the country’s monarchy was abolished in 2008.

But the bust was yet another incident that has led to current concerns about Nepal as a safe harbor for international criminals. There are over 100 known armed groups along Nepal’s border with India. Despite government efforts, abduction, thievery and other criminal activities are on the rise. And, Indian critics accuse Nepal of allowing itself to be used for drug trafficking and producing counterfeit money.

Does it bite?

The Nepalese government recently agreed to cooperate with the UN and Interpol to curb international crime, and this would seem to dovetail nicely into the decision last month by Interpol to issue special passports to its senior investigators that would allow them to enter any of the group’s 188-member countries without visas to make it easier to apprehend international criminals.

However, most member countries haven’t decided yet whether they’ll allow Interpol officers without visas. And therein lies the tight spot for Nepal: what will India and China do?

Often, Nepal’s neighbors complain about Nepali crime and have conflicting viewpoints on international criminal cases. Despite India’s trade dominance in Nepal, tensions between the two countries have grown as Nepal’s ruling Communist party has boosted ties to China. Yet China’s government has complained recently about Nepal’s harboring of Tibetan refugees.

Nepal’s Home Minister Bhim Bahadur Rawal admitted that the government is still deciding whether to accept Interpol’s request, and in the coming weeks it will most definitely be closely studying how India and China would respond. This is another example of the delicate balancing act Nepal must undergo in order to appease its larger neighbors, and a wrong move in either direction could have serious repercussions.

- Rajneesh Bhandari

Hard Times In Kathmandu

Posted on 28. Aug, 2009 by admin in Environment, War on Terror

In a small town, an honest carpenter is struck by a mysterious illness. He sells his house and belongings, leaves behind his wife and family, and moves to a nearby city to find a cure that will allow him to rebuild his old life.

But no cure comes. Though he receives some help from friends and doctors, his illness worsens, ravaging his body and rotting his fingers and toes. Unable to work, he is reduced to begging outside the gates of a church.

The story sounds almost Biblical – unrelenting punishment meted out by a capricious god. But in Kathmandu in Nepal, it is all too real.

This is the story of Ananta. Once a member of the Nepalese middle class, he now faces the most grueling poverty. His fight for basic survival continues to this day. It is a common scenario in Nepal, where health insurance and public health standards are still in nascent stages. Like thousands of others in Kathmandu and across Nepal, Ananta has no money, no insurance, and nowhere else to turn.

Dispatch from Kathmandu–How Recycling Works

Posted on 06. Nov, 2008 by michelemitchell in Environment

Most “recycling” in Kathmandu is done by independent operators—men and women  who are unable to get other work, and who spend hours every day picking through piles of garbage for plastic and glass.

According to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), about 80 percent of garbage produced by the city could be recycled. But the city has no funding for an official recycling program.

Whether he was embarassed, annoyed or busy, this man had other things to do besides answer our reporter's questions.

In fact, Kathmandu has a larger problem: what to do with all the garbage. The current landfill site will run out of space in two months—with no alternative site yet identified. The temporary landfill meant as a stop-gap measure will take six months to complete. So what to do during that four-month gap? Officials say “alternatives” are being sought out.

Kathmandu Valley produces more than 500 tons of solid waste daily, and interruptions in garbage collection are depressingly regular. KMC says that during a three-year period, garbage management has been interrupted 180 days, the longest period being 17 straight days.

Garbage collection and recycling is much better in the highest part of Nepal. This year, an eco expedition collected 965 kilos (2127 pounds) of garbage from Mount Everest.

–Rajneesh Bhandari

Dispatch from Kathmandu: Yeti Again…

Posted on 27. Oct, 2008 by michelemitchell in Environment

For the second time in about a year, a team of climbers say that they have
discovered footprints of yeti, the “abominable snowman” that mountaineers
and sheep herders believe roam the Himalayas.

Last fall, it was an American television crew (for the SciFi Channel) that
claimed to find evidence. This week, it was a Japanese team led by Yoshiteru
Takahashi.

Takahashi and his seven-member team spent 42 days on Dhaulagiri IV, where,
at 4600 meters, Takahashi says he found footprints made by yeti. This was
the third attempt by Takahashi to find yeti evidence. The team had nine
motion-sensitive cameras in position where Takahashi believed he had spotted
a yeti in 2003.

The Yeti Project Japan says this is a footprint of a Yeti from the Dhaulagiri mountain northwest of Pokhara.

Takahashi was staying at a hotel in the Thamel district of Kathmandu (not,
alas, the Yak & Yeti), where he was surrounded by a throng of local and
international journalists. When he showed me the photographs he had taken of
what he said was a yeti footprint, he insisted the yeti was real. He said he
saw the footprint on September 27.

I asked him, “Are you sure about the footprints are of yeti?”

“Yes!” Takahashi said. “They look like a human’s.”

There’s no scientific evidence that yeti exist. But the continual stream of
foreigners who come to the Himalayas in search of “proof” are real–to the
bemusement of most Nepalis.

But as average temperatures rise at a rate of 0.06C each year, according to
the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, and the Himalayan glaciers

predicted to disappear by 2030 if this warming rate is maintained (according
to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), if there is a yeti, we
may see him yet. We’ll melt him out.

–Rajneesh Bhandari