The chief ministers of all seven provinces met last week in Hetauda to discuss their next step to pressure the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/federalism-rule-of-law-and-the-judiciary">federal government</a> to devolve political power to their provinces.&nbsp;
In a unique cross-party show of strength, the provincial leadership presented a joint memorandum to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Kathmandu. Some of their demands were to transfer control of the police force, pass the long pending federal civil service law, hand over ownership of provincial infrastructure and natural resources, and last but not least, allow them to collect their own revenue. &nbsp;
This is not the first time the provinces have expressed their collective grievance. But Kathmandu, under various governments since the first elections under the new Constitution in 2017, has just been making empty promises.&nbsp;
Indeed, Nepal’s main political leaders who were themselves the architects of the federal constitution are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/feudal-federalism">loath to devolve political power</a> that they have decentralised to local governments. Even their own party structure is wholly centralised not just in the central committee in Kathmandu, but in just one elderly alpha male in each party.
That Nepal’s leadership is lukewarm towards federalism is no big secret, they are unwilling to loosen their grip on power even to their own party leaders in the provinces and municipalities.
Eight years after the establishment of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/feudalism-to-federalism">three-tiered system of government</a> following a prolonged deadlock over the style of federalism that delayed the passage of the post-conflict 2015 Constitution, Nepal’s provinces are largely functionless.&nbsp;
For many Nepalis, the perception is that federalism is a corrupt and costly experiment that has failed miserably. Indeed, they have spent a fortune building luxurious lodgings for the provincial leadership in the upscale Bhaisepati neighbourhood. &nbsp;
In Nepal, federalism did not just signify devolution of power, but also the people’s sense of identity and belonging, and the participation of those historically excluded from the political process. This fact was reflected in the opposition of the people to the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/kosi-now-kathmandu-next"> naming of Province 1 as Kosi</a>, and their demand for it to be renamed Kirat Limbuwan.
This is not a new struggle. The Madhes movement for federal restructuring after the decade-long armed conflict actually served as a catalyst for the establishment of the provincial system. The Maoists insisted on an ethnicity-based provincial model and the Nepali Congress was for a geographical delineation. The UML backed a hybrid model.&nbsp;
The Maoists have historically taken credit for the transformation of the governance system that allowed for the reflection of identity, while the UML and the NC have sought to maintain the status quo even after the establishment of federalism.&nbsp;
Prime Minister Dahal has directly interfered in provincial governance, which in this year’s case served to further inflame <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/east-is-east">social unrest in Kosi</a>.&nbsp;
For outsiders looking in who are removed from the nuances in Kosi, Madhes, and Sudar Paschim, and are only involved in Kathmandu-centred discourse, provincial governance and federalism have thus just become a burdensome extension of central politics.&nbsp;
Federalism will once more become an election issue in the 2027 polls as political parties succumb to the temptation to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/long-leave-the-king">adopt regressive, conservative</a>, and populist rhetoric to appeal to disenfranchised voters. &nbsp;
Bad mouthing federalism has become a favourite pastime for parties like the royal right RPP, which has simultaneously fed and fed off the public’s disenchantment with governance to call for the abolishment of federalism and the reestablishment of a Hindu monarchy.&nbsp;
Ironically, the party fielded the second-highest number of FPTP candidates to contest provincial elections in 2022.
Meanwhile, the new and independent Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) which did not field candidates for provincial elections in 2022, may not say it is against federalism in so many words, but has called it “useless” and “enabling corruption”. They have proposed to make the provincial assembly and parliament smaller.
The provinces today are indeed proxies of Kathmandu —seven mirrors which reflect the political incompetence of the central government instead of being fully functioning autonomous units.&nbsp;
Nepalis have been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/year-of-reckoning">quick to blame federalism</a> when it is the politicians who have refused to let go of their control. The system of governance is not flawed, politicians that keep provinces on a tight leash are.&nbsp;
Nepal’s provinces are not incapable of fulfilling their function, they have not been allowed to explore their roles and responsibilities. Throwing out federalism is not the answer.&nbsp;
To dismantle federalism is to undo the years of work it took to promulgate the Constitution and to overlook the struggle, sacrifice and hard-earned achievements of countless people during the conflict that preceded the Constitution.&nbsp;
In order for Nepal’s democracy to truly function, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/un-centralising-the-federal-structure">federalism must be given a chance</a>.
Shristi Karki

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The F word

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058939c7e80680e0ce1adjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1947"/><figcaption>TIME FOR CHANGE: A rickshaw drives past Birganj's iconic clock tower on Thursday morning, as the plains districts bordering India prepare for a lacklustre elections. PHOTO: JIYA LAL</figcaption></figure>An election is a political process that allows citizens to select the most honest and efficient candidates to manage the country for a given period. It is also a public process that affects a nation’s social psychology.With days to go before the 20 November elections, party strategists, media pundits, and even strangers in buses are obsessed with the arithmetic of elections. This win-lose analysis distracts us from the social polarisation, communal friction and competition for natural resources that underlie the polls.Elections alone do not ensure democracy. Social media now provides unprecedented immediacy and amplification to manipulate public opinion.This election is a battle of two coalitions at the federal and provincial levels. Amidst the cacophony, young independents are trying to find a voice. The slogans have added a new vocabulary to the Nepali language and the country’s social ecosystem in an election devoid of ideology or agenda.Voter apathy is high because unholy alliances have turned yesterday’s foes into friends, and few candidates talk about their everyday concerns like jobs, inflation, education and health. Unlike previous elections, very few Nepalis working in India have returned home to vote.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dejected-voters-reject-polls/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dejected voters reject polls</a>, Anita BhetwalMore than half of Nepal’s population now lives in the Tarai. And across the plains, there is little mention of the Madhes Movement for autonomy. The past five years have given the people of Madhes Province little to celebrate, as their leaders sway with the political wind to switch allegiances to Made-in-Kathmandu coalitions.The JSP and the LSP cannot rely on block votes from traditional loyalists in the plains anymore. So, the ballots could go to those who dole out cash, spread lavish feasts, or appeal to caste allegiance.Even though candidates are not directly using caste as a basis for votes, it is an unspoken strategy at the hustings. Even more than in previous elections, and just like in Bihar across the border, political parties are falling back on caste vote banks because of the absence of party ideology. Political analysts have to factor in caste in poll forecasts.Because the coalitions are not fighting about principles and livelihoods, the real competition is more about caste and cash than in previous elections in the Tarai. Raising the caste issue allows candidates to mask their incompetence and duplicity.Even though traditional politicians are relying on caste, feasts of rice and raksi, or handouts for votes, there is an undercurrent of deep disillusionment – especially among younger voters here.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/voters-cynical-about-electoral-alliances/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Voters cynical about electoral alliances</a>, Namrata SharmaI ran into 80-year-old Digambar Chaudhari in Rautahat who has seen many elections in his time. He told me: “The caste vote banks are not as solid as before, not everyone can be bought with cash.”At a tea shop in Siraha, I heard a catchy election slogan: “जातपर न भातपर ,मोहर लगाऊ विकासके बातपर” (Vote for development, not for caste or rice curry). In another roadside stall, we heard “पैसा, सेकुआ आउर दारू, इसबके मारी झाड” (Let’s sweep away all cash, roast meat, and booze).Manju Bhattarai, 36, sees the election as an opportunity to reject candidates who are buying votes: “We can change things by being responsible voters.”We do not know if these four vignettes represent the larger Tarai picture, but conscious voters are determined to make their ballots count. Politics usually impacts the social structure of a society, but we may be seeing a changed social milieu affecting politics this time.Watching door-to-door campaigning in these borderland towns, I noticed voters were not as passive as before. They engaged directly with candidates, cross-questioning them. Some were Dalits who earlier would have assured a party middleman of their community’s votes in return for cash or food.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/depending-on-independents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Depending on independents</a>, Shristi KarkiMany voters, especially from poor and marginalised communities, are not just listening anymore. They are asking candidates how they plan to fulfill their promises to improve their lives in the coming five years.Chandra Kishore is a Birganj-based political commentator. This is the first of his monthly column BODERLINES in Nepali Times. @kishore_chandra

Chandra Kishore

Caste Vote

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058669c7e80680e0ce19ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1504" height="1000"/>As Nepal enters the last lap in federal and provincial races, candidates and their cadres seem more excited than voters. Across the Inner Tarai here and in the plains bordering India, voters are disillusioned and indifferent about the polls.First off, most people we talked to said they did not want to vote for the same old candidates they elected five years ago, and have been around for the past two decades. Moreover, there is confusion about which candidate is representing which party, and who is loyal to whom, because the coalition is made up of parties with diametrically opposing ideologies.With such unholy alliances, Hetuada’s UML voters are now being asked to cast ballots in favour of a candidate batting for a return of the Hindu monarchy. Nepali Congress (NC) supporters have been told to vote for Maoist candidates, some of whom tortured and killed people during the conflict.Voters have given up trying to fathom why political parties and candidates who fought and suffered for the establishment of a secular, federal Nepal now cross over to those want to scrap those provisions. Individuals contesting the elections as independents because they did not get party tickets have muddied the waters even more.Except for die-hard party supporters, the electorate understands that the elections are not about principles or resolving everyday problems any more, but propelling the same old leaders back to power.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/election-climate-in-nepal/">Election climate in Nepal</a>, Shilshila Acharya“The NC is likely to get a good number of seats in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-politics-of-province-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Madhes Province</a>, but independents have a strong chance in some constituencies,” predicts Govinda Devkota of Narayani Samudayik FM in Birganj, who thinks the JSP partnership with the NC could garner 10-12 seats with the UML-LSP alliance and Unified Socialists trailing.The dominant trend is that Madhes-based parties like the JSP and LSP have lost their lustre, and the established national parties like the NC, UML and Maoists now hold sway over the Madhes vote through their alliances. Still, among younger voters there is visible discontent against both Madhes-based parties and the national parties, and they are fed up of electing the same underperforming and corrupt leaders again and again.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022120710128/639058699c7e80680e0ce19fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="372" height="355">“During the Madhes Movement (of 2015) many people here were killed but their sacrifice got us nothing. Only the leaders and political parties are reaping the benefits all in the name of Madhes,” says Munna Saraaf, a youth activist and actor in Birganj.Saraaf has been travelling to Ilam, Kohalpur and several other places performing on stage to raise awareness about voting the right candidates to power, and is also vocal about extravagant campaign spending which could make the Madhes a hotbed for corruption.“There are no new educational organisations, employment opportunities, projects or industries where the youth can be involved productively. It was better during the king’s time. But we must change that and cast our votes for competent candidates,” he adds.The coveted Parsa constituency has Pradeep Yadav, the former minister from JSP contesting against the governing coalition’s Laxman Lal Karna of LSP, and the rebel independent candidate who defected from the NC, Ajay Dwivedi.“Pradeep Yadav won five years ago but his voters are not happy with his performance. Karna, does not have the leadership qualities. Therefore voters may end up supporting the independent Dwivedi,” says Gobinda Devkota.The participation of women candidates is even less in the Tarai than the already low national average. In Parsa district, only Karima Begum who is contesting as an independent and the JSP’s Salma Khatun have a significant presence. “The others are neither heard nor seen,” says Sushma Sharma a reporter with Prateek Daily in Birganj.But the 2022 Nepal election is defined by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/coalition-collision/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">electoral coalitions</a> regardless of party ideology or dogma. Anjali Thapa, president of Press Center Makwanpur in Hetauda says: “The campaigning methods and the agenda in this year’s election are very different. Both the ruling coalition and the opposition have formed alliances to win.”For example, Kamal Thapa of the RPP-N is contesting under the UML’s ‘Sun’ symbol. Pitted against him is Mahalaxmi Upadhyaya (Dina) from the governing coalition who is expected to gather votes from both the Maoists, NC and the US. Even so, some NC supporters who do not agree with the alliance with the Maoists could go over to Kamal Thapa’s side, while other UML dissidents may not support a candidate they regard as an oppressor of the people.All this points to a mixed outcome which could lead to further instability and horse-trading post elections. At the end of the day, all most voters want are competent and honest leaders who provide jobs, better infrastructure and affordable education and medical facilities. They could not care less about alliances.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/battle-of-ballots/">Battle of ballots</a>, Shristi Karki

Voters cynical about electoral alliances

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/637230879c7e80680e0c256fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="720"/><figcaption>EDUCATION FOR ALL: A Community Learning Centre for Musahar children built by the Mithila Wildlife Trust in Dhanusha.</figcaption></figure>Last week, as I was enjoying lunch with my soft-spoken colleague Dev Narayan Mandal, he said something in passing that caused me to down my cutlery. It was one of those run-that-past-me-again moments.In the two-and-a-half years that I have known Dev he had never shared this remarkable story from six years ago.In 2012, Dev returned to his home in Dhanusha district after working on animal rescue for ten years in Delhi. Coincidentally, this was soon after I myself returned home to live in the UK after eight years in Nepal.We never met then, but it is easy to see how our paths could have crossed in India. I was heading up operations to rescue Nepali child slaves who had been trafficked to perform in Indian circuses. The last operation was to free little girls from the dangerous Great Apollo Circus in Dehradun. Dev himself had been involved at that time in a raid on the same circus to free some bears.After returning to Nepal, Dev set up the Mithila Wildlife Trust (MWT) to try to reverse the environmental damage in the beloved local woodlands from his childhood. Forests that were supposed to be protected were being illegally logged.He got retired forestry workers to volunteer, and with the collaboration of 13 villages set out to protect the Dhanushadham Forest. Today, the rewilding program is a success and is being replicated elsewhere in Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/6372308a9c7e80680e0c2570jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The forest had another problem, the poaching of wildlife by the local Musahar community that traditionally hunted for game meat on behalf of higher castes, and because they were not allowed to eat what they killed, they were only permitted to eat rat meat, hence their name.Times have changed, yet this centuries-old tradition survived in another form – illegal hunting of wildlife. Dev was convinced that the way to tackle this might be to set up a Community Learning Centre (CLC) for the education of Musahar children, and those from other excluded communities.Dev's rationale was that, aside from the edifying impact of education on young minds, at least if the children were in class they would not be poaching in the forests.He made a start by supporting extra tuition for the first batch of 28 Musahar children at the home of a college student, Jit Narayan Sada, who was paid a small allowance by the MWT so he himself could complete college studies. The response from the Musahar community was cool, but three years later a boost was to come from the unlikeliest quarter.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413118/6372308d9c7e80680e0c2571jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640">One day in 2016, a 12-year-old Musahar boy named Bishnu Sada was charged and gored by a wild boar. He was knocked off his feet, partially disemboweled, and lost consciousness. The group chased off the boar and carried Bishnu back to the village, traumatised and fearing the worst.Dev sprang into action, and took Bishnu to Janakpur Hospital, about 45 minutes away, where surgeons said Bishnu was beyond saving. To attempt to do so would be a total waste of money.Undeterred, Dev contacted Biratnagar Hospital, 200km to the east, sending surgeons their pictures of the gaping wound and exposed intestines. They agreed to attempt to save Bishnu's life. Against the odds, they were successful.Using his persuasive skills, Dev encouraged the impoverished Musahar community to contribute Rs400,000 to meet Bishnu’s medical bills and then sat down with the community leaders and asked them to quantify the annual financial return from their hunting activities, illicit or otherwise.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131112/637230909c7e80680e0c2572jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="720"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>After a great deal of discussion and number-crunching, they concluded that these were worth Rs300,000. Dev then pointed out that for this past year, they had effectively been in deficit. He suggested to the village elders that they would have been better off investing in their children's education rather than poaching wildlife.They agreed, and each household made a contribution at the very least of a piece of timber towards the set-up of the first Community Learning Centre—a simple construction of wood, clay and thatch.Since then, the CLC has grown from strength to strength, the original centre replaced by a brick house through a grant provided by the McGough Foundation (UK).This year, the number of students has increased to 286, with extra tutors being provided by the non-profit, SAATH. The teaching model is innovative. Jit Narayan Sada himself has left and enlisted in the Nepal Army, the first from the Musahar community. Funds permitting, better qualified new CLCs will be set up for other communities.I met Bishnu this week, he is a shy, slightly built lad, with a ready grin. He has every reason to smile having passed his 10th Grade SEE test, a rare achievement in his under-served community, and is  now enrolled in his first year of a Diploma in Engineering course.I will follow Bishnu’s academic progress with admiration for him, and for the man who saved his life.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131112/637230949c7e80680e0c2573jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Lt Col (retd) Philip Holmes is founder and CEO of Pipal Tree Foundationwww.pipaltree.org.ukTo support Dev Narayan Mandal’s Community Learning Centres, visit the ‘Big Give’ summer appeal. Donations until the 4th August are automatically doubled in value: https://pipaltree.info/summerRead more: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=14394#.YuOWKuxBz0s">Learning all about the birds and the trees</a>, Priya Joshi

The Boy and the Boar

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410114/637205179c7e80680e0b2899jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="451"/><figcaption>Photo: MITHILA DAINIK</figcaption></figure>A group of activists has strongly condemned Infrastructure and Transport Minister Renu Yadav’s incendiary remarks at a recent political event in Rautahat where she openly threatened opponents with targeted killing.During her 19 January speech, in video clips available publicly, Yadav warned a repeat of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13404#.YeutGS2B2CQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the 2007 Gaur Massacre</a> targeting Chandra Kant Raut Chair of the Janamat Party, which has launched a Farmers’ Movement in Tarai and declared to boycott federal and provincial ministers. It also tried to obstruct her entry into Gaur on Wednesday.‘We are clear that a person who cannot hold the dignity of a minister’s position, demonstrates criminal mindset, and publicly concedes to acts of murder, is ineligible to retain any position of public responsibility,’ says the appeal released on Friday.During the same speech, Minister Yadav of the Janata Samajbadi also publicly acknowledged her party’s involvement in the massacre even as the perpetrators who <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13377#.YeutFS2B2CQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">brutally killed 28 Maoist cadres</a> and injured 40 more remain outside the purview of law, and impunity rages on in the country.The 2007 mass killing was conducted by the then Madheshi People’s Rights Forum who at the time was organising simultaneous rallies at the same site in Gaur as Maoists. The resulting clash escalated and led to the mass killings, concluded the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nepal report.Signatories of the appeal include Kedar Narsingh KC, Charan Prasai, Ganesh Kumar Mandal, Sushil Pyakurel, Taranath Dahal, Indra Prasad Aryal, Mahamunishwar Acharya and Kanak Mani Dixit and have demanded that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/polls-in-the-time-of-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister Deuba</a> immediately relieve Minister Yadav of her post and start legal proceedings against her.‘The fact that a sitting minister can threaten target killings, and also proudly take ownership of a massacre, is the result of the unchecked lack of accountability in the country,’ further adds the appeal, which also laments the government’s failure to show interest or concern three full days after the incident.Former tourism minister and now the UML secretary <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/unusual-appointment-extraordinary-tasks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yogesh Bhattarai</a> has also come out strongly against Yadav via his Twitter and has demanded action against her remarks.He wrote: “Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba should either relieve Renu Yadav who has instigated violence and delivered a scathing speech against the Constitution or declare that Nepali Congress justifies violence in polities. There is no other way.”Even Nepali Congress General Secretary Bishwo Prakash Sharma has also recommended removal of Yadav to PM Deuba.

Nepal minister threatens targeted killings

New Delhi’s new dealings in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a46ea9c7e80680e04d403jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"/><figcaption>Pic: SEWA BHATTARAI</figcaption></figure>The memory of the catastrophic flood of 2017 is still fresh in the minds of the people of Rautahat district. But even though they are better prepared now, there have been no moves to address the cause: floodplains of rivers blocked by embankments.Rautahat is now in Province 2 under Nepal’s federal structure, disaster management is the responsibility of local governments. But even with the arrival of the monsoon, Kathmandu and the other provinces are still wrangling over power devolution. Ironically, the Bagmati that burst its banks here two years ago, originates in the Kathmandu Valley.The 2017 Disaster Risk and Management Act farmed out responsibilities of preparedness, rescue and relief to central, provincial, and local governments. Province 2 has passed its own Disaster Management law, but it exists only in paper. By the time it is ready, the central Tarai could drown in another flood. Experts say that the rampant construction of road embankments, levees and settlements along the floodplains on both sides of the India-Nepal border will make future floods much worse.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29068&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flood of recrimination</a>, Editorial<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29099&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Tarai learns from past floods</a>, Sewa Bhattarai“We have a total of Rs150 million in the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and in the ministry’s own disaster fund,” says Arun Jha at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law of Province 2. “But we have not been able to procure rafts, tents, and food stockpiles in time. But when the flood comes, we will find a way to deal with it.”The lack of civil servants has prevented the provincial government in Janakpur from functioning at full capacity, and so, it depends on Kathmandu for everything. First responders like the Nepal Army and Police, for instance, are deployed by the central government. As the tornado disaster in Bara in April showed, the role of the Province 2 government is limited to coordination.It will take a few more years before all three levels of government start functioning smoothly to prevent and cope with disasters. Till then, Lalita Kumari Ram (pictured above), who survived the 2017 flood by fleeing to a road embankment with her family, will be on her own.Read also:<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Flood-and-food,3916" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Food and flood</a>, Sunir Pandey<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/preparing-for-the-big-flood,3190" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Preparing for the big flood</a>, Om Astha Rai

Only half prepared for floods in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a47149c7e80680e04d412jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"/><figcaption>Pic: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>At Saraswati Primary School in Bhalohiya village in the central Tarai last week, children in Class 5 sweat in the humid heat, waiting attentively for a signal. A sharp clap from Disaster Focal Person Mukesh Jha, and they are down on the floor, covering their heads with their hands. Then they walk out single file from class, form a circle in the playground and start counting aloud their pre-assigned numbers.The students are practising a drill on disaster response in these flood-prone plains bordering India.  Two years after <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/08/13/flood-of-recrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a devastating flood</a> that displaced more than 400,000 people, destroyed 65,000 homes and killed 143 people, parts of the Tarai are beginning to incorporate disaster management activities.Eighteen lives were lost and 325 schools were submerged here in Rautahat alone, including Saraswati School. It was repaired under the Flood Response Project funded by theBritish agency, VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) and implemented by local partner Mandvi, and supported by Be Capable Project funded by EU Aid Volunteers .Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29069&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Only half prepared</a>, Sewa Bhattarai<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29068&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Flood of recrimination</a>, EditorialYet while disaster management is starting to attract the attention it deserves, rampant construction in the district, and across the country, is increasing vulnerability to disasters, say experts. Much of the new infrastructure actually blocks the natural drainage of rivers, resulting in flooding, especially along Nepal’s southern border.“Disruption by roads, low capacity bridges, urban expansion and embankments along the border in India constrain water flow,” says climate expert Ajaya Dixit.Inundation in the Tarai has got worse after roads were built on the Indian side, which act like dams. The damage is more severe because river basins in Nepal are already encroached by roads and human settlements where there used to be only fields or sandy riverbanks. As a result, floods that could have passed by in a few hours with minimal damage now submerge farms and towns.In 2017, heavy rainfall in the Chure catchment of the Tarai caused damage worth more than Rs60 billion, according to estimates. But such cost is set to increase, especially as rainfall patterns have become more unpredictable with the climate crisis. Higher intensity storms that drop more rain in shorter periods are becoming more common, raising the risk of sudden inundation.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dancing-with-the-river/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dancing with the river</a>, Ramesh Bhushal<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-nowhere-to-nowhere/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">From nowhere to nowhere</a>, Basanta Pratap SinghAmong the 49 disasters monitored by the Disaster Risk Reduction Portal under the Home Ministry, flooding is among the mostly minutely monitored. Water levels of major rivers are watched in real time, and if they cross the danger mark, the government sends out text messages to all at-risk residents or informs local disaster management committees. This early warning system was instrumental in evacuating residents and minimising the loss of lives in 2017.The Disaster Risk and Management Act 2017 prioritises the role of local governments in disaster management. “After these policies came into effect, we have prepared for floods by stocking boats, tents and other emergency materials,” says Arun Kumar Yadav, mayor of Durga Bhagwati rural municipality in Rautahat. Security forces at local levels have been trained for rescue and relief and are alerted when disaster is imminent.Though Nepal has improved its performance in rescue and relief, many parts of the Act are yet to be implemented. The government is still working on a comprehensive Disaster Information Management System, which is supposed to include information about areas at risk of hazards and the resources available nearby.Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/07/07/bhotekosi-flood/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bhotekoshi flood</a><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/08/17/disastrous-unpreparedness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Disastrous unpreparedness</a>, Ajaya Dixit“We have asked local level governments to start sending us this information, but they must conduct a hazard mapping in their area first for us to create a nation-wide risk atlas,” says Bed Nidhi Khanal, the under-secretary at the Home Ministry who oversees the Disaster Risk Reduction Portal. The law also requires the government to conduct drills for disasters, but until now it has only held sporadic simulations along five river basins, and has no immediate plans for systematic, nation-wide drills.Many other aspects of disaster management are missing from the law, especially prevention activities.“With increasing human encroachment on rivers, the natural drainage systems of rivers are being blocked. The reasons for the increasing severity of floods are manmade and not natural,” says watershed expert Madhukar Upadhyaya. “But there is little understanding of these processes. If we continue to ignore it, we will continue to face heavy economic loss and have to start over every year.”India must also do its part, Upadhyaya notes: “We need to take not just national but also diplomatic steps to get India to address such construction on their side of the border as well.”Read also:<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/60-years-after-1954-devastating-flood-same-failings-of-government-today-post-quake,2433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Disaster geopolitics</a>, Sharad Ghimire and Tom Robertson<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/deep-water,3883" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In deep water</a>, Editorial <h2>Gaur gears up for another deluge</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a47179c7e80680e04d413jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050">Most of Nepal’s southern plains were already vulnerable to floods from snow-fed rivers and streams from the Chure hills swelling during the monsoon. Rautahat is surrounded by rivers on three sides: Jhaajh in the west and Bagmati in the north and east. The district capital of Gaur is often inundated.In 2017, floodwaters blocked by boundary walls and embankments rose 1.5m in a matter of minutes and entire settlements of mud house were washed away, leaving residents with nothing.The Flood Response Project has built a safe house in Badharba village as an immediate relief structure. The ground floor is an open space, which can be used as a local market during normal times, and the first floor has separate rooms for men and women.Three schools in the district have been repaired (see main story), and raised hand pumps have been built at every location for drinking water during floods.Says principal Tripurari Yadav, “Drinking water is a big problem during floods because the hand pumps are submerged too.”Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/mycity/2016/07/10/bhotekosi-flash-flood/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fleeing flash food</a>, Gopen Rai<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a471b9c7e80680e04d414jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="938">At Badharba, villagers were gathered around a local pond under a sweltering sun for a drill. Rescuers staged a simulated rescue of a drowning man, and trained locals to make temporary life jackets from plastic bottles. Drills are compulsory under Nepal’s Disaster Risk and Management Act passed in 2017, but until now the focus has been on early warning, rescue and relief.“The Tarai does not just have flood risk, there are multiple hazards. Wild animals and snakes pose a great threat, and so do earthquakes. We identify these and plan for them,” says Anjoo Jha of Mandvi.After the risk assessment, residents who panicked in 2017 and ran to road embankments, say they feel better prepared to face future floods. Lalita Kumari Ram says the drills are reassuring: “Now these exercises have made us better prepared for future floods that are sure to come.”Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/07/11/chure-denudation-and-floods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chure denudation and floods</a><h2>In the driver’s seat</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a471e9c7e80680e04d415jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In many communities in the Tarai, women are still semi-veiled in public and hesitate to speak to strangers. But Geeta Devi is quite a sight, driving her e-rickshaw around town with a big smile on her face, waving at passersby.The 32-year-old mother of four was trained to drive an e-rickshaw by Mandvi, an NGO that works on flood management in Rautahat. Geeta Devi lost her farm and livestock in the 2017 flood, so she has joined her driver husband behind the wheel.Her teenage son and daughter are studying in Kathmandu, and their mother is determined to earn enough to give them the education she never had. Mandvi, which is supported by British volunteer agency VSO, trained six other women and helped them get loans to buy e-rickshaws.Geeta Devi earns an average of Rs500 per day ferrying people around Gaur for up to three hours after her husband comes home. She does not take fares outside the municipality because the roads are bad.“When they see a woman driving, some are surprised,” she says, “and some laugh out loud. But that is their problem. They can laugh all they want. I like what I do.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/untold-stories-of-unsung-heroes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Untold stories of untold grit</a>, Sara Parker

Nepal Tarai learns from past floods

<figure><img width="1400" height="933" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a46e59c7e80680e04d401jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Pic: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>With the advent of the monsoon, we will be flooded with stories of floods, landslides and other water-induced ‘natural disasters’ as they ‘wreak havoc’ throughout the land. Floods are natural, disasters are not.Nepal has nine dry months and three months in which we have too much water. In the rainy season, rivers used to spread along the floodplains, dissipating the force of the water. Nepalis traditionally knew better than to locate settlements on river banks. In the agrarian Tarai, farmers had learnt to live with floods and welcomed the annual replenishment of farms with vital, water-borne nutrients.To be sure, there were years when natural buffers would be overwhelmed and rivers burst their banks, eroding valuable farmlands as they changed course. But bad planning means that we have turned a predictable annual occurrence into a regular calamity.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29099&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Tarai learns from past floods</a>, Sewa Bhattarai<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=29069&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Only half prepared</a>, Sewa BhattaraiMore than half of Nepal’s population now lives in the Tarai, and human settlements have encroached on what used to be floodplains.Deforestation of the fragile Chure hills has increased sediment loads of seasonal rivers, causing them to flow through villages and farms. A river will find its own way to the sea no matter what we do to block its path.It is true that floods are getting more destructive, but not because there is more rain. Our attempts to control floods are making them worse.Levees built to ‘train’ rivers end up constricting their flows, embankments often act as dams blocking the natural course and submerging huge tracts of farmlands. Roads have been built on elevated land to prevent them from flooding, but they just make the floods worse.Many roads just on the other side of the border in India have inadequate drainage and create vast reservoirs on the Nepal side every year. Meanwhile, tv news in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh blames Nepal for releasing water from its dams — not bothering to explain that Nepal has only one reservoir and the sluice gates of the three border barrages are under Indian management.After every disaster like Sunsari (2008), Bardia and Surkhet (2014), Saptari and Rautahat (2017) and Bhaktapur last year, there is a flood of recrimination, blaming nature and bemoaning our lack of preparedness. Rescue agencies are usually at the scene quickly, but are overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the disaster. Relief and rehabilitation is mired in bureaucracy and corruption, with villagers still waiting for help decades later. Poverty-stricken farmers are impoverished even more, and floods force many to migrate.Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/07/11/chure-denudation-and-floods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chure denudation and floods</a><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/mycity/2016/07/10/bhotekosi-flash-flood/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fleeing flash food</a>, Gopen RaiOnce the monsoon tapers off in September, we will forget about floods for another year. Instead of taking preventive measures to improve drainage and poorly designed infrastructure that block the natural flow of rivers, it will be back to business as usual.Most of the flood damage in the Tarai is not caused by Nepal’s four big rivers, but by Chure streams that are dry most of the year and become raging muddy torrents during the monsoon. The paradox is that boulder and sand mining in the Chure hills to feed the infrastructure boom in Nepal and India actually make these floods more destructive in the Tarai and downstream in India.As we learn from a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-tarai-learns-from-past-floods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">field report from Rautahat this week</a> most flood victims are poor, and neglecting them comes naturally to the state. Because not enough is being done to prevent destructive floods, relief agencies are turning their attention to early-warning systems and the management of disasters after they happen.Making all these problems more difficult is the climate crisis, which is leading to more extreme weather events. Monsoon cloudbursts are said to be more frequent and intense, and cause localised flooding. And then there are disasters like the Sunsari flood, which have nothing to do with heavy rainfall or global warming, but are caused by contractors stealing boulders from the Kosi’s eastern levee, thus weakening the embankment.Sunsari was just a rehearsal for a future Kosi mega-flood that is waiting to happen, and will hit millions in Nepal and India. It is a given that floods elsewhere will also get more destructive in the years to come. Preventing them requires understanding nature’s ways, and letting rivers flow free again.With federalism, flood prevention, management and emergency relief is no longer just the responsibility of the Kathmandu apparatus. In fact, first responders by definition have to be local governments, and the state needs to enhance their flood prevention and management capacity.Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/deep-water,3883" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In deep water</a>, Editorial<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/60-years-after-1954-devastating-flood-same-failings-of-government-today-post-quake,2433" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Disaster geopolitics</a>, Sharad Ghimire and Tom Robertson10 years ago this weekTen years ago this week, in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/457" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issue #457</a> of 19-25 June 2009, Everest summiteer Billi Bierling wrote a story titled ‘The Bright Side of Everest’. Her words could as valid today:‘Mount Everest often gets bad press for commercialisation and the lack of morality of its climbers. But I saw a different side this spring. On 22 May, two mountaineers from Austria and the Netherlands found an American climber sitting at the Balcony, just above Camp 4 ,at about 8,400m. He was clearly confused, and he had taken off his gloves and parts of his down suit. Had these two climbers not helped, the man would have died.Several doctors saved the life of a Sherpa, who nearly died after he had consumed a bottle of whiskey adulterated with methanol. There are gruesome books about Mt Everest: the commercialisation, greed, selfishness and crime. This season, I saw none of that, only humanity, generosity and courage. If I were to write a book about Everest (which I promise I will never do) I’d probably call it 'The Bright Side of Everest.’<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/457"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a46e89c7e80680e04d402jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1249"></a>

Flood of recrimination in the Nepal Tarai

In Southern Nepal, the festival of colours begins with the burning of samat on the eve of Fagu Purnima. Samat consists of five different types of grains, and the burning is called holika dahan. Holika is a Hindu mythical character who personifies evil. Her burning symbolizes the victory of truth.In Birgunj, women prepare the mound of samat during the day. As evening arrives, women and men start singing traditional songs. While the women sing gentle, devotional songs describing gods playing Holi, the men sing loud, boisterous and often romantic songs. Then, men sing and dance their way to the mounds of samat in every neighbourhood, and end the celebrations by burning the samat. Holi then begins by applying colours on each other. <figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a449c7e80680e04590cjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Women prepare samat which is made from stalks of five different types of grains and is burnt on Holi eve. The mound also contains piles of cow dung, sacred thread, and other flammable materials.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a479c7e80680e04590djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Devotees flock the Gahwa Mai temple at Birgunj's centre. The temple is lively before Holi festivities start.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a4a9c7e80680e04590ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>The market before Holi festivities.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a4e9c7e80680e04590fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>A man prepares his drum called daph by heating it in the front of the fire.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a529c7e80680e045910jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Women of Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir, Birgunj - 8 sing devotional songs about Holi inside the Hanuman temple.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a569c7e80680e045911jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Lalbabu Sah prepares his dholak before the men start singing.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a599c7e80680e045912jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Men of Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir, Birgunj - 8 gather in groups to sing boisterous songs on Holi eve.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a5d9c7e80680e045913jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Men begin playing Holi by applying colors to each other at the end of Fagu Purnima.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="4000" height="3000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a619c7e80680e045914jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Men sing and dance to local songs as part of Holi festivities.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a659c7e80680e045915jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>A man takes his samat or stalk of grains to burn.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a689c7e80680e045916jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Men sing and dance through their village as they take the samat stalks to burn.</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a6c9c7e80680e045917jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Finally, the stalks of grains are burnt in a ritual called Holika dahan.</figcaption></figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a6f9c7e80680e045918jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a729c7e80680e045919jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a769c7e80680e04591ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a2a799c7e80680e04591bjpeg.jpg" alt="">Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/fagu-purnima-in-bhaktapur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fagu Purnima in Bhaktapur</a>

madhes