In a recent update on April 08, 2019, Nepal has announced that it is sending a team of government-appointed climbers for the project to remeasure the height of the world’s tallest peak.

Four government surveyors have already been scheduled to leave for the Everest peak on April 09, 2019.

Through this project, Nepal aims to answer persistent speculations that the ‘height of the Mount Everest has come down’ after the massive 2015 earthquake’.

“We are sending a team because there were questions regarding the height of Everest after the earthquake,” Susheel Dangol, the expedition’s coordinator from the Survey Department, said in a statement.

The four surveyors are stepping up for the project after a two-year-long detailed study on the methodology to remeasure the peak, which included collecting readings from the ground and getting trained on extreme conditions at the top of the world.

“It will not be easy to work in that terrain, but we are confident our mission will be successful,” says Khim Lal Gautam, the expedition’s leader and chief surveyor, who summited the Everest peak in 2011.

The height of Mount Everest has been a long debate because of the disagreement among geologists and mountaineers, among others over inclusion of snow atop the peak in the total measurement.

The current height of Mount Everest measures 8,848 meters (29,029 feet) as recorded by an Indian survey in 1954. This figure remained till date even though various other teams measured it later.

Height and Route to climb Mount Everest

PM Bids Farewell

PM Oli bid a farewell to the team embarking on official survey trip to the Mount Everest peak.

In a special program held in Kathmandu on April 10, 2019, Oli offered Tika and garlands to the expedition team, wishing them a grand success on their journey.

Oli was elated in saying that the survey is Nepal Government’s first-ever attempt to re-measure Everest’s height officially and results add to the government’s data treasure.

The team comprises of the Survey Department’s technical staff Khimlal Gautam, Rabin Karki, Suraj Singh Bhandari and Yuvaraj Dhital will remeasure the height of Mount Everest or Sagarmatha.

While, a team of Sherpa including Aangpasang Sherpa, Pemangima Sherpa, Chhiring Jangbu Sherpa, Keshab Poudel and Angbu Sherpa will be guiding the team in their expedition.

The Background

Following a long-standing debate on whether the 2015 earthquake in Nepal had affected the height of Mount Everest, Nepal launched a ‘national pride’ project in 2017 to remeasure the height of the Everest peak.

The Government of Nepal informed this in a statement on September 15, 2017.

“Nepal has never measured Everest on its own although the world’s highest peak lies in its territory. So, we want to prove to our people that Nepal is capable of measuring Everest,” says Ganesh Prasad Bhatta, Head of Nepali Government’s survey department.

Bhatta informed that a team of Nepali and foreign experts have already begun working on the methodology for implementation of the survey, which is expected to be a two-year process.

Under this process, a Sherpa team will be reaching the peak with necessary measuring equipment, either in April or October 2018, which is usually a favorable period on the peak, a release in 2017 informed.

Finally, the day has come on April 09, 2019!

Other important developments related to Mount Everest over the year period:

Special Fee for Foreign Tourists

A day after informing about the new project, the Government of Nepal on September 16, 2017, made another announcement for foreign tourists visiting Mount Everest.

According to Nima Dorjee Sherpa, the newly-elected Chairman of the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality in Solukhumbu District, Nepali Constituent Assembly has passed a directive asking the Rural Municipality to levy a Rs 2,000 entry fee on every foreigner visiting the Khumbu region for Mount Everest.

This decision, to be effective from October 1, 2017, was part of its efforts to promote local tourism and decentralize revenue collection to the local bodies of the country, says Nima Dorjee.

The Nepali Government was also asked to restrict other agencies and NGOs such as Nepal Mountaineering Association, Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal and Nepal Tourism Board from collecting any entry fee from foreigners visiting the Khumbu region.

Online Health Services Launched

To address the health challenges that trekkers usually face on their travel across the Everest camp, a local service provider, Everest Link has launched online health services in the region.

Now, trekkers and mountaineers traveling across the Lukla-Everest Base Camp route can get free online medical services through Wi-Fi facility.

According to Tshering Gyaljen Sherpa, CEO of Everest Link, the services are being provided in collaboration with the two hospitals based in Khumbu and Kathmandu.

As per the official data, 100,000 tourists (35,000 foreigners) are allowed to scale the peak, annually.

The post Survey to Remeasure Mt Everest Height Begins! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

While many of the world nations have strict and stringent laws that protect citizen rights, some still lack them and are in fact struggling in the fight for survival.

Nepal is one such country that has seen various transitions over centuries from the kingship rule to democratic continued to today’s federal structure.

During the process, the ‘Code of Conduct’ has always been a serious matter of discussion for the country and its people. Discrepancies in this scenario drew their roots from the country’s constitution, which itself has suffered over centuries for sustainability and stability.

Let’s take a look at how the Laws & Rights transformation happened in Nepal over the period.

Roots of The Problem

Political instability and constitutional uncertainty are the best ways to describe the laws & rights situation of Nepal.

Post-independence era for the country began with the political instability that did not support constitutional formation.

Nepal has seen various shifts in political authority from kingship rule to multi-party system and again back to the Kingship since 1951, the year that saw the fall of the hereditary prime ministership in the country.

Finally, it was in 1990 that the country saw its new democratic constitution after the then King Birendra decided to adopt the new constitution owing to intense political pressure.

1990 is often hailed as the year that had set the foundation for the ‘Rule of Law’ in Nepal.

However, shift in authority did not stop with that.

The Article 127 of the Constitution: The Power to Remove Difficulties which states that “if any difficulty arises in connection with the implementation of this Constitution, His Majesty [The King] may issue necessary Orders to remove such difficulty and such Orders shall be laid before Parliament,” changed the game all together.

Citing the article, the Kingship rule appointed and dismissed three Prime Ministers since 2002, causing uncertainty in the country’s political situation, again.

Again, in response to the Maoist violence and delayed elections, the then King dismissed the Prime Ministership of Sher Bahadur Deuba and assumed full executive powers. Despite the arrival of series of PMs later, the real authority was in the hands of the King.

Similar situation took place in 2005 again. The King dismissed the then PM taking back his powers and declared a state of emergency.

Taking back of powers from Deuba damaged Nepal’s global status, which led to some terming the country as ‘another Uzbekistan’.

As a result of these political consequences, the law and order position in the country drastically fell down raising serious doubts about protection of citizen rights in the country.

“Nepal’s human rights and security situation has steadily declined since 2002. Nepal had the dubious distinction of having the world’s highest number of disappearances for both 2003 and 2004,” says the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in its report published in 2005.

The report adds that the situation had gone beyond missing cases and also involves serious violations of common human rights such as extrajudicial killings, rape and restrictions on freedom of speech, assembly and association.

“All participants agreed that Nepal desperately needs a return to multi-party democracy to restore the governmental legitimacy necessary to negotiate peace with the Maoists. Such legitimacy cannot be achieved without fresh elections,” noted the report, citing panelists’ views on the situation.

A Decade Later- 2015, The Critical Year!

Fast forward to a decade, 2015 was a bad year for Nepal majorly because of the devastating earthquake that shook the country’s landscape posing threat to rights of a large number of quake victims and others.

Though 2015 saw the formation of the new constitution, violent protests around inclusion of communities belonging to the hilly regions stopped the government’s efforts to enforce rights or provide justice for wartime abuses.

In around 14 of Nepal’s most-severely affected districts, nearly 2.8 million people needed humanitarian assistance, which questions the protection of citizens and their rights in the country.

The constitution, brought into picture in 2015, left several doubts about rights and their implementation in the country, which was followed by months of violent protests.

The tense situation was largely attributed to hastily-drafted constitution that was promulgated just in a week’s time after public consultation.

Two transitional justice mechanisms were also set up in the year to ensure justice to victims of the 1996-2006 civil war.

The year also saw introduction of the “free visa, free ticket” policy in support of Nepali migrant workers in Gulf and Malaysia.

Overall, the year 2015 was really bad for Nepal, majorly because of the massive earthquake that not only led to loss of lives and structures, but also disturbed the country’s laws and rights scenario as evident in victims’ complaints about lack of governmental support, financial assistance, political fights leading to delays to setup quake reconstruction authority and failure in parliamentary functioning to address the same.

Continuing to 2016- A Little Ray of Hope!

Political instability continued even through 2016, the year that saw another change in government.

Political coalition led by Pushpa Kumar Dahal formed the new Nepal Government, the 9^th one formed over the last eight years since then, giving some new hope!

Fight against age-old practices like child marriages got their due boost in the year, but little instability in the political situation at that time didn’t take that to the needed extent.

“The government has pledged to end child marriage by 2030, and in 2016 adopted a broad strategy on ending child marriage. Still missing, however, is a practical plan, and a promised process to develop one has been slow and undermined by lack of coordination and political will,” said the Human Rights Watch (HRW), a global human rights organization, in its consolidated report on 2016 events in Nepal.

The report also noted that the new constitution failed to meet the rights of nearly 4 million Nepalis who reportedly had any official status and were at risk of statelessness. 

“Despite promises of reform, many people, particularly women, children born out of wedlock, or children of a refugee or naturalized parent, remain unable to secure drivers’ licenses, passports, bank accounts, voting rights, higher education, and other government welfare schemes,” HRW added.

However, the year saw little concrete progress on transitional justice pertaining to serious abuses that occurred part of civil war in 2006.

Despite strong opposition from civil societies and activists over lack of transparency in the appointment of key officials, the Truth & Reconciliation Commission and the Disappearances Commission resumed their public hearings as of August 2016 and have received around 59,000 complaints.

While the old government said it would withdraw all wartime crimes against the alleged as a pardon, the new government pledged of amending relevant laws to provide needed justice to conflict-era victims.

But, a concrete roadmap for the same remained a wait!

2017- A Game-changer Year!

2017/2074 was really a game-changer year for Nepal and its citizens majorly because of the local body and general elections to welcome a long-awaited political transition.

As envisaged, the Deuba-led Nepali Congress Government conducted the three-tier national elections for electing members for the Lower House of Parliament, House of Representatives and members for the newly-created provincial assemblies.

Nepal received global attention for these elections majorly for timely conducting and smooth flow of the electoral procedure in line with the Code of Conduct as envisaged by the Election Commission.

“Domestic and international observers characterized the national elections as ‘generally well-conducted,’ although some observers noted a lack of transparency in the work of the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN),” HRW said in its 2017 report on Nepal.

Security mechanism adopted to ensure the safety and transparency of electoral procedures earned wide recognition for Nepal from the world nations and global rights organizations.

“The government routinely investigated and held accountable those officials and security forces accused of committing ongoing violations of the law. Security personnel accused of using excessive force in controlling protests in recent years did not face notable accountability, nor did most conflict-era human rights violators,” HRW added.

The year also saw some key developments in a few conflict-era cases, but the status of those disappeared in the 1996-2006 civil conflict remained unknown.

According to HRW, there were no reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities during the year. And, the new criminal code expected in 2018 criminalized disappearance.

In June 2017, the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP) had set up five teams to initiate investigation on complaints pertaining to disappearances filed by conflict-era victims.

Despite some reforms, many other issues pertaining to rights such as lack of citizenship law even two years after the promulgation of the new constitution, among others remained a question even at the end of 2017, which concluded with giving hopes on the new Communist-led new Nepali Government that saw an outstanding victory nation-wide.

2018- Political Transformation, Race Began
2018 is a fresh year for Nepal and its people, because of the formation of the Communist party led new government that saw KP Sharma Oli returning to power as Nepal’s new Prime Minister.

Formation of Oli-led government triggered a sudden phase of change in the country in all aspects, from internal governance to maintaining external relations.

Balancing the act, Oli Government began its journey by maintaining a balanced stance with both the Asian giants adjacent to the Himalayan nation.

Bringing in unexpected reforms in a dashing move remained the highlight of the new government as seen in proposal of new laws pertaining to criminal code and transitional justice, among others.

From Day-1, the new government has been on foray of new laws to get nearly 110 laws approved at the Parliament, failing of which leads to cancellation of all the pending laws, to support the full-fledged implementation of the new Constitution by the midnight of September 18, 2018 as per the constitutional deadlines.

August 2018 triggered new phase of development in Nepal’s rights situation beginning with the implementation of the new Civil Code Act & Criminal Code Act that envisages to bring major reforms such as action against acid attempts against women, anti-pollution measures, criminalizing rape victims, among others in the country’s legal system, replacing the 55-year old Nepal General Code.

The implementation of the new civil code on August 17, 2018 drew mixed response. While some termed it as the move to ‘suppress press freedom’, some supported it saying it is the new phase in the country’s rights situation.

As of August 2018, 73 out of 110 laws have been drafted with some of them already endorsed and 37 laws are yet to be drafted with five of them still awaiting the addition of relevant rights and the government was making moves to forward 25 of 73 drafted laws for Cabinet approval, which will further be endorsed in the Parliament.

The Government of Nepal registered 16 out of 17 key bills pertaining to fundamental rights in the Parliament on August 27, 2018. These 17 new laws under consideration make up the total 31 fundamental rights and duties as promulgated by Nepali Constitution.

Some of the bills under process at the Parliament include:

• Right to Social Security
• Right to Social Justice
• Right Against Preventive Detention
• Right of Victim of Crime
• Rights of Child
• Rights of Women
• Right to Clean Environment

Besides these, the government is also seriously working on the law to ensure sustenance allowance for unemployed citizens in line with the constitutional statute of employment for every citizen.

Besides the new ones, there are nearly 375 old laws that are still waiting amendment to comply with the constitutional rules.

Wait & Watch
The ‘Code of Conduct’ plays a key role in defining peace & harmony across social, political, religious, economic aspects, driving the country’s path to success with full-fledged public involvement.

Whatever, the laws & rights scenario of Nepal is literally a story of ups & downs. Will have to wait and watch what new the Oli-led, present Nepali Government will do to protect and safeguard the rights of its citizens!

The post Nepal Laws and Rights – A Glance from Past to Present appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

But three years after the disaster, the task of restoring this prestigious monument is gearing up!

New Development on Nepal’s Iconic Dharahara
In a new development concerning Nepal’s iconic historical monument Dharahara, Nepal’s National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has finally awarded the reconstruction project to Raman Construction!

After a four-month wait, the NRA informed the PMO that it had completed its investigation following Kalika construction’s complaint on bidding anomalies.

Following this, Raman Construction, the lowest bidder amongst suitable others was given the project.

The designated company and its joint-venture partner GIETC has quoted Rs 3.45 billion for Dharahara’s reconstruction!

With other companies’ bid ranging anywhere between Rs 4.39 – 4.49 billion, Raman was in advantageous position with a difference of close to 1 million from its closest competitor, Kalika Construction and its partner companies.

NRA Chief Executive Officer Sushil Gyewali has informed that the NRA will hold an agreement with Raman and its JV, in the following two weeks.

“We will thoroughly study the document submitted by Raman and its JV. We’ve got to fulfill some procedures before reaching to a formal agreement,” said Gyewali.

He said that project will soon be forwarded to PM Oli who is keen on rebuilding the historical building located in the Kathmandu. Oli had expressed his desire to rebuild the project with public support, during his first term as Prime Minister.

Progress in the Making
Initially, the restoration project was to be taken up by Nepal Telecom (NT). However, the said party withdrew from the project in September 2017 following a disagreement over the structure’s design.

The Nepal Cabinet then allowed NRA to take over the project, which published a global tender notice on May 2018 welcoming interested construction companies for Dharahara’s reconstruction.

NRA also welcomed foreign companies’ participation in the reconstruction project but only through a Joint Venture (JV) with Nepal construction firms.

As many as six builders submitted their proposal to Nepal’s National Reconstruction Agency (NGA).

The companies who came forward for the construction include Raman Construction, Kalika Construction, Lama Construction and Kumar Shrestha Construction, among others.

NRA scheduled the bid openings for July 17, 2018.

“We were supposed to open the financial and technical bids of interested construction firms today. However, we will open all the bids next week as someone has filed a case at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers claiming anomalies in the process of announcing global tender by NRA,” NRA Deputy Spokesperson Manohar Ghimire said while assuring that the issue will be sorted out in a matter of few days.

Dharahara Reincarnation!
As per NRA’s design, the new Dharahara will stand at a 22-storey height. The first floor will house a museum in memory of the ‘2015 earthquake’ that shook Nepal with several facts and figures of Dharahara and the 2015 disaster.

The reconstruction project is estimated at around Rs 4 billion and will be funded by the government. Already, funds worth Rs 80 million have been collected from the ‘Mero Dharahara Mai Banauchu’ campaign.

History of the Spectacle
The Dharahara was built by Nepal ‘Mukthiyar’ Bhimsen Thapa in the 19^th century which presented a surreal picture of the entire valley.

The original monument stood 11-storeys high but unfortunately when an earthquake rocked Nepal in 1934, the monument was reduced to a mere 9-storey.

Sadly, the structure was completely destroyed in the recent earthquake killing over 100 site-visitors.

The Dharahara was not the only candle-tower in the Kathmandu Valley, its taller twin was destroyed in the 1833 earthquake and was not reconstructed.

Let’s hope NRA’s efforts will restore the grandeur and bring back the glory of the majestic Dharahara Tower!

The post Glorious Dharahara to Rise Again! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The country has also seen a long-awaited political transformation and is hoping a lot from the new government towards the recovery and reconstruction activities.

Since then, Nepal has been struggling a lot and is still on path of recovery across various areas of development through the earthquake recovery program.

As a process, the country received a wide range of support from the global community and has so far received an international aid of USD 4.1 billion under the program.

On April 25, 2018, the world observed the third anniversary of Nepal’s devastating 2015 earthquake which took away the lives of almost 9,000 people leaving a loss of USD 7 billion.

Third Anniversary

Marking the day, various programs were held across the country as a homage to the victims of the earthquake.

In Nepal, the day started with a prayer meeting at the ruins of famous Dharahara tower in Kathmandu. The event was attended by hundreds of people including the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Speaking at the event, President Bidya Devi Bhandari recalled the tragedy the earthquake has caused resulting in thousands of human casualties and damaging physical infrastructure.

Later in a tweet, she called on authorities for early completion of reconstruction works.

In this regard, let’s take a look at some of the major moves taken to support the victims of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal:

Government-level Support

The Government of Nepal had set up the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) to support those who witnessed huge losses in the 2015 earthquake.

The power decentralization and strengthening of local bodies across the country, as proposed by the 2015 federal constitution and taken ahead by the recently-concluded elections, is expected to take the relief measures and recovery support process to the next level driven by the active participation of provincial governments.

This was evident in wider application of the earthquake recovery policy, which took a different turn after the August 2017 floods, wherein, the government adopted earthquake-related policies to the flood victims as well and also passed the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, 2017.

Further in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority was also formed taking ahead the need for effective disaster management among the country’s populace.

The government had initially called for completion of the reconstruction activity by July 2018 and has also revised deadlines asking the victims to ensure completion of homes up to the plinth level by mid-July 2018 and the roof-line by mid-January 2019, says Dr Bhisma Bhusal, a NRA spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the owner-driven housing reconstruction program has also been started in consultation with the World Bank, the program’s largest lender.

Global-level Support

Supporting the government’s move, UNDP has also recently stepped up for its assistance on various aspects of the recovery program. It has pledged an all-round support to the victims of the worst-hit Gorkha district.

UNDP joined with the Government of India in March 2018 to assist around 27,000 home-owners to rebuild their houses damaged in the earthquake.

Upon a full-fledged implementation, this program will be the largest-ever post-disaster recovery program initiated by UNDP so far.

UNDP’s support involves on-site technical support with regard to government policies, quake-resilient features, construction technology, training of related skilled and unskilled personnel, process management, among others.

In the process, UNDP has also partnered with a large number of NGOs who assisted the organization in developing the Owner-driven Reconstruction Collaborative (ODRC).

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) has also pledged its housing recovery support to the victims of Nuwakot District.

This program that involves technical and financial support by the Government of India is being seen as a move that reflects the South-South cooperation.

Besides, there is also a trend of more number of people sending their family members to go abroad and support them locally in reconstruction activity. Surprisingly, this activity has boosted up remittance revenues to Nepal.

The Asian Foundation reports a rise in dependence of quake-hit victims on remittance revenues to Nepal from 9 percent in 2015 to 15 percent in 2017 driven by the increasing number of migrants from quake-hit areas.

Existing Concerns

Despite the huge support, the support for quake-hit survivors is still a long way to go, says the globally-renowned Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Citing official reports, it says only 16 percent of the total international aid is used as part of recovery support.

After waiting a lot for the support, the communities themselves started rebuilding schools and homes.

According to the reports, the government has spent USD 1.1 billion out of the estimated USD 8 billion fund meant for recovery activity.

Meanwhile, a 2017 study by the Asia Foundation cites lack of financial resources among the house owners as a key reason behind the delay in completion of reconstruction activity.

According to the Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform (HRRP), the median cost associated with house reconstruction stands at USD 6,750, which is quite higher than the government grant.

The building construction costs in Nepal have increased with the occurrence of earthquake and have gone to next level post the announcement of reconstruction deadlines, thus resulting in increased labor and material costs.

Overall, financing reconstruction has been a major challenge for many victims hindering the progress of earthquake reconstruction activity, and an unfortunate trend of people rebuilding one-room houses to get the best out of government subsidies is also observed across the country.

On an End Note

Nepal is one country that is fast developing by making major strides alongside balancing key infrastructure challenges resulting out of climate change and other environmental challenges. Hope, new policies and the decentralized government functioning will address the public concerns associated with natural disasters at grassroot levels in a timely manner and through efficient disaster management systems.

The post Nepal 2015 Earthquake: Three Years of a Sad Story! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Many inspirational stories have proven this and on the same lines, here comes another interesting one.

Upon his love for Nepal and its people, Stratford-born Hasely Lobb called for a mission to ensure water facilities to a Nepali village called Musey, badly hit by the 2015 earthquake.

Hasely, President of New Plymouth Mountain Bikers Club New Zealand, has created a challenge of climbing 8,848 m, the height of Mt Everest, within November 2017.

According to Hasely, various participants from Wellington, Christchurch, Taranaki and Australia have also joined the challenge that is expected to raise a USD 20,000 fund.

The fund, being raised through the Everyday Hero page online, will go to the Himalayan Trust’s Musey Water Appeal which eventually works for safe water facilities to communities living in the Everest region.

A Love-driven Cause!

                        (File Picture: Hasely Lobb)

Expressing his love for Nepal, Hasely says he has visited the country twice so far and always loved it.

He feels concerned for not being able to help the country at the time of the 2015 earthquake disaster due to lack of proper means, however, has finally stepped ahead in the form of the present challenge.

“I would love to see this challenge become an annual event so that we can keep on raising money,” Hasely adds.

Ride, Run and Jump

The participants can finish the challenge in any way, either by walking, running, climbing, riding or jumping.

According to Hasely, the participants need to climb an average of 295 m per day to finish the challenge.

“One lady has already finished it, she did it in around 12 days. I am trying to do something different every day as much as I possibly can,” he adds.

Hasely mission for the ‘8848m For Nepal challenge’ includes walking the Mangorei Track to the Pouakai Hut, Maude Track to Mangakotukutuku Falls, climbing Paritutu Rock and running up and down the Liardet Street steps 66 times.

Musey, a Small Remote Village

Musey, Nepal is a small village with just 287 people and is reachable after a 40-minute trek from Lukla, the gateway to the Everest region.

The 2015 earthquake has affected Musey very badly, destroying many homes and the village’s water tank.

Since then, the community has been working relentlessly to rebuild homes. Replacing the water tank tops the priority list as the village depends mostly on agriculture for their livelihood and income generation.

Success of the Lukla Drinking Water Project (LDWP), a joint mission of the Himalayan Trust, Action for Nepal and the community of Lukla finished in 2014, forms a strong basis for the latest initiative. The Project is currently serving 200 homes and businesses including many tourist lodges.

The post Love for Nepal Drives NZ-born Hasely for a Noble Cause appeared first on Nepali Sansar.