Kumbh Mela, the period during which lakhs come to take bath in holy rivers, is famous in all aspects, politically, spiritually, tourism and many others.

Millions of people from all walks of life attend this festival to be held at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to bathe in holy waters of River Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical river Saraswati.

Visitors include people from almost all walks of life, including those normally unseen in open society such as ascetics, Aghoras and other religious people in different attires and some even naked.

As per the Hindu religion, bathe in these holy rivers during the period of Kumbh brings salvation from the cycle of birth and death.

“As per the government estimates, 100-150 million people including one million foreign tourists are expected to take part in this eight-day-long festival”.

As part of festival arrangements for the visiting pilgrims, organisers are planning high on temporary bridges, 600 mass kitchens and more than 100,000 portable toilets, tents as shelters that can accommodate thousands at a time, all in the small city that lies on the banks of two rivers.

Kumbh Mela 2019, The Special One!

Kumbh Mela is traditionally held once in three years in one of four Indian cities with Prayagraj being the largest one. The festival is majorly into three categories as Maha Kumbh Mela once in 12 years, Semi Kumbh Mela once in 6 years and Kumbh Mela once in three years.

The next ‘Kumbh Mela’ will be held in 2025.

But, with India’s General Election due in May 2019, the Government of India led by Bharatiya Janata Party of India is planning to observe ‘Kumbh Mela’ as the full version of the festival.

As the reports say, Yogi Adityanath-led UP Government is taking this as a prestigious event and planning to make it larger than ever with huge promotions, nationally and internationally.

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In a press meet on November 19, 2018, CII announced that the largest construction equipment exhibition will be held between November 22-24, 2018 at Sallahghari.

“With the participation of Government of India, CII ConMac 2018 – An Excon Show, will be the largest focused platform for the construction equipment industry to showcase their technology and equipment for the accelerated growth of the infrastructure sector in Nepal,” read CII’s statement.

The 150-exhibitor event of international scale is organized by CII & the Embassy of India, Nepal and is supported by the Federation of Contractors Association of Nepal (FCAN). Furthermore, it is expected to draw more than 10,000 business visitors from across Nepal.

CII ConMac 2018 member and MAW Earthmovers Chairman Vishnu Agarwal claims that the exhibition will be an unmatched platform bringing world-class construction equipment under one roof.

“Through this event, a new benchmark for professionalism will be established in Nepal paving the way for more such exhibitions in different sectors,” he said at the press meet.

CII ConMac  2018 and FG Incorporated Pvt Ltd Kedar Lamichhane said that the event will also present a great opportunity for contractors to avail financing options on equipment purchase and equipment manufacturers special offers.

The ConMac 2018 will allow contractors to compare various manufacturers machinery & technology and make informed purchases.

According to CII’s press statement, the exhibition aims to assist and empower contractors in view of Nepal’s large skilled manpower shortage. It will give them insight on capacity enhancement and technology within the construction sector.

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The new route launched by the Bihar Chief Minister (CM) Nitish Kumar India’s Patna & Bodh Gaya and Nepal’s Kathmandu & Janakpur cities.

According to Bihar Transport Secretary Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, a total of eight buses will run in three routes covering the two countries: Patna-Kathmandu, Patna-Janakpur and Bodh Gaya-Kathmandu.

The new bus service is the result of a public-private partnership commissioned post an agreement between India and Nepal in the past, which includes two different meetings in New Delhi and Kathmandu that led to singing of a tripartite agreement between Nepal, Indian External Affairs Ministry and the Government of Bihar.

“This bus service will further strengthen the relations between India and Nepal. It will prove very beneficial for Buddhist tourists in the two places,” reads a statement by Nitish Kumar.

Besides boosting the tourism aspect of Buddhist Circuit, the new service will also help thousands of travellers moving between India and Nepal, say the officials.

Prior to this, Nepali PM KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi had jointly launched a direct bus transport between Janakpur and Ayodhya on May 11, 2018 under the Ramayana Circuit.

The new service will begin on September 13, 2018. Hope more such initiatives would come up strengthening Indo-Nepal ties in all aspects.

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High-ranking military officials met at the 11^th Asia-Pacific Intelligence Chiefs Conference (APICC) to share mutual beneficial interests and military intelligence information.

According to the Nepal Directorate of Public Relations and Information (DPR&I) at the Nepal Army Headquarters Bhadrakali, the officials interacted and agreed to share expertise and skills to counter potential security threats faced by any of the member countries.

The three-day conference that concluded on September 6, 2018 witnessed the participation of military officials from Nepal, Bangladesh, Brunei, Japan, Fiji, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Magnolia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Vietnam, Brunei, Papa New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Cambodia, America, Canada and France.

Talking about the important of such events, Nepal DPR&I said that an international interaction at such a high-level would help in enhancing military intelligence in the region.

The conference was concluded by Nepal Military General Staff Chief (CGS) and Lt. General Hemanta Raj Kunwar with the decision to organize the conference’s 12^th edition in Philippines in 2019.

The Nepali Army and US Indo-Pacific Command Directorate of Intelligence organized the conference.

Poland-Nepal Joint Military Exercise:
In another scenario, Poland proposed a joint military drill for capacity enhancement of the Nepal Army.

The proposal was made by Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Btaszczak to Nepal Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Defense Minister Ishwor Pokharel, on his official visit to Poland.

Minister Pokharel has accepted the proposal. According to the DPM’s Press Coordinator, Pokharel said that the Nepal Government and Army will be ready to provide staff commando training, mountain warfare training, and para basic training to the Polish Army.

Oli’s Take on BIMSTEC Joint Military Exercise
The Indian Army had first proposed a joint military exercise in the initial meeting of the BIMSTEC army representatives in June 2018.

Furthering this cause, the Indian Government announced that it would be hosting the drill and organize a meeting of army staff chiefs on the concluding day in August 2018.

However, the decision to hold a joint military exercise was strongly criticized by Nepal PM Oli’s party members, the opposition and several others. A number of Nepali lawmakers questioned the decision of Nepal’s participation in the drill.

Nepal PM Oli was quick to clear doubts and defend the exercise, terming it as a ‘friendly gesture’.

He explained that BIMSTEC did not have any military motive or believe in holding a military pact.

“Nepal Army has been conducting such friendly military exercises with India, China, Pakistan, and the United States of America, and there are a number of other multilateral drills conducted regularly. Officials from different countries take military courses in Nepal, so do our officials in other countries,” said Oli.

Adding further he said, if there had been any military motive, it would have been added to the 18 points Kathmandu Declaration.

Conclusion:
Nepal’s enthusiasm in building and maintaining military relations in note-worthy. We hope that these military decisions will bring about the much-needed regional cooperation to counter regional security-threats.

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In a recent decision, both the countries decided to develop inland waterways navigation from India’s River Ganges to Nepali border covering the latter’s Kosi and Gandaki (Narayani) rivers.

Towards this end, officials from both the ends discussed key aspects of the project in a two-day meeting held during July 15-16, 2018.

First Such Meeting!
As part of discussions, the two sides discussed to form a team that will undertake a field study for development of the proposed project.

According to the Indian Embassy, the meeting focused on techno-economic feasibility of various routes and modalities.

The 1^st Indo-Nepal consultation meeting on Inland Waterways Connectivity concluded with signing of Minutes. Two sides agreed to immediately send technical scoping missions to each other’s country for techno economic feasibility studies of riverine routes, Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said in a tweet.

The Indian side also offered to initiate capacity development of inland waterways professionals of Nepal, the Embassy added.

Under the study process, Indian officials will visit Kosi and Narayani rivers and Nepali technical team will take a travel to Calcutta, Haldia-Varanali section to observe India’s inland waterways development already under process.

Vice-President of Inland Waterways Authority of India Pravir Pandey and Joint Secretary of Nepal’s Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) Madhav Belbase signed and exchanged the deal amid the presence of their respective teams, on behalf of the two countries.

Dreams Come True!
Following the two-day meeting, officials of both the sides were excited at the forward movement with regard to the long-awaited dream of both the countries.

It is possible to develop inland waterways in Nepali rivers, especially in Narayani, probably after two years, says Pradeep Gyawali, Nepal Foreign Minister .

The latest announcement comes as a result of the first such consultation meeting between the two countries on ‘Inland Waterways Connectivity’ following an agreement made during PM Oli’s India visit in April 2018.

 “There is a scope of inland waterway navigation in Kosi and Narayani rivers, which can be linked with third counties, including Bangladesh via Haldia, India. It will contribute to Nepal’s economic development,” reads an official release by WECS.

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As part of the last meeting, the EPG team announced that they will come up with a final joint report that would address key gaps concerning the bilateral ties of the two nations.

Key recommendations made as part of the final meet include:

• Replacement of the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship with a new one
• New regulations regarding cross-border movement of people by issuing identity cards to the public
• Measures to control trafficking, extremism and terrorism
• Resetting of centuries-old bilateral ties that entail political and economic matters
• Recommendations pertaining to trade & commerce, people-to-people contact and cultural ties

Culminating all these, the two-nation EPG team would prepare a final report that will be submitted to the governments of both the nations for further action.

We have prepared a joint report and with this, the meeting is over. Once we submit the report to both the PMs, our task and responsibility is over

                                                         –Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, EPG Coordinator, Nepal

Another member of the team said the discussions were focused on redefining bilateral ties that suitable for the coming generation.

“Some of the good gestures and positive developments on both sides led to a single report within the stipulated time,” said the officials.

The group was formed with an intention of formulating mutually-agreed documents within a two-year period to strengthen bilateral ties in line with the changing local and global scenario.

The EPG group with officials of both the nations was initiated as part of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bilateral visit to Nepal in 2004.

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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.

Expressing his views on strengthening ties with the neighboring Asian giants, Oli spoke on a wide range of issues pertaining to Indo-Nepal bilateral ties including protection of sovereign rights, enhancing border connectivity and review of all provisions related to Indo-Nepal relations, among others.

“We have great connectivity with India and an open border. All that’s fine and we’ll increase connectivity even further,” read Oli’s recent statement.

On protecting each other’s rights and addressing related challenges, he said, “There were some elements in the Indian establishment that caused some misunderstanding, but Indian leaders have assured us that there will be no interference in the future and we will respect each other’s sovereign rights”.

Oli also mentioned about the provisions pertaining to Nepalese serving in the Indian Army.

He said, “This should be internally and mutually discussed and corrected, if necessary. We live in a new world, and Nepal is starting a new journey, we have to update whatever is considered outdated and bring it in line with the modern era.”

Amendment of Nepali Constitution to address the issues regarding representation of Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, in Nepali Parliament is another major issue in Oli’s tasks list with regard to clearing confusions in Indo-Nepal bilateral relations.

Meanwhile, in a recent conversation, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured all possible support to the newly-appointed Nepal PM towards overall development of Nepal.

Besides, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s recent visit to Nepal, ahead of the announcement of new Nepali PM, also reiterates Indian Government’s willingness to support Nepal.

It’s Time for New President and Vice-President

Post the announcement of new PM, now the time has come for the election of candidates for President and Vice-Presidential roles.

The Election Commission (EC) of Nepal has already begun discussions with the political parties in this regard.

“The meeting commenced on the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner Dr. Ayodhi Prasad Yadav from the Election Commission and presented the schedule for the election of the President and Vice President to be held within mid of March. The politicos also have responded positively regarding the proposal,” said EC in its official release.

EC had earlier announced March 05, 2018 and March 17, 2018 as the tentative dates for the election of new President and Vice-President of the country.

The post Oli Mulls Updated Connectivity, Sovereign Rights with India appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Nepali Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay yesterday urged the Government of India to address the issues Nepali citizens are facing because of demonetized currency notes.

In this regard, the official urged India to consider a special window that allows Nepali citizens to exchange their demonetized notes.

“There are pensioners, also almost every Nepali family has a member in India. During festival seasons, when they return, they take money for needs that may be medical. It is my moral obligation. Nepal must be provided with some kind of window,” read an official statement by Deep Kumar.

Deep Kumar further informed that many Nepali citizens are not able to exchange demonetised notes because of the lack of a special provision for the same.

Nepalese living in the Indo-Nepal border areas could find a way, however, those living in hilly areas of the country are still holding the banned currency notes, he added.

According to Deep Kumar, Nepal had requested to allow Rs 25,000 exchange per account, but the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had promised for Rs 4,500 per account and that did not happen yet.

This situation is seen despite the high-level discussions between officials of both the countries on the issue.

“There was almost a kind of an understanding between both the central banks (of both the countries) that India will provide a window for exchange of currency notes that Nepali people are holding. But I think, it has now been finalized and Nepal is waiting for the issue to be resolved. In our highest level also, we have again raised this issue,” read official statement by Deep Kumar.

Huge Loss to Nepali Citizens

This currency exchange issue has been concerning Nepali citizens since the time India announced ban of old currency notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500.

Earlier in July 2017, a Nepal Rastra Bank official had said, “Nepalese stand to lose millions of dollars held in high-value Indian bank notes that India banned in 2016”.

Even though RBI responded, issues were not addressed yet.

“That was only a verbal assurance, but no formal decision from India has come to us. Even if this amount was exchanged, individuals holding more than INR 4,500 risk losing the excess,” said Chinta Mani Shivakoti, a Deputy Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank in an earlier case.

According to Shivakoti, Nepali banks hold INR 78.5 million worth old currency notes. The Nepali businessmen also estimate that Rs 10 billion worth old Indian currency (USD 155 million) is stashed with the Nepali informal sector.

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