#422 24 - 30 October 2008 16 pages Rs 30

Weekly Internet Poll # 422 Q. Do you think it is a good idea for the NC to join the Maoist-led coalition? Total votes: 3,878

Weekly Internet Poll # 423. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.com Q. Should the CPN-M, drop the 'Maoist' tag from its name?

SABIN TULADHAR HOWDY: Prime Minister Dahal receives American ambassador Nancy Powell in Singha Darbar on Tuesday. USAID announced a $42 million aid package this week, but the CA hasn’t yet started the Shake a leg constitution-drafting process. DEWAN RAI Acharya, who doubts whether the remained inactive. government is even committed to The parliament secretariat ix months have passed. getting the document written. appears unaware of these trips. further three months for public Four months were spent The CA Rules and Procedures are “We have not received any formal consultations, and the rest of the S forming the government, yet to be finalised as debate requests,” said Mukunda Sharma, time for parliamentary and two more were taken up rumbles on about whether CA the secretariat’s spokesman, who discussion and eventual with the budget and Dasain. The members are subject to the party doesn’t know when the members endorsement. government has formed neither a whip or not. will return. Adhikari blames the political high-level political council nor a But some people remain The CA was elected for a two- parties’ squabbles for the delay in special committee for integration confident of progress. “The rules year period, but government finalising the Rules and and rehabilitation of the PLA. will be finalised by mid- ministers are now saying they Procedures. “If the parties cannot With 18 months to go, there November,” says Radheshyam might extend the drafting period reach agreement over their has been no work on writing the Adhikari, a member of the for a further six months. “We differences, the writing of the constitution. At this pace, there drafting committee. have not completely run out of constitution will be delayed,” seems little chance the Donors have taken some time,” says Acharya. By his he says. constitution will be written by committee members abroad for a perhaps optimistic calculations, Subhas Nembang, chairman of April 2010. first-hand look at how federalism six months will suffice for the Constituent Assembly, is “The government is not functions, administrative and deciding on the constitution’s staying positive. He told Nepali concerned at all and the CA educational reforms in the hope content. It will then take three Times: “The schedule might have members are helpless,” said of providing ideas for . But months to write it with the changed a bit, but we will finish constitutional expert Bhimarjun the drafting committee has correct legal terminology, a the constitution on time.” z 2 EDITORIAL 24 - 30 OCTOBER 2008 #422

Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Editor: Kunda Dixit CEO: Ashutosh Tiwari Design: Kiran Maharjan Marketing Manager: Sambhu Guragain Asst Managers: Subhash Kumar Subscriptions: 5542535/5542525 Hatiban, Godavari Road, Lalitpur GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu 5250333/845 [email protected] Fax: 5251013 Fusion or confusion www.nepalitimes.com Printed at Jagadamba Press 5250017-19 The Maoists must clarify their commitment to multiparty democracy once and for all

WAR AND PEACE peaking at the Constituent resurfaced and intensified. These They indoctrinated their cadre on As we know only too well in Nepal, peace is not the absence of Assembly, an elected body doubts have not been allayed. In the revolution, armed struggle and war. We are currently in a period of no war, no peace. For many S that the Maoists don’t fact, subsequent pronouncements protracted war, turning them relatives of the victims of war, the wounded and displaced, the want to refer to as ‘parliament’, by senior Maoists have raised against the very concept of war goes on. Prime Minister Dahal showed even more serious misgivings. ‘parliament’. These past two years, we underestimated the legacy of just how confused he is about his Dahal is right on one point: It is a well known fact that violence that the war left behind. The ascendance of the Maoists to party’s future ideological course. not only is it unrealistic to Prachanda was in negotiation government gave everyone with a grievance an excuse to set injustices right with the force of arms. It proved that if you killed He said: “We are at the cusp of expect Nepal to become with Gyanendra, and he had said enough people you could get what you wanted. transformation. We need to communist, it is doubtful if we he wouldn’t talk to the ‘servants’ At a more mundane level, it demonstrated that blocking a manage this transformation and can even be socialist in the true when he could talk to the ‘master highway, burning tyres, or closing down the country with a forced take ourselves beyond the status sense. Dahal himself has himself’. But after he saw that his shutdown was the only way to get people in power to listen to you quo. The people need to see a admitted that feudalism has not revolution was going nowhere, he and redress grievances. qualitative improvement in their been completely uprooted, and was forced to negotiate with the The 10 years of murders, mayhem and destruction also left a we need to move from that ‘servant’ parties NC and UML and more corrosive residue of increased domestic violence, frayed through an economic revolution sign the 12-point agreement. nerves and a citizenry quick to resort to the fist. The elections GUEST COLUMN towards capitalism. But his Bhind the persistent refusal to showed that muscle-power can win votes, so all the political parties Raghu Pant hardline political stance doesn’t accept parliamentarianism is the now have clones of the YCL. The Maoists have taught us well. fit the economic rhetoric. Maoist leadership’s need to And there is the background presence of structural violence that has never really gone away. The heavy-handed behaviour of The Maoists have been present their transition to police at checkpoints, the aggression and rudeness of those who lives. But because of the describing their current mainstream non-violent politics are supposed to be the guardians of law and order. The war was prevailing situation, we can ideological line as a ‘fusion’, but as a ‘victory’. Which is why they partly a response to state-sponsored brutality which is still neither reach our goal of it’s looking more like are involved in elaborate prevalent. communism, nor can we stay ‘confusion’. And because they are semantics to hide their political There may be a ceasefire, therefore, but the aggression and stuck in traditional now leading the government, this defeat. They insisted on the CA cruelty that the war left us with will be around for decades to come. parliamentary politics.” contradiction is hurting the being called a ‘legislative The peace process may be on track, but there are serious Ever since that speech on 14 country. This lack of clarity parliament’ as if the assembly’s challenges ahead, most urgently the assimilation of the Maoists September, existing doubts about doesn’t just reflect on Comrade parliamentary functions would into the national army. the Maoists’ commitment to Prachanda but on Prime Minsiter be any different whatever it We will never be able to say that we are at peace until there is a parliamentary democracy have Dahal, and through him, on the was called. new culture of non-violence. Peace is a dynamic process. It is not enough to simply wish it or pray for it. Peace government he leads. The insecurity over must be actively pursued with education and What is hard to explain is nomenclature proves that this is a advocacy. You can’t talk about peace without Dahal’s allergy to the words difficult political transition for reconciliation, truth and justice for those ‘parliament’ and ‘democracy’ the Maoists, and it has exposed directly affected by the war. despite his party having come the contradictions among party War is just the fiercest form of violence. At this far into the peace process. hardliners. The Prachanda- a wider level, violence in society is also During the war, the main targets Baburam line is not followed to manifested in child malnutrition or of the Maoists were the the letter within the party, and environmental destruction. Ethnic and gender monarchy, multi-party those in favour of continuing the discrimination and human rights violations are democracy, parliament and the armed struggle are still strong. all forms of violence. During the war, far more parliamentary parties. In this, the The sooner Prime Minsiter malnourished children died of preventable infections rather than in actual fighting. And Maoists made common cause Dahal puts these contradictions to they will continue to die. with conservative royalists who rest with a clear-cut Peace won’t come to us just with the also wanted to weaken pronouncement on multiparty, peace process. There will be no peace until parliamentary democracy. parliamentary democracy and we allow all Nepalis to make full use of their The Maoists killed, maimed rejection of violence, the better capabilities. and evicted hundreds of political it will be for his party and for The new constitution is important because workers of the NC and UML. this nation. it will remove the structural reasons for They killed many teachers, After all, he is no longer in the conflict once and for all. So let’s get on with it. journalists and intellectuals who jungles of Rolpa. He is a prime did not agree with their politics. minister in Singha Darbar. z MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA Kiboshed in Kabul ISLAMABAD—Every week a handful of Some 500 Nepalis are estimated to be on, hoping their luck will change Delhi (because of the direct Delhi-Kabul Nepali men make their way out of waiting for jobs. The lodges charge some day. flights), it is hard to know the numbers Afghanistan to the Pakistani city of $10 a day for small rooms where these men Nepal’s Department of Labour bans involved. Peshawar. They are headed for the Nepali watch Hindi television programs, play Nepalis from working in Iraq and There is no Nepali consulate in Kabul to embassy in Islamabad. They have no cards, cook and just wait. When a job Afghanistan. But there are those who do get help. The Islamabad embassy looks after passports, no money, no place to stay. comes along, they go for the interviews. good jobs in Afghanistan, usually in Nepali interests in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sometimes they have nothing to prove that Out of hundreds of candidates, just one security companies. A job that would earn Iran, Iraq and Turkey, and the small staff is they are Nepali. is chosen. them $100 a month elsewhere gives them ill-equipped to cope with the many demands of its citizens in trouble. But INTERESTING TIMES illegal migration to Afghanistan is not a Nepalis languish in Afghanistan problem that is likely to go away soon, so Mallika Aryal amid lies and false hopes there is a need for liaison between Nepalis in Afghanistan and the embassy in Their stories are always the same: they Usually they never hear from their $1,000 in Kabul—which is why Islamabad. went to Afghanistan to work after agents again. Some are picked up by Afghanistan is such a magnet despite Four years have passed since 12 Nepali selling their houses or land in Nepal. The Afghan police and thrown into jail for the risks. men were abducted and murdered in recruiter took them to New Delhi, where overstaying their visas. When money Afghan immigration regulations have Iraq. A new Foreign Employment Act was they waited a couple of months to get a runs out they realise they will not get a job recently been tightened, and it is no formulated last year. But imposing bans on tourist visa from the Afghan embassy. or get their passports back, so they make longer so easy to get a visa in New Delhi. countries doesn’t work. As long as there is When their passports were finally stamped their way to the Pakistan border. So Nepalis are now heading for Dhaka, the hope of high salaries, workers will find with a visa—usually valid only for 15 If they are lucky, they are not arrested at Dubai and even Tehran to get Afghan visas. ways round rules and laws. days—they left for Kabul. the border and eventually reach the Nepali If a licensed Nepali manpower agency If the government were to lift the ban Another recruiter there promised to embassy in Islamabad, which verifies their is found to be sending labourers to either and allow the registered manpower arrange a work visa for another few nationality and provides temporary travel Iraq or Afghanistan, the penalties are steep, agencies to send labourers through legal hundred dollars. He took their passports documents to help them return to Nepal. so the recruiters who offer work in these channels, this might reduce the abuse and and put the men up in small lodges Some have been stuck in Kabul for more countries are unregulated. Because most of end the miserable situation of Nepalis run by Nepalis to wait for their work visas. than three years. Some have decided to stay those heading for Afghanistan travel via languishing in the dingy dives of Kabul. z 24 - 30 OCTOBER 2008 #422 3

L ETTERS

TERRAIN WARNING check-in, where loaders can easily be bribed to The way I see it, the attitude of pilots on domestic push in couple of hundred extra kilograms of flights are no different from those of buses on baggage and cargo into the hold. There have been Nepal’s roads. You are right in pointing out numerous cases during which there have been (Editorial, ‘Terrain warning’, #421) that there is near-misses when the pilots have made hard just too much recklessness. I don’t know where landings based on calculations of weight which this comes from, maybe it is cultural, partly lack of were not accurate, or when the plane was not in training and partly insufficient regulation. equilibrium. Whatever it is, the end result is that 400 plus K Stenton, Edinburgh people have been killed in air crashes in Nepal since The fatalism that guides 1990 and most of it is due to our attitude towards new pilot error. What are we technology, especially cars going to do about it? and planes, is seen every year Jangbu Sherpa, email at Dasain when goats and chicken are beheaded and You have painted a their blood splattered on the needlessly gloomy picture machines to propitiate the about air accidents in Nepal gods during the coming year. and blamed pilots for being With that sort of attitude is it reckless. It is true that there any surprise that we have so are those who do not follow many accidents? rules and that they take Jujubhai, Asan shortcuts, just like in any profession. But Nepali pilots WATER WORLD are some of the most Thank you for printing the experienced, and they fly in the brilliant panoramas by world’s most challenging Sumit Dayal of the victims terrain. They know the risks and they weigh them of the Kosi disaster (‘Water world’, #421). Two before every flight. The rate of mishaps is directly months after the big flood, millions of people in proportionate to the challenges of flying in and out Bihar and Nepal continue to suffer. The fact that of the world’s most difficult airfields day in and day the disaster happened in the most corrupt and out. inept parts of India and Nepal means that relief A Pilot, Kathmandu and reconstruction is slow, and this is prolonging the misery of the people. The lesson from the I completely agree with your portrayal of the disaster is that the river does not respect national cavalier attitude of Nepal’s airlines towards safety. boundaries, and we should similarly plan to However, it is not restricted to the flight deck. harness rivers so it will benefit people on both Having been a trekking guide for many years, I sides equally. have observed money changing hands during Kumar Mishra, 4 NATION 24 - 30 OCTOBER 2008 #422 Growing much more rice Nepal can easily boost paddy productivity and be self-sufficient again

RAJENDRA UPRETY NICE RICE: Farmers (left) transplant rice seedlings in a paddy field in Morang earlier this year using the improved method that could double their harvests while using less seed and water. Another farmer (above) tests a new Nepali-made weeder.

RAJENDRA UPRETY in and supply of food grains is Rice is grown on 1.5 million raising paddy productivity, we The only catch is that since MORANG growing. hectares across Nepal, and even are spending an average of Rs 5 flooded fields control weeds in More than half the country's though much of this is irrigated, billion to import 500,000 tons of normal paddy fields, SRI fields epal’s food shortage is now 75 districts now have moderate to rice production has not been able rice a year. Because of the rise in need to be regularly weeded. approaching crisis acute food shortages, and the to exceed 4.2 million tons. grain prices worldwide, we will SRI also demands skilful Nproportions. Increasing government is spending precious Nepal’s rice productivity of 2.6 spend more this year. farming and good preparation, population density, stagnant or resources to fly grain to remote tons per hectare is the lowest in But there is now good news. conscientious planting, good falling productivity and airfields. Malnutrition is now a South Asia. For the past five years, we have timing and careful drainage. fragmentation of land-holdings national calamity as fewer people Because we have been so been testing a new way of But the benefits far outweigh mean the gap between demand can afford to buy food. spectacularly unsuccessful in cultivating rice that nearly these obstacles and farmers who doubles harvests but uses 40 have adopted SRI can’t imagine percent less seed and needs much going back to the traditional less water to flood the fields. This method. When one farmer tries it, method also uses less fertiliser, others want to learn the method pesticides and improved seeds. too, and the practice is spreading. It sounds like science fiction, Pilot projects in Nepal have but it is true. Field trials in shown that SRI could easily Morang and 24 sites across the increase our rice harvest to as much country have shown that the new as six tons per hectare. Despite method could be the miracle that this, there is no political will and we’ve been waiting for to boost an apparent reluctance to push SRI agriculture production in this as a national campaign. If the country. government gave SRI priority and Called System of Rice coordinated the various ministries Intensification (SRI), the method and departments to push the was developed by a Jesuit priest method, Nepal could easily become in Madagascar in 1983. Since self-sufficient in rice. then, it has been adopted So far, the Poverty Reduction nationally by India and China, Fund, DFID, Surya Nepal, ICIMOD and has boosted rice yields in and Care Nepal have been major producer nations like promoting SRI in pilot schemes in Cambodia, Vietnam and various parts of the country. Much Indonesia. more needs to be done to replicate Farmers using the SRI method this on a national scale. z grow normal mansuli rice seedlings. Instead of waiting six Rajendra Uprety is an SRI pioneer weeks as with normal rice, and works at the District seedlings are transplanted at two Development Office in Morang weeks. The field doesn’t have to be flooded. In fact it needs to be See also: drained of excess water. The seeds ‘The miracle is, it’s no miracle’, are planted further apart so that Nepali Times #256 while a normal paddy field needs http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/ 50 kg of seed per hectare, the new issue/256/Nation/569 method uses less than 10 kg. http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/ BUSINESS 24 - 30 OCTOBER 2008 #422 5

Anti-smuggling meet

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ Customs officials from six regional countries met in Kathmandu this week to discuss ways to curb the smuggling of ozone-depleting Global meltdown substances. The conference, organized by the United Nations Environment Do we need to worry? Program (UNEP), brought officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka to share strategies to implement the e are witnessing the rate. Apart from the Indian A short-term impact we might Montreal Protocol which controls chemicals that destroy start of an economic impact, here are some of Beed’s see is a decline in demand for stratospheric ozone that protects the earth from harmful solar rays. crisis that could views on the crisis and Nepal. skilled jobs in the US and Europe, Although most countries are complying with cutbacks in these W perhaps dwarf the Great Left-leaning economists are which would in turn have an chemicals, there is a thriving cross-border trade in contraband Depression of 1929. The only chemicals, mainly in Asia, that are used mainly in refrigeration. having a field day crowing about affect on migration—although the Indian ambassador to Nepal, Rakesh Sood told the gathering: difference is that the economic the failure of capitalism. They labour markets in the Middle East “Solving this crisis and minimising its economic and industrial growth of the past 80 years might feel Nepal should not pursue a may not be hit so hard. upshot requires close cooperation among nations as well as provide a cushion to soften the market-reform agenda similar to For Nepal’s overcrowded industry partnership in controlling illegal trade.” impact this time around. that which has led to the global banking sector, there are lessons to crisis. However, the only model be learnt. The attraction for some that has brought about rapid banks in keeping all their eggs in

Evening waves ECONOMIC SENSE

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ ○○○○○○○○○○ economic growth successfully has the real estate basket may cause The BBC World Service has launched a news Artha Beed been one that seeks a market- them problems. One cannot lend program, Evening Report, that covers current oriented economy where the to the developer, the contractor affairs and news related to South Asia. The news program, hosted This Beed talked of the government plays the role of and the consumer of the same by Tinku Ray, will be broadcast every weekday for 30 minutes at looming crisis in March 2008 facilitator and regulator. building project. And the 7:45 PM in Nepal and will be available on FM throughout the South (#390, ‘The American government does not Asian region. You can also listen to the program online on BBC’s Dream’) and has not have the money to bail website. been that surprised by out our banks in the the present situation in way other countries

Everest feat which government have. Banking liquidity ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ actions around the here can also be affected th Everest Bank recently celebrated its 14 birthday in Nepal. The world are losing by the money taken out bank pioneered services such as home loans, loans for credibility. So far, more of Nepali banks to professionals and loans against share holdings. It now has the largest branch network in the private sector with 27 branches and than three trillion invest in the Indian five extension counters. A 28th branch will open soon, in Golfutar. dollars have been stock market through The bank was named ‘Bank of the year, Nepal’ by The Banker. poured into banks by various channels. With different governments, the stock market drop of but it appears that this the past six months, it Nokia on Wednesday massive attempted will take quite some opened a mobile care center at the Tamarakar bailout has not yet time for people to get Complex Mobile Plaza stemmed the crisis. their money out and (left). The financial sector back to Nepal. went too far in creating The most important dubious instruments to issue is now for the leverage brick and Central Bank and the INNOVATIVE PINS: mortar assets, and these government to look at Innovative PPL has have now become worthless bits Just because there has been a efficient regulation, without introduced a new mobile application which allows users to of paper. The epidemic has spread crisis—like many others which becoming a regime of control. Any recharge their mobile phones without to Europe and parts of Asia. So have been dealt with in the past— control-oriented mechanisms will buying a recharge card, but instead far, India has not been badly it is not necessary to experiment hit an already weak investment through electric recharge pins, which will be available in stores affected, but as it is tied to the with any other ‘isms’. Our finance climate, so the challenge is to soon. The service works on any Java-compatible set which has global economy, it surely will be. minister and other propagators of design policies and take measures been registered under Innovative PPL. Which means Nepal too will be socialistic economic models that rise above creating ‘control hit, thanks to its fixed exchange should give up those thoughts. freaks’ and instead provide CORRECTION: Due to an editing error the story in #421 about rate with India. It is therefore Nehru’s mixed economy ensured ‘facilitators’ to ensure the Nepali Hyundai cars had the wrong title. It should have been time to talk about the Beed’s India missed out on the global economy avoids the worst of the 'Responsible cars'. favourite subject: what to do in mainstream for three decades; let crisis. the long term with our exchange us learn from that lesson. www.arthabeed.com FROM THE NEPALI PRESS 24 - 30 OCTOBER 2008 #422 7 courage to flee from the clutches of the Maoists. Neither of these two names appears on the list of those affected by the war. No change Kailash Giri fled the country after his entire For the people family was thrown out of their home by the Letter to the Editor in Kantipur, 21 October Maoists. Ana Bahadur Pulami is the former secretary Rishiram Kattel in Himal Khabarpatrika, October 2008 of the VDC evicted from his house. His health The Comprehensive Peace Agreement assured that deteriorated when his co-worker was killed by the Most college graduates dream of a nice high-paying job in the city Maoists. Kasiraj Giri (Nabin), a former Maoist rebel, with a life of comfort and luxury, and join the rat race to achieve it. those killed would be honoured, their widows But not Budhinarayan Shrestha of Solukhumbu. After finishing his would get relief, their children would be granted was injured in a clash in Solu. He paid for his own bachelors at Pulchok Engineering College in Kathmandu, he went scholarships and those injured would receive medical expenses and is now a migrant worker. right back to his remote village of Dorpubajar in Salleri. Along with 11 compensation. It said seized property would be Prakash Suderi could not return to his home other students, Shrestha returned, those displaced would be resettled, the because of threats from the Maoists. Fear for his established the Young Star whereabouts of the disappeared would be made safety made Koman Bahadur Khapange vote for the Club which is involved in public and the two armies would be integrated. Maoists. His wife had earlier been assaulted implementing projects for None of this has happened so far. by them. development, health, My father, Tikaraj, was killed by the Maoists on The very Maoists who killed, looted, injured education, communication, the 28 February 2000. After eight years, I went back and displaced innocent people are now in environment. It has won the home for Dasain this year. What I saw in my village government. Increased impunity has made it easier trust of the people because of for the criminal state to threaten people. The so- its dedicated work to develop in Ramechhap was that our public institutions and Solukhumbu. “We have organisations were being shifted to other places. called peace is lifeless in the village. On the day the reached this stage only Tunaraj Giri, who had a limb amputated during the government distributed Rs 3.6 million to cadres in because of the belief in service that our friends share,” says war, did not go home the Maoist camps for Dasain, the conflict-affected Shrestha. “If we foster the feeling of community service, a lot can be for Dasain this year. Subash Giri spent Dasain were beaten by police in front of the office of the done and our work has proved it. We have contributed more towards at home. UN. Is this justice? the development of Solukhumbu than the government.” Asmita Pulami was injured in crossfire in Gyanendra Aaran Shrestha has been leading the club as its president since 1985. Sindhuli, but left the Maoists. Sapana Pulami was Member of Neka District Committee The people here look up to him as an inspiration. Says Nigma afraid to talk to me even though she once had the Ramechhap Pakhrin, manager of the Solukhumbu Edu-Communication Project: “If we had more people like him here, our district would be completely different.” SELECTED MATERIAL TRANSLATED EVERY WEEK FROM THE NEPALI PRESS 8 TREKKING Trekking jam in

Annapurna II seen from the point from which it rises up from the Marsyangdi at Chame.

here is a trekking traffic jam this autumn in Nyeshang, as Manang is called locally. The ACAP post at Dharapani has registered an average of 300 plus daily arrivals over the last two weeks. T The lodges are so packed that guides rush ahead up the trail to reserve rooms for clients. When nothing can be managed, trekkers pitch tents on the flat roofs of private houses. Many lodges and restaurants have been rented out to Gurung folks who are reaping a bonanza. Manang Valley is about as close as you can get to ‘Alpine’ terrain in Nepal. Above the gorge country beyond the district headquarters of Chame, the glacial valleys are wide and the views panoramic, amidst meadows leading up to pine forests and dwarf junipers beyond. Himal commands the western flank of the Marsyangdi Valley, while the fine and accessible ‘trekking peaks’ of Pisang, Himlung, Kangaru and many others make up the rib of the district. It was in the 1990s that the ‘Around Annapurna’ trek started becoming popular, with visitors peaking in 2000. After that, the war took its toll and trekkers slowed to a trickle. Maoist cadres along the trail charged trekkers Rs 200 a day, and trekkers dropped to 40 a day. The Maoist activity drove backpackers into the ‘tea-house trekking’ mode, which has proved a boon for local hoteliers. The number of trekking staff who used to benefit from carrying loads for camping groups and run kitchens is down drastically, however, and this has adversely affected employment. Manang will see changes as the road from Besisahar is completed in the next few years as the cliffs are blasted and landslides controlled. There are worries about what this will do to tourism, but the village committees here have agreed not to allow the road to go up to Thorung La. This season, Nyeshang reaps a tourism bonanza Rather than fret over how the road’s arrival may destroy the environment, culture and trekking, people here seem determined to adjust to it and take advantage of better access. After all, Chamonix and Zermatt did not collapse with the arrival of the motor road. Besides Thorung La and Tilicho Lake, Manang’s attractions include the Milarepa Cave above Braga, the massive bare-rock amphitheatre of ALL PICS: SHANTA DIXIT Swargadwari, the twin valleys of the Marsyangdi and Naur Khola, as Trekking traffic approaches Humde. well as the great views of the from the north. Greater access will allow trekkers to climb Manang’s midsized peaks: Himlung, Pisang, Yak and Thorung which are ideal for ‘holiday climbing’, a pastime that has not yet made its mark in a country where expedition-style and extreme-alpine-style are the standard. Last week, after acclimatising in Manang village, a French team with just a guide and a cook was off to Pisang West. The plan was to set up one high camp a day above the village, and make it to the summit the day after. In future, whether they arrive by road from Besisahar or by air at the Humde airstrip, the holiday climbers will spend a few days acclimatising on the Marsyangdi Valley with side trips to villages, glaciers, lakes, caves and ridgelines. Then they will take their pick of the mountains of Manang. Kanak Mani Dixit in Manang

Access: Nepal Airlines and Yeti offer flights to Manang’s Humde airfield from Kathmandu and . The alternative is to take a bus to Besisahar and start walking. After crossing Thorung La, take a jeep down to Jomsom to fly back, or walk to the road head at Beni. Karma Gurung of Tilicho hotel with his 'hotel is full' sign. 24 - 30 OCTOBER 2008 #422 9 n Manang

Looking back at Annapurna II from Thorung La

The motorable road to Manang is carved out of sheer rock. Swargadwari’s spectacular rock ampitheatre. 10 NATION 24 - 30 OCTOBER 2008 #422 Army The big green amalgamation The challenge of climate change is much hat happens with the PLA combatants is critical for the peace process as well as the internal dynamics of the bigger than the global financial crisis W Maoists. The rebel army did not lose the war, and past pacts have talked about a future for the fighters. NEW YORK – Amid the pressures simultaneously with the defining The country cannot afford to have thousands of war-hardened of the global financial crisis, some challenge of our era: climate young men and women disillusioned, angry and insecure. They will ask how we can afford to tackle change. not live in the cantonments forever. climate change. The better The plan urges world business The Nepal Army knows it will have to take in some of the Maoist question is: how can we afford and political leaders, including a fighters. The Maoists know that not all their soldiers can get into the army. They will have to agree not to? new US president, to help on numbers, but only after Put aside the familiar redirect resources away from the PLAIN SPEAKING public posturing and secret arguments, that the science is speculative financial engineering clear, that climate change at the root of today’s market crisis Prashant Jha bargaining. There will be a tussle represents an indisputable and into a more productive, within the NC and the army existential threat to the planet, growth-generating, and job- pushing the principle of individual entry, and the Maoists asking for and that every day we do not act creating investments for the recognition in principle of bulk entry. How it will play out depends a future. lot on what happens in the Maoist meeting next month and whether This new ‘Green Economy Puhspa Kamal Dahal or Mohan Baidya emerges the stronger. It will WORLDLY WISE Initiative’, backed by Germany, also depend on what COAS Gen Katuwal’s associates inside and Ban Ki-moon Norway, and the European outside the army tell him. He doesn’t have the strength to go to the brink by himself. Commission, arises from the Dahal needs to find a deal he can sell to his commanders, who insight that the most pressing can then go and sell it to the guerrillas in the camps. Any such deal the problem grows worse. Instead, problems we face are interrelated. will also have to allay the apprehensions of non-Maoist forces that let us make the case purely on Rising energy and commodity one party will control the entire defence establishment. bread-and-butter economics. prices helped create the global At a time when the global food crisis, which fed the economy is sputtering, we need financial crisis. This, in turn, growth. At a time when reflects global economic and unemployment in many nations population growth, with is rising, we need new jobs. At a resulting shortages of critical experienced great economic time when poverty threatens to resources: fuel, food, and clean air transformations throughout overtake hundreds of millions of and water. history: the industrial revolution, people, especially in the least The interlinked problems of the technology revolution, and developed parts of the world, we climate change, economic growth, the era of globalisation. We are need the promise of prosperity. and the environment suggest their now on the threshold of another: This possibility is at our own solution. Only sustainable the age of green economics. fingertips. development, a global embrace of Silicon Valley has been Economists at the United green growth, offers the world, investing in new renewable- Nations call for a Green New Deal. rich countries as well as poor, an energy and fuel-efficiency Thus, this week the UN enduring prospect of long-term technologies. The venture capital Environment Program (UNEP) social well-being and prosperity. firm that underwrote Google and

UNMIN will launch a plan for reviving the The good news is that we are Amazon, among other archetypal The integration debate is not global economy while dealing awakening to this reality. We have entrepreneurial successes, only about numbers, but control

The reason to be hopeful is that both armies have a history of talking to each other from the war days. The JMCC, which includes UNMIN and top military brass of both sides, has been a rare institutional success. India has enormous leverage with both sides and will not allow the process to fall apart over a row on integration. Sarala’s struggle The Indians have said the army should not be disturbed but that stance will have to evolve as we approach the endgame. The Indian Army may talk to the Nepali brass, and MEA with RAW will push the Maoists. The woman who defeated Bam Dev But the real battle here is not over numbers, but control. The army has never been as autonomous in its functioning as it is now. Gautam in the elections can’t understand It would like to retain this independence because of its deep distrust for the political parties, its antagonism towards the Maoists, how he could be made minister and its contempt for the civilian bureaucracy. The army top brass has been unaccountable for all its actions DEWAN RAI After she was declared the ministers. However, Regmi says it and finances. This is the only country where UN peacekeeping winner, every other contestant would have been better for the money goes to the army, not the state treasury. Recently, the army hen Maoist activist congratulated her except Gautam. UML if it had chosen someone transferred officers without even telling the Ministry of Defence. It Sarala Regmi defeated When she came to Kathmandu, from among its elected members. often purchases equipment on a single tender, generating huge W the UML’s Bam Dev however, Regmi did congratulate Regmi has some bad memories opportunities for kickbacks. Gautam in Bardiya in the April Gautam on being appointed of the elections. She claims For their part, the Maoists know that their political consolidation elections, she was full of hope minister. Gautam launched a smear will remain incomplete as long as the army is out of hand. They did that a new Nepal was indeed In Kathmandu, Regmi soon campaign against her for being not fight the war to get a few thousand of their soldiers into the army at junior levels. Their aim is to have both political and ideological being born. But her hopes were found the backroom wheeler- married twice. “I was hurt," she control over the military and a decisive say in the command dashed a few months later when dealing of politics unbearable, recalls. "I was not expecting it from structure. And since the elections, they can claim democratic Gautam was nominated Home and the constitution-drafting a politician like him. It revealed legitimacy to push this agenda. Minister in the coalition process was delayed by wrangling his impoverished intellect, but his But political control does not mean the Maoists or a Maoist government. over rules of procedure. Appalled dirty tricks backfired on him.” minister will control the army. It means the Ministry of Defence Regmi came to Kathmandu by the lack of a sense of urgency Regmi was married to fellow running the army affairs and not being a mere postbox. It means with high expectations that she among politicians, she returned Maoist Gyan Prasad Chalise strong all-party parliamentary defence committees keeping an eye would take part in the drafting of to Bardiya. (Ayam) in 1997, when both were on army finances and its professionalism. It means regular the new constitution. After years “A lot of people back in the underground. Chalise was arrested oversight by the whole cabinet. spent underground and facing the district ask me what I think about in 2001 and died in army For too long, the army has been in the hands of a tiny nexus of hardships of the war years, Regmi the man I defeated being made the detention in the Chisapani barrack. generals from the hill elite. Integration needs to take place for the peace process to succeed. The army has to be brought under felt the Maoist election victory home minister,” Regmi told The party later arranged her civilian control if we want politics in the country to stabilise, without was a logical outcome of her Nepali Times. “But I guess it was marriage to Gunaraj Lohani in allowing any party to think of the institution as its own fiefdom. party’s sacrifices. up to the UML to decide their 2007, pairing her with someone And the army needs to be more inclusive of the marginalised to “No one knew how the candidate for the post.” She says who had lost his wife during give diverse communities a sense of ownership and help carve a elections would turn out, but the her party had no option but to the war. new sense of nationalism. z people rewarded me with their accept the decision of coalition Regmi was among the first 60 trust,” says 39-year-old Regmi. partners UML and MJF on guerrillas to be trained to launch NATION 24 - 30 OCTOBER 2008 #42211 jobs machine

The financial crisis may slow this trend. But capital will continue to flow into green ventures. I think of it as seed money for a wholesale reconfiguration of global industry. More than two million people in the advanced industrial nations today find work in renewable energy. Brazil’s bio-fuels sector has been creating nearly a million jobs United Nations Day a year. Economists say that India, October 24 Nigeria, and Venezuela, among many others, could do the same. In Germany, environmental fight climate change by cutting technology is expected to emissions at low or even no cost, quadruple over the coming years, using only existing technologies. reaching 16 per cent of We know that the poorest of manufacturing output by 2030 and the world’s poor are the people employing more people than the most vulnerable to climate auto industry. Mexico already change. They are also the most employs 1.5 million people to vulnerable to the shocks of the plant and manage the country’s financial crisis. As world leaders, forests. we are morally bound to ensure Governments have a huge role that solutions to the global to play. With the right policies and financial crisis protect their a global framework, we can generate interests, not just the citizens of economic growth and steer it in a wealthier nations. Those left low-carbon direction. Handled behind by the previous boom (the directed more than $100 million properly, our efforts to cope with “bottom billion” living on less into new alternative energy the financial crisis can reinforce than $1 a day) must be brought companies in 2006 alone. our efforts to combat climate into the next economic era. In China, green capital change. In today’s crisis lies A solution to poverty is also a investment is expected to grow tomorrow’s opportunity: economic solution for climate change: green from $170 million in 2005 to opportunity, measured in jobs and growth. For the world’s poor, it is more than $720 million in 2008. growth. a key to development. For the China has become a world leader It is important that the global rich, it is the way of the future. in wind and solar power, public recognise this fact, perhaps Project Syndicate employing more than a million nowhere more so than in the US. people. Globally, UNEP estimates When the next American president Ban Ki-moon is Secretary-General that investment in low- takes office, voters and elected of the United Nations, and is greenhouse-gas energy will reach officials alike should be reassured visiting Kathmandu on 31 $1.9 trillion by 2020. by studies showing that the US can October.

the ‘people’s war’ in 1996. She worked as battalion commissar to a central committee member. She is now a member of Tharuwan State Committee, and sides with the faction of the party that favours a federal people’s republic. Says Regmi: “We don’t want a Bihari-style republic. The war was for liberation of the oppressed and the poor. We fought to establish a people’s republic. The battle field may have changed but the fight still continues.” She argues that there would have been no need for armed struggle had the democracy addressed the country’s structural problems. “The war dismantled the feudal structure and raised ethnic, gender and class issues, and now it is time for the state to address them,” she says. Regmi misses her young son who lives with relatives in Kailali when she is in Kathmandu. She studies, and writes when she has some free time. The rest of the time she spends strategising with party colleagues. She adds: “There is so much to do, and there is so little time. We think about our country’s future and not just about ourselves.” KIRAN PANDAY 12 NATION 24 - 30 OCTOBER 2008 #422 Ugandan parallels

here are many things here in Uganda that make a Nepali nostalgic for home, especially during the festival season. T Uganda is landlocked like Nepal, and the rolling green hills look like the midhills back home. The children love to laugh and, like Nepali children, break quickly into smiles. Ugandans are gentle, but behind their politeness is a ‘trying to figure you out’ expression and body language, something that is carried over from the country’s 22- year war, before which the country bled under the brutal dictatorship of Idi Amin. Peace and development are relative terms here. Sickened by the excesses of Amin, Obete and Okello, Ugandans have enjoyed peace since President Museveni was sworn in in army fatigues in 1986. His National Resistance Army was a highly disciplined and

NEPALI PAN organised guerrilla force that TOM OWEN-SMITH Subhadra Belbase had the support of the population, especially the TOM OWEN-SMITH running a busy schedule, wowing the UK for three days. He had just young people. in LONDON Nepali audiences worldwide. enough time for an interview Uganda’s post-conflict transformation holds lessons for Nepal, After a touring the US with before dashing off to catch a plane both successes we can emulate and mistakes we must avoid. For rashant Tamang may have (formerly of for a concert in Guwahati. Museveni, economic development was priority number one. Although dropped out of the ‘’) in September, Over the weekend, Prashant trained in Marxist ideology, he was accepted by the west for opening headlines, but he is still Prashant Tamang swept through performed two concerts and, not up the country to foreign investors. Businesses driven out by Amin P were given tax-free privileges to rebuild the economy. Roads in industrial areas ravaged by war were quickly rehabilitated and factories resumed production. Uganda’s GDP which had shrunk by 40 per cent under Amin soon returned to the prosperity of the 1970s when Uganda was called the 'pearl of Africa'. Museveni not only understood that economic Freefall over Everest development was crucial, but actually did a lot to spur growth. hile the parachutists got all the attention to Kathmandu. after the first-ever sky diving from above W Chomolungma this month, we didn’t Is it normal for such a tiny plane to fly to hear much from the pilots. almost 9,000m? Ruedi Isenschmid and Henri Schurch flew their We normally do not fly so high and for this event Pilatus Porter aircraft all the way from the Swiss we needed special permits from the Swiss village of Biel/Bienne to Kathmandu via Bahrain authorities. The jumpers and I are also using oxygen and India, and then on to the disused Syangboche for this flight. The usual altitude for such an airstrip, the world’s highest drop zone at 3,883m. aircraft is about 3,000m to 4,000m. For 10 days from 2 October, Isenschmid and Schurch took four skydivers at a time up to an What is the main challenge in taking off and altitude of 8,990m above the world’s highest landing at Syangboche? mountain so they could freefall down to When we arrived on 2 October it was the first time a Syangboche. Pilatus Porter had landed here in decades. However, On 8 October, the two pilots along with the what was much more challenging was the skydiving team stopped all jumping activities and introduction course I and my colleague Henri had to Successes Nepal can emulate observed a minute's silence to remember the 18 do in Kathmandu for Nepal’s aviation authorities. It people who had died in the Lukla plane crash. was all theoretical but the funny thing was that and mistakes we must avoid Billi Bierling spoke to Isenschmid at when I asked for the coordinates for Syangboche Syangboche after he had dropped the first three they did not know them. He built a government of national consensus and set up a broad- skydivers to freefall from above the world's highest based Constitutional Commission which travelled throughout the mountain. How did you find this tiny airstrip without country to meet tribal leaders and people from various ethnic groups. the coordinates? Their viewpoints were heard and suggestions were incorporated into the new constitution which took 10 years to write. Nepali Times: You have been a professional We got the coordinates for Lukla airport and we One wonders about our own two-year timetable for drafting the pilot for more than 30 years. How was this found the airstrip using tourist maps I had bought constitution, of which only 18 months are left. Museveni’s different? in Kathmandu. government also didn’t get distracted by politics. It used the 10 years Ruedi Isenschmid: It was a very special and to really kickstart the economy and the campaign of reconstruction amazing experience. I fly a lot in the Swiss Alps but http://www.everestskydive.com/ and rehabilitation. Will we do the same? here you are much closer to the steering limit of the http://www.highandwild.co.uk/ Besides the economy, Museveni paid special attention to aircraft. It took us an hour to climb to the required http://www.swissboogie.ch/ education and health. He became a crusader in the fight against HIV/ height. The scenery is stunning and we flew very AIDS, and Uganda is regarded as a model of how a developing close to the 8,000-metre giants and HIGH ADVENTURE: Henri Schurch (left), owner of country can successfully tackle the epidemic with public awareness Ama Dablam, the Matterhorn of and behaviour change. the Pilatus Porter, organiser of the Everest skydiving Asia. Absolute poverty was reduced from 56 per cent to 44 per cent by event, Nigel Gifford of High and Wild (centre), and 1995. Primary school enrolment jumped from 2.5 million to 6.8 pilot Ruedi Isenschmid. million. In 1986 there was only one university but by 2001 there were Was there a lot of 13. pressure to The recent controversial amendment of the Ugandan constitution perform as many to cater for another presidential term for Museveni has angered many flights as possible? outside his party—and some within his party. Squabbles and We have to do rivalries within his party are now fodder for newspaper headlines. as many flights The once-disciplined liberators are now accusing each other of as possible corruption. before the clouds Hopefully our new government will have the wisdom to invest in come in, and they health and education and propel the economy with investor-friendly normally build up policies. Let’s hope our political leaders can work together in a consensus government and not delay the constitution-making in the valley in process with endless wrangling. Fifteen thousand Nepalis sacrificed the morning. I their lives in the war. Now their souls demand nothing less. have to closely observe the clouds and if they Subhadra Belbase is country director for Plan International accumulate around the airstrip I in Uganda, and the author of the recently published book, Mero have to land very quickly. If Syangboche Nepal. z is covered up I either have to go down to the airport in Lukla or go all the way back JASON BRYANT NATION 24 - 30 OCTOBER 2008 #422 13

both in India and elsewhere. And if that’s had a good effect on politics then I’m happy.” Prashant says there is a certain ‘Nepaliness’ that united Nepalis all over the Indian idolatry world. “I live in India, but I am a Nepali. That’s why I A year after he burst on to the music scene, wanted to sing 1974 AD’s ‘Nepali ho’. That’s a great song Prashant Tamang unites Nepalis worldwide as it speaks to all Nepalis no matter where they’re living: yo surprisingly, was feeling a touch force when his friends persuaded spoke to my mother, who told is talent in Darjeeling, even man ta Nepali nai ho,” he says. groggy after being woken from his him to audition for the show. “I me that I had a fan club in though it’s a small place. And I With a record deal from jet lag to talk to Nepali Times in a was used to performing in the Darjeeling now, and that people hope that my success will help Sony and a worldwide living room in a southern Police Orchestra, but when I sang had been sending money from other Nepali singers to come performing schedule, Prashant English barrack town. in front of the cameras for the America and Europe to vote through,” says Prashant. has come a long way in the But once a cup of coffee had first time, I trembled as I knew for me.” Prashant’s victory generated past year. He now wants to washed away the cobwebs, that people all over the country But the scale of the hysteria an upbeat feeling and new- take his music and singing to a Prashant was a thoughtful and could see me. The cameras make a only really hit home when he found optimism that has higher level. articulate speaker, and still big difference.” returned to Darjeeling towards indirectly enforced the After the interview, strikingly humble despite the In the first weeks, the the end of the show and was political wave of support for Prashant is whisked away to widespread adulation to which contestants were kept met by a rally of thousands of Gorkhaland autonomy and dinner with various leading he has become accustomed. incommunicado from the outside supporters, with people created a surge of pride among lights of the local Nepali So, how has his life changed world, so Prashant had no idea of hanging from windows and Nepali-speakers across community. At his London since winning Indian Idol one the wave of support and Nepali climbing onto rooftops for a Darjeeling. concert the following night, year ago? “It’s changed pride that was surging through glimpse of him. “My heart still “I suppose it was time for women well into their thirties completely,” he says. “When I India and across the world as jumps when I remember that this to happen and it leap up on stage beside him, think about what I was doing fans tracked his progress week day,” he says. happened,” muses Prashant. only to be pulled down by before and what I’m doing now, by week. “No Nepali had ever won a “Personally I was never really security, and fans of both it’s like a different world.” “When we reached the final competition like Indian Idol interested in politics, but since sexes, young and old, crowd Prashant was training as a 10, they let us read the before, and I suppose that’s Indian Idol I think Nepalis round him when he steps commando in the Kolkata police newspaper,” he recalls. “Then I why they were so excited. There have been feeling more united, down into the stalls. 14 CITY 24 - 30 OCTOBER 2008 #422

ABOUT TOWN In Roadside Romeo, a rich spoiled brat of a dog–Romeo EXHIBITIONS (Saif Ali Khan) who was living in a mansion is somehow abandoned A way of Life- a photo show by Rajendra Manadhar, till on the depraved streets of Mumbai. Before he was living life in style- cars to drive him around, chicks to party with, however 26 October, 5PM onwards at The Bakery café, Pulchowk. when his family moves away, he is left behind to fend for himself. Kumudinee- The Lotus, an exhibition of drawings and black Faced with a completely new situation, he encounters stray dogs pottery sculptures by Kalapremi Shrestha till 28 October at who scare him initially. But with his smooth talk, he is able to find Siddhartha Art Gallery, Baber Mahal Revisited. Sunday-Friday his way into their hearts along with finding his lady-love Laila 11AM–6PM and Saturday 12PM– 4PM. 4218048 (Kareena Kapoor). However, his meeting with the dreaded Don of

Entertainment the area is his greatest challenge. EVENTS Peace Photo Award 2008 by National Forum of Photojournalist Call 4442220 for show timings at Jai Nepal

& peace for Nepal on the 24 October, 4PM, Bhirkutimandap. Quest www.jainepal.com Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory presents in Jazzmandu 08 Catia Werneck and workshop with Bossa Nova and Brazilian Jazz Quartet, 26 October. 5013554 Non-violent Communication Workshop on 26 October 9.30AM- sfd ;fgf ] 7nf" ] eGg ] x'Fb}g . kl;gfsf ] s'g} /ª / hft klg x'Fb}g . sfd 5PM, Himalayan Buddhist Meditation Centre, Keshar Mahal u/]/ vfg nhfpg' klg x'Fb}g . rf]/]/, 9fF6]/, 5n]/, n'6]/ vfg kf] g]kfn ;/sf/ Marg. 4410402 nhfpgk5' { . hf ] hxf F /x/] hg' sfd u5 { pm To;df} /dfpgk5' { uf/a} ;"rgf tyf ;~rf/ dGqfno Cultural Studies Group of Nepal presents from Sherpa culture to ugk5'{ { / ;dlkt{ eP/ ugk5'{ { . sfd g } zlQm xf,] elQm xf ] / dlQm' ;"rgf ljefu social work lecture, 31 October, 9.30 PM, Shanker Hotel New session of French classes, admissions on till 9 November, xf ] . sfdsf ] OHht u/f,}+ kl;gfsf ] ;Ddfg u/f }+ . next session starts on the 10 November-22 January at the Alliance Francaise. 4241163 Nepal Music Center’s International Folk Festival 2008: An ode to life and culture, 4-8 November. 4256909 Divinity of the common life, an artistic performance by Pierre- Alain Hubert and Karl Knapp, 7 November, 6PM, Open Theatre, Kula Manch, free event. 4241163

MUSIC Dutch Jazz Prio, jazz piano & vocal at New Orleans Café, Thamel on 26 October and New Orleans Coffee Shop, Patan on 29 October Jazzmandu 2008 till 27 October. 9841614230 Poesie and Fags a jazz vocal trio from Holland, Saturday at Patan .5522708, Sunday at Thamel.4700736. New Orleans Café, 7PM 74 Twister playing live every Tuesday at Moksh, Pulchowk. 5526212 Some like it hot every Friday BBQ and live music by Dinesh Rai and the Sound Minds, 7PM onwards, Rs 899 at Fusion, Dwarika’s Hotel. 4479488 Tuesday Melody at the Jazzabell Café, everyday happy hour 6-8PM. Happy cocktail hour, 5-7PM, Ladies night on Wednesday with live unplugged music at Jatra Café & Bar. HyJazz Club every Friday from 8.30 PM, Hyatt Regency, Kathmandu. 4489800 Dance and Cocktails at Cube Bar, Kamaladi. 4438017 WEEKEND WEATHER by NGAMINDRA DAHAL Fusion and Looza Band every Friday night, Bhumi Resto Lounge, Lazimpat. 4412193 If you carefully look at the satellite pictures this week, you will find Rudra night fusion and classical Nepali music by Shyam Nepali striking low pressure zones on the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian and friends, every Friday, 7PM at Le Meridien,Gokarna. 4451212 sea and see that it resembles monsoon-like situations. However, a Sufi music by Hemanta Rana, every Friday at 7.30 PM at Dhaba vast high pressure zone over the Tibetan Plateau has acted as Restaurant and Bar, Thapathali. powerful repellent, keeping moisture away. The high pressure system Fusion and Classical Music by Anil Shahi every Wednesday, has brought in dry cold air from the northwest and sent the rock with Rashmi Singh every Friday, Sufi & Raga with Hemant temperature plunging to two degrees below normal for this time of Rana every Saturday, 8 PM onwards, Absolute Bar. 5521408 year. The weekend and into we will have chilly nights and mornings with warm afternoon sunshine amidst a brisk breeze from DINING the west. Fusion Gourmet steaks at the Chimney restaurant till 30 Oct, 6-10PM, Yak and Yeti Hotel. 44248999 Wok & Curry every Wednesday at Hyatt Regency. 4491234 Sunday Jazz Brunch at Hyatt Regency with performances by Mariano and his band from 12- 3.30PM. 4491234 KATHMANDU Organic Salad Bar and Steak at Jalan Jalan restaurant every Friday from 6PM, Rs 650 Fusion of Marcela Regan’s new menu and Mannie’s new bar at Dhokaima Cafe. 5522113 Plat Du Jour at Hotel Shangri-la, Kathmandu, Rs 600. 4412999 Pizza & Pasta every Monday and Tuesday at Rox Restaurant. Fri Sat Sun Hyatt Regency. 448936 Pasta pesto passion at La Dolce Vita, Thamel. 4700612 Steak special with free Irish coffee at K-too! Beer & Steakhouse, Thamel. 4700043 26-11 26-11 25-10 Continental and cafe item with Live band every Friday at Vintage Cafe and Pub, Woodland Complex, Durbarmarg. Home made pasta at Alfresco, Soaltee Crowne Plaza. 4273999 Reality Bites, The Kaiser Café, Garden of Dreams, operated by Dwarika’s Group of Hotels, 9AM-10PM. 4425341 Steak escape with Kathmandu’s premier steaks at the Olive Bar and Bistro, Hotel Radisson. 4411818 Cocktails, mocktails and liqueurs at the Asahi Lounge, opening hours 1-10PM, above Himalayan Java, Thamel. Retro Brunch Barbeque with live acoustic music by Sound Chemistry, every Saturday, 12-3PM at LeMeritien-Kathmandu, Gokarna. 4451212 Starry night barbecue at Hotel Shangri-la with Live performance by Ciney Gurung, Rs. 666, at the Shambala Garden, every Friday 7PM onwards. 4412999 Kebabs and curries at the Dhaba, Thapathali. 9841290619 lly Expression Coffee at Hotel Shangrila, Lazimpat and Mandap Hotel, Thamel Socially Responsible coffee at Himalayan Java, Thamel

For inclusion in the listing send information to editors(at)nepalitimes.com HAPPENINGS 24 - 30 OCTOBER 2008 #422 15

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA THIRSTY PRESIDENT: President Ram Baran Yadav works up a thirst at the launch of a book about Ganesh Man Singh at the City Hall on Friday.

PRABIN GAUTAM SURFING IN ROLPA: Young women in Thawang learn to use a new computer installed at their local library recently set up by students of Kathmandu University and Tribhuban University as part of a joint effort to take educational materials to remote areas of Nepal.

EKAL SILWAL YAHOO: A boy jumps into the water of the Lothar river last week in Chitwan. A flash flood on this river in October 2000 killed hundreds of people. Conjugal ministeriesandfirstrelatives 16 T works. week tolearnhowfederalism Germany andSwitzerlandthis assembly membersarein august houseareinJapanand30 honourable membersofthe returned fromSouthAfrica,11 Soon afterabigNepalidelegation herds send ourMPsabroadinlarge Nepal atthepresenttimeisto decided thatthebestwaytohelp Nepal’s donorsseemtohave present intheirseats. 32 ofthe601memberswere week aftertheDasainrecess,only As thehousereconvenedlast Constituent Assemblyplenaries. do aboutabsenteeismduring nothing theyseemtobeable junkets. implemented isamoratoriumon that shouldbeimmediately the rulesofprocedure.Onerule haven’t evenbeenabletoagreeon months left,andthemembers writing processwithonly18 ticking Meanwhile, the Part ofthereasonisthat during theholidaybreak. landlordism, butthereis against absentee he Maobuddiesmaybe ontheconstitution- BACKSIDE clock is was a something new.Lastmonth,it Comrade DamDevtryingout puchhar entity CPNanddroptheMaoist parties tounite,callthenew only onewhocangetthetwo grooming himbecauseheisthe be whytheMiddleKingdomis and theMaobaddies.Whichmay the go-betweenbetweenUML he losttheelectionbecauseis is HomeMinistereventhough loose endsbeforethat.BumDev month andheneedstotiesome Republic (notours,theirs)next he hastogooffthePeople’s Leftist Godisinahurrybecause next week:banFashionTV? protests. Wonderwhatitwillbe have sincebeenrevokedamidst on thefootpath.Allthesemoves construction materialdumped started crackingdownon vendors andthisweekhehas it wastheturnofsidewalk went aftercybercafes,lastweek restaurants, twoweeksagohe Not aweekgoesbywithout curfew . FG ondance Old Fox’sstubbornness. But everyoneunderestimatesthe internationals under pressurefrom will thatdo?WehearGPisalso question iswhatfor?Whatgood join thegovernment.The desperately seekingkangresisto persistent suitor. Koirala Abodelikeanover- Bhayanak wentpersonallytothe KTM onastandbyhelicopter, Undeterred, whenhegotbackto was free.Imaginethecheek. his secretarytofindoutwhenhe brush-off andwastoldtotalk appointment. Buthegotthe Girjau onhismobiletofixan Bhayankar personallycalled Mahendranagar, Comrade developed atailrotorsnagin when RomeoAlphaGolf chopper tothefarwest,but cake premier wouldbea so hemust’vethoughttheex- all, hemettheex-kinglastweek Koirala playinghard-to-get.After one whoisdeterredbyacoy The primeminister Comrade Ferociousisnot . Hetooktheex-royal FG tostopsulking. piece of doing So whatelseisnew? readers justgaveabigwideyawn. be shocked.Butnationwide,us editors probablyexpectedusto prime ministerialentourage,their Nepalganj toaccommodatethe from SnehaandBatikahotelsin that dozensofguestswereevicted When newspapersbrokethestory turning The Baidya-Baburamriftis Whatever. with ex-royalisttycoons. cum-Body Guard)ishobnobbing (Prakash theComputerSecretary- silk saris.So?AndFirstSon Heights inNYtopickupsome India SariPalaceatJackson definitely notsurprised. some ex-jungleeVIPsis confirmed ticket,tomakewayfor over Dasaindespitehavinga bumped offadomesticflight anymore. that nothingsurprisesus voted for,toelectedtotalitarians, monarchs, todemocratsthey Nepalis aresousedto Comrade Sitawenttothe The Ass,havingbeing netagiri ugly CDO Regd No194/056/57Lalitpur, CentralRegion PostalRegd.No 04/058/59 withbothsides FG fromabsolute netas The finance andtourism. and theconjugalministriesof ministerial foreignentourage First Relativesintheprime next monthaboutthis,andof issue inthepartyconvention are reportedlygoingtoraisethe The doc’shardlinesupporters the partyareDelhi’schamchas. hints thatcertaincomradesin Indian expansionismand other things,helashesoutat secretariat inwhich,among memorandum totheparty by submittingatopsecret has madeapre-emptivestrike draws nearer,ComradeKiran party conventionnextmonth through themedia.As hurling missilesateachother ass(at)nepalitimes.com the UN? more thanNepalneeds Does theUNneedNepal Nepal’s peaceprocess. be whotakesmorecreditfor visit toNepalnextweekwill Secretary GeneralBan-KiMun’s 24 -30OCTOBER2008 big issueduringUN FG #422

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