WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 253 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 31.2 C -0.7 C Monday, November 09, 2020 | 24-07-2077 Biratnagar Jumla As winter sets in, Nepal faces double threat: Pollution and pandemic Studies around the world show the risk of Covid-19 fatality is higher with longer exposure to polluted air which engulfs the country as temperatures plummet. ARJUN POUDEL Kathmandu, relative to other cities in KATHMANDU, NOV 8 respective countries. Prolonged exposure to air pollution Last week, a 15-year-old boy from has been linked to an increased risk of Kathmandu, who was suffering from dying from Covid-19, and for the first Covid-19, was rushed to Bir Hospital, time, a study has estimated the pro- after his condition started deteriorat- portion of deaths from the coronavi- ing. The boy, who was in home isola- rus that could be attributed to the tion after being infected, was first exacerbating effects of air pollution in admitted to the intensive care unit all countries around the world. and later placed on ventilator support. The study, published in “When his condition did not Cardiovascular Research, a journal of improve even after a week on a venti- European Society of Cardiology, esti- lator, we performed an influenza test. mated that about 15 percent of deaths The test came out positive,” Dr Ashesh worldwide from Covid-19 could be Dhungana, a pulmonologist, who is attributed to long-term exposure to air also a critical care physician at Bir pollution. In Europe, the proportion Hospital, told the Post. was about 19 percent, in North “The risk of co-infection of influenza America 17 percent, and in East Asia along with coronavirus has increased it was about 27 percent. with the decrease in temperatures and Another new study by researchers POST PHOTO: DEEPAK KC increase in pollution levels.” at Harvard University has shown that Swayambhu Stupa is clear of smog in this early morning view of Kathmandu Valley from Naikap. With the onset of winter, fog combines with smoke to make air pollution more severe. That polluted air worsens the spread people infected with Covid-19 who live and severity of Covid-19 has been estab- in areas with high levels of air pollu- lished by studies across the world. tion are more likely to die from the “Air pollution has a direct and illness than those who live in less pol- strong relation with the coronavirus,” luted regions. said Dhungana. “New cases of corona- The study based on Covid-19 data of Why the idea of alternative forces is still virus, severity and deaths will the United States showed that an increase if infected patients are increase in the level of PM2.5 by just exposed to air pollution.” one microgram per cubic metre can Cases of coronavirus infections are raise the risk of death due to the coro- failing to get traction in Nepal seen more in cities notorious for air navirus infection by 11 per cent. pollution like New Delhi and >> Continued on page 2 There’s scope for new parties in the country, but those wanting to be alternative forces must win people’s trust and have clear ideologies, analysts say. POST FILE PHOTOS Bibeksheel Sajha Party and Naya Shakti Party wanted to establish themselves as alternatives to the established parties but the people rejected them in the provincial and federal elections of 2017. The forces are now reorganising themselves. BINOD GHIMIRE party as a “new force”. Today, for decades. KATHMANDU, NOV 8 Bhattarai is a leader of the Janata “Those in alternative politics think Samajbadi Party Nepal. their success lies in the failure of the During the 2017 elections, the electoral The Naya Shakti Party first merged traditional forces. That’s not true,” battle between Nepali Congress stal- with Samajbadi Party Nepal in May Surya Raj Acharya, who quit Sajha wart Prakash Man Singh and 2019. Then a merger between Party in July this year, told the Post. Bibeksheel Sajha Party’s candidate Samajbadi Party Nepal and Rastriya “They have to connect with the people journalist-turned-politician Rabindra Janata Party Nepal in April formed to earn their trust. Making comments Mishra in the prestigious Kathmandu Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal. on social media and issuing press Constituency 1 was neck in neck right The Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal statements as reactions won’t give till the finish. If Singh had been beat- too says that it wants to emerge as an anyone political momentum.” en that would have been a statement. alternative force that could counter Acharya’s assessment seems to ring But he prevailed. the traditional political parties. somewhat true. Bibeksheel Sajha was a newcomer However, the discourse on alterna- After the merger of the two big com- in Nepal’s political scene and had tive forces that got quite some traction munist forces—CPN-UML and CPN been formed only in July 2017 after the in the lead up to the 2017 elections and (Maoist Centre)—the Nepal merger of the Ujwal Thapa-led thereafter seems to be on the wane, if Communist Party was born. With a Bibeksheel Party, born out of a social it is not completely lost somewhere. strong mandate handed to it, the movement against price rise and cor- Establishing a political identity is Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is cur- ruption and the Rabindra Mishra-led not easy, as the newcomers found out, rently governing the country. The Sajha Party. according to analysts. A new party Nepali Congress is the main opposi- Since then it has virtually disap- first needs to win the people’s trust, tion. Both the ruling and opposition peared. The party even split. they say. parties have faced the charges of fail- Another party that made a foray “A party needs pro-people agenda ing on their fronts. into Nepal’s political spectrum, with and a leadership with integrity to get Despite the failure of the two major big newspaper ads and a mass gather- established among the people,” said parties, often called traditional par- ing at Dashrath Stadium in Shyam Shrestha, a left-leaning politi- ties for their existence for decades, the Kathmandu, was Naya Shakti Party cal analyst. “I don’t see that in the discourse on alternative forces has Nepal. The party was formed by existing forces.” failed to gain traction. Baburam Bhattarai, a Maoist leader While Bhattarai himself was the According to Puranjan Acharya, a who quit the party just 11 days after sole Naya Shakti leader to secure a political analyst with close ties the promulgation of the constitution seat, Bibeksheel Sajha failed to make with the Nepali Congress, despite in 2015. As the name suggested, it to the House of Representatives. growing distrust among the younger Bhattarai wanted to establish his Bibeksheel Sajha Party had fought generation towards the traditional in 60 parliamentary seats across parties, those claiming to be the “new the country. To their credit, they forces” are failing to cash in on the won three seats in the Bagmati opportunity. provincial assembly. “There are a lot many agendas that There, however, was general the alternative forces can raise,” said understanding among a section Puranjan. “First and foremost, they of people, especially from need to interact more with the general urban centres, that both Naya populace.” Shakti and Bibeksheel Sajha According to Acharya, who also could at least be able to show served as an advisor to former prime their presence given the minister Girija Prasad Koirala, those growing disenchantment among claiming to be alternative forces need people with the political parties to change their working style. that have governed the country >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K MONDAY, NOVEMBER 09, 2020 | 02 NATIONAL Sudurpaschim’s agriculture subsidy plan for returnees falls short Eighty thousand migrant workers have applied for the government grant prepared for only 5,000. ARJUN SHAH on the applicant from his/her local DHANGADHI, NOV 8 units. We also have to go through each proposal. This led to the delay. But An agriculture subsidy programme now all the districts are ready to targeted at returnee migrant workers implement the programme,” Awasthi in Sudurpaschim Province has said. received an overwhelming number of According to the ministry, many applications, so much so that the pro- applications have been registered for vincial government does not know beekeeping, goat keeping, pig keeping, how to shortlist the candidates. and poultry farming. According to the Ministry of Land “We plan to provide Rs 30,000 as Management, Agriculture and seed money for agro-businesses and a Cooperatives, it received 80,000 appli- maximum of Rs 60,000 for livestock cations for the programme that is sup- development,” said Awasthi. posed to benefit only 5,000 people. Maximum number of applicants The provincial government had are from Kailali district. sought applications through all nine According to the data of the district-based offices of the Ministry Ministry of Social Development, an of Land Management, Agriculture estimated 300,000-400,000 migrant and Cooperatives. The applications workers have returned to were collected from all 88 local units Sudurpaschim Province since the of the province. start of the pandemic. Among them, The call for application began in the over 150,000 are from India alone. last week of August. On September 1, Officials say many people who had the provincial government had also applied for the subsidy programme issued a notice directing migrant have started returning to India with POST PHOTO: ELITE JOSHI workers not to return to India in no job prospects in the country.