2006-06-17
Pionier Jawa 50cc - my first motorbike - 1963
Saw this bike in village Selec, 5 km upstream from my grandparents´ house. I recollect the freedom this apparition gave me, my first pub-dances, and my first drunk-driving.
It was a bitch to remove all that superlfuous fairing, and even harder to put it back - always few screws short. But for 1960-ties it was great design. One must not forget that till that year - 1963 - Cezchoslovakia made 65% of world´s bikes! Then the Japanese started, today it´s the Indians and Japanes making millions of two-wheelers...
2006-03-21
Friend gravely wounded.
A boy from village, now a strong young man, a friend to our boys and a friend of mine, had a miraculous escape yesterday morning. First the news fro0m NepalEyes.com:
-----
I have not yet seen him in the Army Hospital in Chhauni, but our doughter called me after visit:
B. (until we win, no names!) and his group were ambushed by the MaoBadBoyz without warning while walking through a village to remove blockade of water channel in Dapche, East of Dulikhel, Namo Budha, abt. 40 km E of the Valley. Yes, the BAD Royal Army of Rapists according to the Divine Communists, went to help the people! For this the bastards were waiting in farmhouses and opened up withou warning. B., as his fellow Gurkhas, was instantly hit. The bullet pierced his side, bypassing (I stop usind the word MIRACULOUS, it will be too repetitive...) any vital organs: liver, stomach, spleen or bone!!! He kind-of lost conciousness, but felt being kicked as some voices said: "This one is ALSO dead!". They took his M16 rifle and left him for dead. All around were his friends, dead or dying...
This is, as said, from second, daughter's hand. I'm going tomorrow to see him, if they let me in.
This sympático guy came back home just 3 weeks ago from UN-deployment in (East-) Congo and we had long talk about the situation there and his experiences, while his 18-months old daughter run around in these silly chinese sneakers with irritating squeaking sound and blue/red LED lights, chasing/being chased by our dogs, as large as this tiny tot... He got a week holiday, after 6 months in the african jungle! , then back to nepali one...
I pray for this guy, may Shiva give him strength and he return to his family here in the village!
Jai Shiva!
| 13 security personnel, 1 Maoist killed in Kavre clash | ||
| Nepaleyes Report Kathmandu, March 21 | ||
At least 13 Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) soldiers and a Maoist were killed in a clash at Dapcha area of Chhatrebanjh VDC-6 in Kavre district Monday. A local man and three other security men were also injured in the incident. The clash that ensued after the rebels attacked a group of security personnel that had gone to resume the water supply at Dapcha, which had been blocked by Maoists. The clash had lasted for about two hours. A press release issued by Ministry of Defense confirmed death toll on RNA side. It also claimed that casualty on the side of Maoists was also quite high. However, Maoists dismissing the Ministry's assertion confirmed the death of their battalion commander Chaturman Tamang alias Anish. They also said three of their cadres were injured in the incident. | ||
-----
I have not yet seen him in the Army Hospital in Chhauni, but our doughter called me after visit:
B. (until we win, no names!) and his group were ambushed by the MaoBadBoyz without warning while walking through a village to remove blockade of water channel in Dapche, East of Dulikhel, Namo Budha, abt. 40 km E of the Valley. Yes, the BAD Royal Army of Rapists according to the Divine Communists, went to help the people! For this the bastards were waiting in farmhouses and opened up withou warning. B., as his fellow Gurkhas, was instantly hit. The bullet pierced his side, bypassing (I stop usind the word MIRACULOUS, it will be too repetitive...) any vital organs: liver, stomach, spleen or bone!!! He kind-of lost conciousness, but felt being kicked as some voices said: "This one is ALSO dead!". They took his M16 rifle and left him for dead. All around were his friends, dead or dying...
This is, as said, from second, daughter's hand. I'm going tomorrow to see him, if they let me in.
This sympático guy came back home just 3 weeks ago from UN-deployment in (East-) Congo and we had long talk about the situation there and his experiences, while his 18-months old daughter run around in these silly chinese sneakers with irritating squeaking sound and blue/red LED lights, chasing/being chased by our dogs, as large as this tiny tot... He got a week holiday, after 6 months in the african jungle! , then back to nepali one...
I pray for this guy, may Shiva give him strength and he return to his family here in the village!
Jai Shiva!
2006-03-11
Rain !
After 5 months, longest according to the British Embassy 100-year records!, yesterday the clouds not only threatened, they DELIVERED! Our potatoes look dark-green, shiny this morning, winter wheat straighter... I can AGAIN see from my terrace across the Velley to Pathan and hills above Dakshinkali. Our little puppy never knew rain and is perplexed and shivering.
From NewslineNepal
From NewslineNepal
| Rain God Greets Kathmandu, Finally | |
 | |
| 2006-03-10 06:42:09 |  |
NLN Correspondent, KATHMANDU:
The available data of the department showed that the capital normally receives 54 ml rainfall annually during the winter season. | |
2006-03-08
Where is our Pinochet?
I am truly depressed by developments in Nepal. I didn't have any apetite to blog (for 3 weeks!!!) and comment on this sorry state of affairs. HM blew it - he didn't go the whole nine yards of Pinochet when he took over last year, while he could...
And now he, and the whole Nepal, is paying the price: Like the good ole' Osama been Loaded said - the parties - and the citizens in general - like the STRONG HORSE. And HM looks a lot like a lame one. If he had listened to his inner voice (and mine!) he would have hanged the people responsible for the rise of MaoBad Boyz and he would have gained respect. And more respect would come if he had expelled anyone: foreigner, ambassador, "human rights" campaigner, ANYONE who as much as squeek-ed about "this war is unwinable". And pulled Nepali soldiers from Congo defending who knows what and let them defend their farms and homes. He could have put the country on war footing, make the same conditions for Kathmanduites as for their brethren livng under in the hills, so no one will have any illusion there IS A WAR GOING ON: close dancing halls, concerts, cinemas, restaurants to close at 6PM. Finger-tip scanners with GSM-phone connected to Police database, ID cards for everyone in the Valley
7 March, 2006
NEPAL
Maoist rebels sell looted petrol to raise funds
by Prakash Dubey
Attacks on tankers are followed by cheap oil sales in villages. Experts say the rebels are running short of money.
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) ? Maoist rebels are stealing and selling petroleum products to raise funds since the decline pf the lucrative marijuana trade. On 25 February, in the southwest district of Banke (500km from Kathmandu), the rebels seized nine tankers of the Nepal Oil Corporation and distributed around one million litres of petroleum products at a price less than the official rate of 6.5 rupees per litre. The 18 drivers were released on the night of 27 February and handed over to human rights activists.
One activist who secured their release said: ?The Maoists said they would distribute the petroleum products among the poor villagers at a minimum price, to help them. They further contended that the tankers belonged to rich bourgeoisie elements who exploit the people.? He said the rebels refused to return the tankers although they were private property but at least, they did not blow them up as they did on 24 February in Kavre district. Another two tankers were seized in Chitwan district, near the Rapti River, on 25 February.
Naveen Karki, an economist, told AsiaNews: ?It?s not precise to say the Maoists distribute petroleum to help the poor. Rather, they sell the stolen petroleum in villages through people to who they give a good commission. They must find funds to cover their daily needs, as incessant army offensives against them have weakened their economic hold in areas where they used to get money from people. I am sure Maoists will target other economic installations to procure funds.?
Karki added: ?Another source of easy money for the Maoists has been the multi-million cultivation of marijuana in the country?s northern districts. Now, the marijuana trade is protected by the army, the government and political parties, but the true beneficiaries were the Maoists. However in recent times, Indian security forces have stepped up anti-smuggling operations and the drug trade in Nepal has collapsed. The rebels have lost millions of rupees per week. This is why they have taken to looting private tankers, unlike in the past, when they
looted or destroyed oil tankers intended for security purposes.?
And now he, and the whole Nepal, is paying the price: Like the good ole' Osama been Loaded said - the parties - and the citizens in general - like the STRONG HORSE. And HM looks a lot like a lame one. If he had listened to his inner voice (and mine!) he would have hanged the people responsible for the rise of MaoBad Boyz and he would have gained respect. And more respect would come if he had expelled anyone: foreigner, ambassador, "human rights" campaigner, ANYONE who as much as squeek-ed about "this war is unwinable". And pulled Nepali soldiers from Congo defending who knows what and let them defend their farms and homes. He could have put the country on war footing, make the same conditions for Kathmanduites as for their brethren livng under in the hills, so no one will have any illusion there IS A WAR GOING ON: close dancing halls, concerts, cinemas, restaurants to close at 6PM. Finger-tip scanners with GSM-phone connected to Police database, ID cards for everyone in the Valley
7 March, 2006
NEPAL
Maoist rebels sell looted petrol to raise funds
by Prakash Dubey
Attacks on tankers are followed by cheap oil sales in villages. Experts say the rebels are running short of money.
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) ? Maoist rebels are stealing and selling petroleum products to raise funds since the decline pf the lucrative marijuana trade. On 25 February, in the southwest district of Banke (500km from Kathmandu), the rebels seized nine tankers of the Nepal Oil Corporation and distributed around one million litres of petroleum products at a price less than the official rate of 6.5 rupees per litre. The 18 drivers were released on the night of 27 February and handed over to human rights activists.
One activist who secured their release said: ?The Maoists said they would distribute the petroleum products among the poor villagers at a minimum price, to help them. They further contended that the tankers belonged to rich bourgeoisie elements who exploit the people.? He said the rebels refused to return the tankers although they were private property but at least, they did not blow them up as they did on 24 February in Kavre district. Another two tankers were seized in Chitwan district, near the Rapti River, on 25 February.
Naveen Karki, an economist, told AsiaNews: ?It?s not precise to say the Maoists distribute petroleum to help the poor. Rather, they sell the stolen petroleum in villages through people to who they give a good commission. They must find funds to cover their daily needs, as incessant army offensives against them have weakened their economic hold in areas where they used to get money from people. I am sure Maoists will target other economic installations to procure funds.?
Karki added: ?Another source of easy money for the Maoists has been the multi-million cultivation of marijuana in the country?s northern districts. Now, the marijuana trade is protected by the army, the government and political parties, but the true beneficiaries were the Maoists. However in recent times, Indian security forces have stepped up anti-smuggling operations and the drug trade in Nepal has collapsed. The rebels have lost millions of rupees per week. This is why they have taken to looting private tankers, unlike in the past, when they
looted or destroyed oil tankers intended for security purposes.?
2006-02-15
Post Election Frenzy
Now that Prachanda threatened HM the King with trial and execution if he didn't take the hint "to go to exile", there come reactions from ordinary nepalis:
| National culture refutes Maoist violence | ||
| by Prakash Dubey | ||
Negative feedback has greeted the rebel leader's statements against the king. And the Supreme Court has released the former premier, detained since July. | ||
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) Statements made yesterday by the Maoist rebels have not been well received. Meanwhile, the former prime minister has been released. King Gyanendra "must leave the country", said Prachanda, leader of the Maoist rebels, in an interview broadcast on 12 February, the tenth anniversary of the revolt. Or else, added the leader, the king should stand trial in a people's court. "This statement is preposterous in the backdrop of the recent emerging political scenario of the country when a milieu of dialogue is being built up among all political forces," Ravikant Mishra, a human rights activist and political scientist told AsiaNews. In November, the Maoist rebels and a coalition of political parties which oppose absolute power for the monarchy reached an agreement regarding pluralistic democracy, a referendum about the monarchy and the renunciation of violence. At the beginning of the month, Prachanda said in another interview that he was willing to dialogue with the king to resolve the crisis gripping the country that had claimed some 13,000 lives. "But all of a sudden Prachanda has changed his stand like a chameleon and is demanding that the king face exile or execution. This is inauspicious for peace in the country and could precipitate worst violence," added Mishra. "Prachanda must not forget that the Nepalese culture is rooted in non-violence despite the ongoing spate of killings and bloodshed unleashed by both army and Maoists," said Norbert Rai, a lawyer in eastern Nepal. "Our law does not provide for execution or capital punishment even for an ordinary man, let alone the king whom Nepalese people consider as divine." Such statements, he continued, could only "reinforce the people's conviction that the Maoists have a culture of violence and blood and they cannot become heralds of peace in the country". "People want peace and reconciliation" and these statements "will only alienate the people from the Maoists and political parties allied with them". --- An official from Deuba's party, Dip Kumar Upadhaya, said: "This is a victory for democracy and a humiliating defeat for the royal regime." ---- As "failed" states go, this is AMAZING development - despite hoarse calls about Palace Dicatorship etc. - the Supreme Court of "failed state" orders sworn enemies of HMK to be released, and the State complies. Some "failed state" ! | ||
2006-02-07
Panauti attacked.
Last night the MaoBadBoyz probed the defences of the Valley for the third time - this time from the East. After the Thankot Massacre last month (West of Kathmandu, on the way down to India) and big clashes at the end of January with aerial bombardment of Makwanpur villages (South), now came coordinated assault on Panauti with diversionary faints at Dulikhel (district HQ) and Banepa - only 25 km E of the centre! Details are still ariving.
I know the area well, actualy this is the part of the country I feel most about, just like a home: Indu hails from a small village 2 HR uphill from Panauti, she still has some land there though her Father and Mother passed away in the past 18 months. I went up there gladly many times since 1984, and in the village I savoured the simple Nepali life: spicy greasy chicken, jhar (beer-like concoction) and dnces by villages in the moonlight. Power and water came only in the last 5 years. With the great gompa of Namo Bouddha presiding over the plain we went swimming down to Roshi Khola and watched a tribe of monkeys doing their antics on opposite shore - too steep even for goats to graze, so it was left to monkeys. This was where I first saw bombed out school in the village and abandoned, burnt-out Police posts. 40 km from Civilization! It seemed more absurd then anything Kafka wrote...
Info sofar from NepalNews:
I know the area well, actualy this is the part of the country I feel most about, just like a home: Indu hails from a small village 2 HR uphill from Panauti, she still has some land there though her Father and Mother passed away in the past 18 months. I went up there gladly many times since 1984, and in the village I savoured the simple Nepali life: spicy greasy chicken, jhar (beer-like concoction) and dnces by villages in the moonlight. Power and water came only in the last 5 years. With the great gompa of Namo Bouddha presiding over the plain we went swimming down to Roshi Khola and watched a tribe of monkeys doing their antics on opposite shore - too steep even for goats to graze, so it was left to monkeys. This was where I first saw bombed out school in the village and abandoned, burnt-out Police posts. 40 km from Civilization! It seemed more absurd then anything Kafka wrote...
Info sofar from NepalNews:
Security forces and Maoists clashed in Panauti in Kavre from Monday evening. The rebels targeted RNA base camp at Gorakhnath hilltop. The Maoists also attacked the Panauti Municipality office. Though the Maoists have reportedly taken into their control some security personnel deployed in the municipality office, there was no official confirmation. Locals said the Maoists, after attacking Panauti, headed towards Dhunkharka in three buses at 11:00 p.m.
2006-02-06
Maoist Band, Day II.
Hazy weather hungs over the Valley, sun shines strongly through only at midday, and it's hardly seen when it sets above Thankot. The temperatures are nice, max. hovering around 23°C. Nepalis are used to BANDHS now, having survived about 100 of them. It suits their easy-going, unstressed daily life - a day, or as is the case now, a week off! Why taking chances with your motorbike or car - there is no remedy from insurance and HMG's reimbursmenet scheme is hazy as the weather. Bike/car is a substantial investment - so better take the day off, if you can...
But the idyl - except for a report of a torched bus bellow Kathmandu yesterday- couldn't last! The Liberators of Mankind showed their terrorist teeth and shot dead a hapless taxi driver tonight:
So this means there will be NO taxis inside the Ring Road tomorrs, and much less trafic. Poor chap, that somebody will execute for doing just his job and provide for family! Think of this offer of the senseless Communism, the 100,000,001 in row! May this murederous ideology never wins in Nepal!
But the idyl - except for a report of a torched bus bellow Kathmandu yesterday- couldn't last! The Liberators of Mankind showed their terrorist teeth and shot dead a hapless taxi driver tonight:
Taxi driver shot dead in Kathmandu (7:40 p.m.)
An unidentified group of people has shot dead a taxi driver in Kathmandu on Monday?the second day of nationwide shutdown strike called by the Maoist rebels.
According to police, Jitendra Shrestha was shot dead at around 6:30 p.m. on Monday just near the gate of B & B hospital at Ring Road of Kathmandu by one of the two passengers who were traveling in the same taxi (plate no. Ba 1 Ja 8884).
The bill in the taxi showed only Rs thirty-two, according to police.
Police quoted local eyewitnesses as saying that the assailants immediately fled. Shrestha succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment.
Police said the assailants had used a Chinese-made pistol to attack Shrestha-- a resident of nearby district of Dhading.
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack on an unarmed civilian earning his bread. Police blame Maoists for the attack. There has been no word from the rebels regarding the incident as yet.
The incident came as a large number of taxis and private vehicles were seen plying in the streets of Kathmandu (with their plate nos. covered) defying the week-long strike called by the Maoists. Only few vehicles took to the streets of the capital on Sunday.
The rebels have called the strike as part of their bid to disrupt municipal polls slated on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the government?s spokesman, Shrish Shumsher Rana, told a press conference that the government had made adequate security arrangements ahead of the polls. He even asked people to go out for voting by shedding off any kind of fear.
Armed security personnel were guarding major thoroughfares of the capital today. Royal Nepalese Army personnel could be seen standing guard in front of polling booths and ward offices of Kathmandu municipality.
Most of the shops in main roads remained closed while shops in the inner parts of the city were open. Schools, colleges and private offices remained closed for the second day on Monday due to the strike. nepalnews.com by Feb 06 06
So this means there will be NO taxis inside the Ring Road tomorrs, and much less trafic. Poor chap, that somebody will execute for doing just his job and provide for family! Think of this offer of the senseless Communism, the 100,000,001 in row! May this murederous ideology never wins in Nepal!
2006-02-04
Week of trials & tribulations ahead.
Another test of wills is awaiting the hapless nation. From tomorrow, and for a week more, we'll have to endure MaoBdBoyz Diktat and stay home and eat rice... well if you have any. There are countless thousands in the Valley who live by daily wages - from taxi- and rickshaw- drivers to porters and bus conductors. The low bottom of the social pyramid, supposedly these are the guys the Prachanda brigade is living in the jungles for - and what are they supposed to live on for ENTIRE week?
So I suspect the BANDH will be observed on Sunday seriously, everybody calling on (landlines and post-paid mobiles only!) friends and relatives around the Valley, and when they start to see that the terror is mostly in the mind of the beholder, and driven by empty stomach and desire to see family, the BANDH will start to unravell on Monday. So on Tuesday the MaoBadBoyz will do something, in their twisted eyes, spectacular - set a fire to some intrepid bus, with people inside, just to make statement, just to show how incompetent HMG is.
Just like tonight on the ever-so condescending and Palace-hating KANTIPUR TV the usual suspects: the self-appointed, foreign-financed guardians of Human Rights with straight face postulated and fumigated that it was the Home (Police) Minister, the able Kamal THAPA who through his INTRANSIGENCE has somehow provoked the MaoBadBoyz into attacking and bruning down Tansen!
So I made my preparations - I have hoarded all of 5 l petrol and will start cruising on my BULLET on empty roads tomorrow: no dust and smoke, no TATA buses trying to kill me, wellm maybe MaoBadboyz! Best days for cruising are BANDH days! And they can shoot me, J have lived long enough, and who knows, I might show some hope, and courage to frightened Nepalis!
Jai Nepal!
So I suspect the BANDH will be observed on Sunday seriously, everybody calling on (landlines and post-paid mobiles only!) friends and relatives around the Valley, and when they start to see that the terror is mostly in the mind of the beholder, and driven by empty stomach and desire to see family, the BANDH will start to unravell on Monday. So on Tuesday the MaoBadBoyz will do something, in their twisted eyes, spectacular - set a fire to some intrepid bus, with people inside, just to make statement, just to show how incompetent HMG is.
Just like tonight on the ever-so condescending and Palace-hating KANTIPUR TV the usual suspects: the self-appointed, foreign-financed guardians of Human Rights with straight face postulated and fumigated that it was the Home (Police) Minister, the able Kamal THAPA who through his INTRANSIGENCE has somehow provoked the MaoBadBoyz into attacking and bruning down Tansen!
So I made my preparations - I have hoarded all of 5 l petrol and will start cruising on my BULLET on empty roads tomorrow: no dust and smoke, no TATA buses trying to kill me, wellm maybe MaoBadboyz! Best days for cruising are BANDH days! And they can shoot me, J have lived long enough, and who knows, I might show some hope, and courage to frightened Nepalis!
Jai Nepal!
2006-02-01
This is the secret: Foreign remittances!
One of the reasons HMG is is immune to pleading of its donors, the EU and various foreign do-gooders is the million plus Nepalis in Malaysia and Gulf. That might be the BEST development of the sad, slow and bloody civil War: to wean the nepali-elites, especially the NGO and TOYOTA Talibans off the foreign-aid tit! You want a TOYOTA: work hard and buy one!
Nepal is a poor country, but Nepalis are rich.
As Nepal economy weakens, one export grows: people
KATHMANDU: With Nepal?s finances in shambles due to a deadly Maoist revolt and mounting political turmoil, the country has found a new export - its people - to help keep its economy going.
About 1.2mn Nepalis are estimated to live abroad, and that does not include uncounted millions in India.
Last year they sent back $1.1bn - up 17% from the previous year - an amount that accounted for 12% of Nepal?s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
?People can?t stay in their villages because of the political situation and the Maoists,? said Narendra Raj Shreshtha of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies.
?All the young people are going abroad and mostly old people are left in towns outside Kathmandu.?
More than 180,000 people left Nepal last year for work abroad, government figures show, four times the number who left five years ago.
The Maoist insurgency that began a decade ago and political upheaval aggravated by King Gyanendra?s seizure of absolute power last year have pushed increasing numbers of Nepalis to seek better lives elsewhere.
Economists say it is the money these Nepalis send back for relatives that has been vital for the desperately poor Himalayan nation?s economy even as the Maoist conflict and political instability have escalated.
?This is the flip side of insurgency, as unfortunate as it is, that overseas remittances are increasing,? said Sultan Hafeez Rahman, ADB director for Nepal.
?Remittances are one of the great equalisers in otherwise inequitable economies. People who go abroad are randomly and evenly distributed from across the country,? and the money they send home is evenly spread, he said.
King Gyanendra dismissed the government on February 1, 2005, promising to end the Maoist revolt that has claimed over 12,000 lives.
But with continuing rebel attacks, protests and government crackdowns on dissent, peace looks far off and the number of Nepalis leaving the country of 26mn nestled between India and China is only expected to grow.
While worker remittances have been a boon for the country where 31% of the population live below the poverty line, the money sent home cannot match the conflict-related loss.
?Remittances have helped but they cannot offset the decrease in investment in infrastructure, education and health,? said the ADB?s Rahman.
In the 1990s, annual economic growth averaged a healthy 4.9% but this figure dropped to an average of 1.9% between 2002 and 2004, according to the ADB.
Tourism, which was the kingdom?s economic lifeblood, has also slowed sharply. It contributed around 4% to GDP in the 1990s but in the last financial year to July 2005 kicked in just 2%.
Arrivals by air, which peaked at half a million in 1999, numbered about 270,000 last year, government figures show.
?If there wasn?t a conflict, tourism wouldn?t have been as hard hit. Nepal has major potential in tourism but none of this investment has taken place for 10 years now,? said Rahman.
The money earned from tourism was just $143mn in the fiscal year that ended in July 2005, down from $246mn a year earlier, according to the ADB.
?There is hardly 25 to 30% hotel occupancy,? said Narendra Bajracharya, head of the Hotel Association of Nepal.
Adding to the economic woes is the disruption caused by Maoist roadblocks outside the capital, government curfews and party-led strikes. These have made it difficult for businesses to operate normally, let alone grow.
?Transportation costs will jump. Industries have already cut down production - they can?t compete, they can?t supply,? said Badri Prasad Ojha, director general of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Furthermore, after the king?s takeover, some international donors and lenders curtailed aid. The World Bank suspended a $70mn credit to Nepal, saying it would need to see how the government implemented development spending and economic reforms.
Development spending, a large part of which comes from donor aid, has fallen by a third since 2001.
?In the case of government-to-government assistance, when local government is dysfunctional, it?s difficult to get the money to the community,? said Minty Pande, country director of the development organisation Plan, which like other international NGOs with local networks has continued its projects.
?Now is not the time to leave Nepal,? said Pande. ?Now is the time to give assistance, but give it as directly as possible.? - AFP
Nepal is a poor country, but Nepalis are rich.
As Nepal economy weakens, one export grows: people
About 1.2mn Nepalis are estimated to live abroad, and that does not include uncounted millions in India.
Last year they sent back $1.1bn - up 17% from the previous year - an amount that accounted for 12% of Nepal?s gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
?People can?t stay in their villages because of the political situation and the Maoists,? said Narendra Raj Shreshtha of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies.
?All the young people are going abroad and mostly old people are left in towns outside Kathmandu.?
More than 180,000 people left Nepal last year for work abroad, government figures show, four times the number who left five years ago.
The Maoist insurgency that began a decade ago and political upheaval aggravated by King Gyanendra?s seizure of absolute power last year have pushed increasing numbers of Nepalis to seek better lives elsewhere.
Economists say it is the money these Nepalis send back for relatives that has been vital for the desperately poor Himalayan nation?s economy even as the Maoist conflict and political instability have escalated.
?This is the flip side of insurgency, as unfortunate as it is, that overseas remittances are increasing,? said Sultan Hafeez Rahman, ADB director for Nepal.
?Remittances are one of the great equalisers in otherwise inequitable economies. People who go abroad are randomly and evenly distributed from across the country,? and the money they send home is evenly spread, he said.
King Gyanendra dismissed the government on February 1, 2005, promising to end the Maoist revolt that has claimed over 12,000 lives.
But with continuing rebel attacks, protests and government crackdowns on dissent, peace looks far off and the number of Nepalis leaving the country of 26mn nestled between India and China is only expected to grow.
While worker remittances have been a boon for the country where 31% of the population live below the poverty line, the money sent home cannot match the conflict-related loss.
?Remittances have helped but they cannot offset the decrease in investment in infrastructure, education and health,? said the ADB?s Rahman.
In the 1990s, annual economic growth averaged a healthy 4.9% but this figure dropped to an average of 1.9% between 2002 and 2004, according to the ADB.
Tourism, which was the kingdom?s economic lifeblood, has also slowed sharply. It contributed around 4% to GDP in the 1990s but in the last financial year to July 2005 kicked in just 2%.
Arrivals by air, which peaked at half a million in 1999, numbered about 270,000 last year, government figures show.
?If there wasn?t a conflict, tourism wouldn?t have been as hard hit. Nepal has major potential in tourism but none of this investment has taken place for 10 years now,? said Rahman.
The money earned from tourism was just $143mn in the fiscal year that ended in July 2005, down from $246mn a year earlier, according to the ADB.
?There is hardly 25 to 30% hotel occupancy,? said Narendra Bajracharya, head of the Hotel Association of Nepal.
Adding to the economic woes is the disruption caused by Maoist roadblocks outside the capital, government curfews and party-led strikes. These have made it difficult for businesses to operate normally, let alone grow.
?Transportation costs will jump. Industries have already cut down production - they can?t compete, they can?t supply,? said Badri Prasad Ojha, director general of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Furthermore, after the king?s takeover, some international donors and lenders curtailed aid. The World Bank suspended a $70mn credit to Nepal, saying it would need to see how the government implemented development spending and economic reforms.
Development spending, a large part of which comes from donor aid, has fallen by a third since 2001.
?In the case of government-to-government assistance, when local government is dysfunctional, it?s difficult to get the money to the community,? said Minty Pande, country director of the development organisation Plan, which like other international NGOs with local networks has continued its projects.
?Now is not the time to leave Nepal,? said Pande. ?Now is the time to give assistance, but give it as directly as possible.? - AFP
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