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The latest forecast of the Central Bureau of Statistics that the national economy will grow by 6.81 percent this fiscal is encouraging. The above-six percent growth, for the third year in a row, has never been attained in over two decades. This kind of sustainable (and increasing) growth is partly the outcome of political stability. The ending of load-shedding has also boosted our industries and businesses. As tourism picks up after the low of the 2015 earthquake and the subsequent blockade, hotels and restaurants are doing a roaring business. Good rainfall has ensured plentiful harvests.

Thus 6.81 percent growth is something to celebrate, any way you look at it. It has, for instance, contribut­ed to an increase in the annual income of a Nepali by around Rs 14,000 in a year. The proportion of those living under the poverty line is steadily declining. So far so good. But it would be an incomplete assessment of the Nepali economy if we don’t dig deeper into these numbers. A big reason for the high GDP growth is the boom in construction, which is fueled by loans from banks and financial institutions. Such loans also boost vehicle ownership. Economists warn that the econ­omy is overheating because of such unproductive spending, and a crash might be imminent. The good numbers do not reveal the whole picture.

The only way to achieve long-term economic pros­perity is to ensure more, and timely, investment in the productive sector: rather than erect credit-supported private apartments, build good roads and airports. Instead of spending most of our foreign reserves on imports, channel more into improving the local busi­ness climate. The state should also invest in quality education and healthcare for all Nepalis. But the oppo­site is happening. Over the past few years, the spending in productive sectors has been half the level of spend­ing in unproductive activities.

While the federal government seems committed to handing out various kinds of benefits and subsidies to the old and the needy, it has made little progress in mass-scale job-creation. Most of our youth in rural areas continue to go abroad in search of well-paying jobs. Yet much of the hard-earned money they send to Nepal is quickly repatriated to pay for our burgeon­ing imports. A growth of 6.81 percent means there is enough money sloshing around for all kinds of produc­tive investments. Too bad the communist government is busy gloating about its high numbers than in laying down the right economic fundamentals.

By Shambhu Yadav | Siraha

 Province 2 government has spent millions on the ‘Save daughter, educate daughter’ campaign. Meanwhile, in a blatant travesty of the cam­paign, Provincial State Min­ister for Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment Suresh Mandal has paid for the wedding of a 14-year-old girl from Siraha. In the past few months, the police have prevented as many as seven child marriages in the district.

On April 24, Radha Mal­lik (Dom), a Dalit girl from Kalyanpur municipality, was married to Ajaya Mallik from the district of Dhanusha in the presence of Mandal. Hun­dreds of thousands of rupees were spent on tents, food, jew­elry and clothes by the minis­ter and ward chairman Ashok Mandal. Minister Mandal has been consistently defending his action, arguing that arrang­ing a wedding ceremony for a poor Dalit’s daughter is no sin.

The bride is nowhere close to the legal age for marriage in Nepal. The General Criminal Code Act, which came into effect on 17 August 2018, stipu­lates that a man and a woman can get married only after they turn 20. Radha’s birth certifi­cate says she was born on 23 April 2005—which means she turned 14 only a day before the wedding.

Nobody has reported Radha’s marriage to the police yet. If someone files a complaint, we will initiate action against the alleged culprits

Madhav Raj Kharel DSP of Siraha

Rights activists enraged

The wedding has attracted the attention of several human and child rights organizations in Siraha. On April 27, they issued a press release stating that child marriage is unjusti­fiable and demanding action against minister Mandal. Arranging a child marriage is punishable by law. Every year, many mothers and infants die because of the severe adverse effects of this social scourge. Countless other women are deprived of educational and other opportunities.

Locals say Radha stopped going to school when she was in Grade 2. Rajkumar Raut Kurmi, a human rights activ­ist, says that it is unfortunate that a girl, instead of being encouraged to study further, has been married off. He adds that minister Mandal’s action has dented the provincial government’s ‘Save daughter, educate daughter’ campaign. “A minister should be actively fighting a social evil like child marriage. But here is one who helps arrange it. This is wrong,” says Kurmi.

Waiting for a complaint

DSP Madhav Raj Kharel, the spokesperson for the District Police Office Siraha, says that if someone files a complaint, his office would initiate action against the alleged culprits. “But nobody has reported Radha’s marriage to the police yet,” says Kharel. It is possible that people fear the repercussions of registering a complaint involving a minister.

One of the Sustainable Development Goals that the Nepal government hopes to achieve by 2030 is to end child marriage in the country. The ‘Save girls, educate girls’ campaign is meant to aid the abolition of child marriage in Province 2.

 His eyes are moist as he looks at his new ‘model’ house. Ram Bahadur Ghaley, 77, has bitter memories of the 25 April 2015 earthquake in which he lost many of his relatives as well as his ancestral home. The Barpak village in Gorkha district was the epicenter of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

 All the homes of the small village were destroyed, with 70 of its residents dying. It has been exactly four years since the devastating earthquake and the villagers of Barpak are still in the process of rebuilding their homes with the help of the Rs 300,000 in compensation from the government.

 Having spent many nights under the open sky, Ghaley has just finished building his new home. Even if he cannot get back the loved ones he lost in the earthquake, says Ghaley, he nonetheless wants to bring some happiness to those who remain.

 In the Dharche rural municipality in Barpak, 6,149 families have already rebuilt their homes while 1,033 families are still homeless. Their traditional abodes have been replaced by modern, earthquake resistant houses. One storied, quaint little houses with blue tin roofs are in fact the new signature feature of Barpak. The Barpak residents, who do not want to remember April 25, are forcefully reminded of the catastrophic day by the recurring aftershocks. But Barpak is slowly regaining its vitality, one blue tin roof at a time  

Sal’s Pizza

If you are good at quizzes and want to win a free pizza, then this is tailor-made for you! Every Monday evening, you can enjoy the cool ambience of Sal’s Pizza with their highly-engaging quiz night. Just visit the restaurant and enter the free quiz contest. You can go alone and join a group there or go with friends for a chance to play the game. The winning team gets a free yummy pizza from the restaurant, which is located at Nursery Galli in Lazimpat.

Call 9813570076 for any queries

Base Camp: Outdoor Lifestyle

Every other Wednesday, Base camp hosts the battle of the brains and you can attend with your friends and family. Each group can have up to six people so you can either bring your own team or join a table, which is a perfect way to make new friends. The quiz has 10 rounds, with five questions a round. A wide range of topics is covered so you’re bound to find at least one topic you will excel in. The cover charge is only Rs 200 per person—the money goes in a pot to be awarded to the winning team at the end of the night. They are located at Arun Thapa Chowk, Jhamiskhel.

For more information, visit basecampoutdoorlifestyle. com.

Everest Irish Pub

If you want to play quiz for charity, you may want to enter the quiz night at Everest Irish Pub. Every Thursday at 8:30 pm, just go to Z Street in Thamel to find this pub. You have to pay Rs 200 to participate. Depending on the number of people, teams will be formed. You will be tested on different topics and if your team wins, you win an Irish Pub T-shirt and a chilled beer. All of the money collected from the quiz is donated to an organization working to educate unprivileged children. So have fun and play for a cause.

Café Tara at Maharajgunj (exact opposite of the American Embassy) is one good looking joint to hang out. Elegantly decorated with ample natural light to lift one’s soggy mood, Café Tara is popular for its freshly brewed coffee, delicious cakes and bakes, and a minimalistic yet filling food menu. What more? Next door is the Tara Ktm clothing store (same owner) with a huge selection of fashionable outfits. Unfortunately for the gentlemen, this is a ladies-only store. But you can still take your wife or girlfriend shopping and spend the excruciatingly long waiting hours chilling out at the café, can’t you now? Or if you’re single, who knows? You might just find your flame trying out a dress next door. You need not worry about parking too. There’s a big enough space right next to the premise.

THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

-Ichiraku Ramen

-Nutella waffle

-Mint lemonade

Opening hours: 8 am-8 pm

Location: Maharajgunj

Cards: Accepted

Meal for 2: Rs 1500

Reservations: 9813574544

The April 21 attacks in Sri Lanka, which has killed at least 359 people as of this writing, was a brutal reminder, if we needed any, that terrorism knows no bounds. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility. Unconfirmed reports suggest the suicide attacks targeting the Christian community and foreign tourists in Sri Lanka were in ‘retaliation’ for the March 15 killings of 50 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand. Whatever the case, there can now be little doubt that religious terrorism has become a global menace—and no country can claim to be immune from it.

Why did the Islamic State choose Sri Lanka—a rela­tively poor country that is not involved in any anti-Mus­lim mission anywhere in the world—to target Chris­tians, who make up under 8 percent of the Lankan population? Most likely because of its weak security. The small island state could not forestall the suicide bombings even though Indian intelligence agencies had given them ample prior warnings. Perhaps the Sri Lankan authorities felt that in the post-LTTE era they had nothing to fear from terrorists of any kind.

Nepal’s own security status is fragile, what with the open border and various semi-political armed groups operating in the country. An act of international terror­ism here is not inconceivable.

During the third SAARC Summit in Kathmandu in 1987, member states had signed the ‘Regional Conven­tion on Suppression of Terrorism’. Yet there has been little progress in advancing such cooperation, as was made clear by the Lankan bombings. With the SAARC now in a coma, there is little hope of progress. This is dangerous. In this interconnected world, no single country can control the scourge of terrorism on its own, as terror groups use increasingly sophisticat­ed ways to maximize death and destruction. Great­er regional cooperation on terrorism has therefore become mandatory. (Perhaps the BIMSTEC provides a better way forward.) Nepal must also strengthen its anti-terror resolve. The 2016 National Security Policy had listed ‘prevention and control of terrorism’ as one of Nepal’s strategic objectives. The public deserves to know if there has been any progress on this front.

There are other risks of taking terrorism lightly. On the pretext of controlling anti-terror activities, big powers may try to muscle their way in. Terror groups may also foment unrest by trying to divide the recently declared secular state along religious lines. April 21 was a wake-up call. It’s a terrible tragedy that so many of our fellow South Asians had to die for it.

 By Shambhu Yadav | Siraha / Raj Karan Mahato | Mahottari

  Dukhani Sadaya from Lahan municipality in the district of Siraha is now 65, an age when she becomes eligible for social security allowance. But she is still struggling to get a citizenship certificate, which is a prerequisite to apply for government services. Her son Rajkumar Sadaya, 35, and daughter-in-law Anita Sadaya, 32, do not have citizenship certificates either. In fact, no one from the Sadaya family has a citizenship card.

Dukhani’s husband Banhu Sadaya, who passed away last year, had knocked on the doors of government offices numerous times to get a citi­zenship card, but all in vain. Banhu’s father Munar had also faced similar problems, which means the family has been deprived of government ser­vices for three generations.

 No one from the Sadaya family has a citizenship card

Rajkumar has one daugh­ter, Bhagwati, and two sons, Rakesh and Mukesh. When Rajkumar applied for birth certificates for Bhagwati and Rakesh, the erstwhile Village Development Committee (VDC) did not demand their parents’ citizenship certifi­cates. But the authorities asked for those certificates when Rajkumar applied for a birth certificate for his young­est son Mukesh. Because Mukesh’s parents did not have citizenship cards, he could not get a birth certificate.

Mukesh attends the village’s primary school, but he is not formally enrolled as he does not have a birth certificate. Says Rajkumar, “Even though we have visited various gov­ernment offices, nothing has come of it. My forefathers could not get citizenship cards, so we are facing difficul­ties now. The government pol­icies make us feel stateless.”

Rajkumar works as a man­ual laborer in the construc­tion business. Although he dreams of building his own house with his hard-earned money, it looks unlikely, both because he lacks a citizenship certificate and because what he makes barely covers his household expenses.

In contrast, Kisani Sadaya and Khajani Sadaya from another ward in Lahan munic­ipality received their citizen­ship certificates in 2006. But because their husbands do not have citizenship cards, their sons could not get birth cer­tificates. As such, they cannot enroll in a school.

Traditionally, members of the Musahar community worked for local landlords, and getting citizenship cards was never an important con­sideration for them.

“Nobody made them aware about the significance of get­ting citizenship certificates, so they are facing problems now,” says rights activist Binod Bisuke. He suggests the government carry out a sur­vey of the Musahars and issue citizenship certificates to bona fide citizens.

Chief District Officer Rudra Prasad Pandit says that if anyone presents a document proving that their family has lived in Nepal for three gener­ations, it can be used to sup­port their case for acquiring a citizenship certificate.

On the other hand, 23-year-old Manjaya Sadaya from the district of Mahottari is happy to finally receive his citizen­ship certificate after struggling to obtain it for six years. “Now I will try to get a government job,” he says elatedly. Earlier, he could not enjoy govern­ment services, open a bank account, vote in elections or avail himself of scholarship opportunities because he did not have a card to prove his citizenship.

     Q. What is an opinion you hold that most people would dis­agree with?

A. The only thing you should care about is yourself.

Q. What do you like the most about your fans?

A. Love and support that they give in every step of my journey.

Q. If you had only one day left to live, what would you do?

A. I would organize a big party and invite EVERYONE.

Q. Your alternate career choice?

A. A singer.

Q. Did you always want to be an actor?

A. During my teenage years, I thought I would become a rockstar. Never had I ever imagined working in the film industry. But now I love it!

Q. Which actress would you like to work opposite?

A. Swastima Khadka, again.

Q. Your best and worst pur­chase?

A. Best purchase: Every building material I purchased to make my house. Worst purchase: The Bluetooth mic I bought online.

Q. What would you like to say to aspiring actors?

A. Work hard and have patience. Entering movie industry is not as easy as it seems but it will be worth it!

Q. Are you someone who likes to live in a happening city or its quiet outskirts?

A. I mostly like living in a city. It also depends on my mood though.