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I’m a 30-year-old mother of two and I recently gave birth. It’s a happy time for our family and, to an extent, I’m happy too. But a part of me is sad. I don't know what it is. I’m constantly irritated, and I get scared that I might accidentally pour out my frustration on my elder child, which would be wrong. I don't know what will set me off. I get a lot of mood swings too and sometimes, I just want to run away and never come back. I’m so overwhelmed. Please help!—A struggling mother Answered by Rishav Koirala, psychiatrist and researcher First of all, I’m glad that you came forward with this issue. It’s an important topic of discussion and there aren’t many women who are aware of this feeling until it’s too late. Before I begin, I want to assure you that there is a way to come out of it. The thing is it’s important for you to know what these feelings are before looking for a solution.  A lot of women in Nepal show depressive symptoms during or after pregnancy. It can be categorized into three types: postpartum blues, postpartum depression, and postpartum psychosis, depending on the intensity and types of symptoms. Postpartum depression and psychosis are quite severe, whereas in postpartum blues, you will come across symptoms like mood swings, mild anxiety, and irritation. Looking at what you’ve said, you might be having postpartum blues. Not to worry, it’s completely manageable.  There can be various reasons why you might be going through this. Maybe you had a history of mental health issues in the past, or you aren’t able to give yourself a good and peaceful environment right now. Nevertheless, now is the time for you to think about how you can improve your health, rather than mull over what might have caused it.  First of all, social support is very important. Being a mother is already difficult and, at times like these, you are in desperate need of a reliable partner who will be by your side. Talk to your husband about how you feel. Create a space where you can share anything and everything with each other. Knowing that someone is always there to listen to you no matter what you say will keep you at ease.  Secondly, over exhaustion can make mental health worse. If you are taking care of the baby all by yourself, you will not have any spare time for yourself. So, the best thing to do is divide chores between you and your partner. Make sure you are giving yourself enough time and space while also taking care of the baby. Also, get enough sleep. If it helps, you can store breast milk and ask your husband to take over at night because it’s very important for you to get enough sleep.  Also, postpartum blues are treatable, but they can get worse if not taken care of in time. It doesn’t just harm you but it will also affect the baby. So, it will be best for you to visit a professional who will understand your symptoms and be able to tell you what to do. S/he will also be able to put you under medication if needed. 

Tort is a civil wrong that is committed by one toward another for which unliquidated damages could be claimed. As it's a private wrong, the injured party herself/himself has to file a suit for compensation. If at any stage, the injured party wishes, s/he may agree to a compromise with the tortfeasor (defendant), and withdraw the suit filed by him. In case of crime, even though the immediate victim is an individual, the criminal wrong is considered to be a public wrong (wrong against the public at large) or wrong against the state. In case of tort, the ends of justice are met by awarding compensation to the injured party. The law of tort is important as it seeks to ensure the right of the persons. However, in Nepal, there is no stringent applicability of the tort law. We often hear people raising their concerns over medical negligence, adulteration of food, environmental pollution or use of loudspeakers that causes nuisance. But people remain reluctant to move the court to resolve these issues by penalizing the outlier.  People just turn a blind eye to these cases. The question is why is there non-applicability of tort law in Nepal? A costlier and time-consuming litigation process often prevents the aggrieved party from seeking compensation under tort law. The lack of pro bono lawyers in this law field could be another factor. More importantly, Nepalis have become habitual of claiming rights without fulfilling their duties. This is the major factor behind violation of people’s rights. However, the state has a duty to create a conducive atmosphere to protect the rights of persons and to implement the tort law. Tort under Civil Code The National Civil Code, 2017 hosts provisions regarding tort law. Section 672(1) provides that no person shall do or cause to do any act or omission, negligently or otherwise, to cause harm to other’s body, property or legally protected interest. This way, tort results from the breach of such duties which are not undertaken by the parties themselves but which are imposed by law. Winfield says the tortious liability arises from the breach of a duty primarily fixed by the law. In the words of Salmond, “Tort is a civil wrong for which the remedy is a common law action for unliquidated damages and which is not exclusively the breach of a contract or the breach of a trust or other merely equitable obligation.” The Code, 2017 prescribes that guardians would have to bear liability if their child/ward of below 14 or person with insanity commits civil wrong and causes harm to others. Section 675 provides that the employer would be liable for the act or omission of his employees. This arrangement is in recognition of the common law doctrine of “Respondeat Superior” which means master is responsible for the act of his servant. Section 676 provides that the owner of pet animals would be automatically liable for any injury or property damage the pet causes. The law places liability on the house owner for the loss or damage caused to any person as a result of the collapse of the house. These arrangements recognize the concept of vicarious liability which provides that the state, owner or employer would be held liable in respect of loss or damage either to property or to a person. The owner of the concerned property would be liable for the loss or damage caused to any person as a result of an explosion owing to a failure to adopt safety measures, emission of excessive gas, tree lying down, or discharge of any toxic substances (Section 678). Similarly, the owner of a dwelling house would have to bear liability for the loss or damage caused to anyone as a result of any kind of solid waste or goods thrown from his house (Section 679). These arrangements are exceptions of vicarious liability and in recognition of the position laid down by the House of Lords in Rylands v Fletcher (1868). In this case, it was held that the employer could not escape the liability for the damage caused to the plaintiff, when the escape of water from a reservoir which was constructed by the defendant from an independent contractor flooded the plaintiff’s coal mine. Section 680 prescribes that a person who commits trespass to another’s property shall be liable for any loss or damage resulting from his act of trespassing. Section 681 provides that each of such persons would, except as otherwise provided, be jointly and severally liable for any damage caused by that act, in proportion to the culpability of the tort committed by each person. Jurisprudence of tort  Section 682 explicitly and authoritatively envisages that the person who commits the tort shall have to pay compensation to the aggrieved party. The provision intends to ensure real and proximate damages to the aggrieved. This way, it recognizes the doctrine of Remoteness of Damages which suggests that test of reasonable foresight and test of directness should be applied at the time of inflicting liability. Still, the aggrieved party would have to file a lawsuit within six months from the date on which such an act of civil wrong was done against him [Section 684]. In Rigby v Hewit (1850) and Greenland v Chaplin (1850), the Courts of Exchequer, England, held that liability of the defendant is only for those consequences which could have been foreseen by a reasonable man placed in the circumstances of the wrongdoer. In Re Polemis and Furness, Withy and Co Ltd (1921) case, the Court of Appeal, an English court, held that a person is liable for all the direct consequences of his wrongful act. In general, the jurisprudence of tort rests on the foundation that “things speak for itself”, which is the basic essence of the doctrine of Res Ipsa Loqitor and where there is right, there is remedy, which is the basic spirit of the doctrine of ubi jus ibi remedium. Implementation matters In the words of jurist Hohfeld, rights come with duties. Salmond was of the view that one cannot claim his rights unless he fulfills his duties. Our actions should not cause harm, injury or annoyance to the other. For instance, if Mr A throws garbage on the street that causes nuisance to Mr B, then in such a case, Mr A would be liable to compensate Mr B for the loss caused to him. After all, “We, the people of Nepal” deserve to have a naturally clean environment and a rule of law state, for the Constitution and prevailing laws aim to achieve a welfare state. The tort law aims to protect the rights of people. It’s more in the nature of compensatory jurisprudence, as it seeks to guarantee compensation to the aggrieved party from the wrongdoer. In a rule of law state, the state agencies and people should not turn a deaf ear to the tort law. [email protected]

The new deadline set by Nepal Army (NA) to complete the construction of the Kathmandu-Tarai/Madhes Fast Track Project is just 17 months away. But the project has achieved only 21.81 percent physical progress and 20.49 financial progress in the past five years. The initial deadline of the expressway was Sept 2021, and was extended to Jan 2025 due to a lack of progress. At the current progress rate, the NA is sure to miss the latest deadline again. Tulsi Sitaula, former government secretary, says the deadline cannot be met due to various reasons including the dispute over detailed project report (DPR), and  the Army’s lack of experience in handling the issues such as public procurement and dealing with international consultants. The ongoing economic crisis is also likely to affect the project’s progress, as the government is not in a position to inject sufficient funds, adds Sitaula. Another reason why the fast-track work hasn’t picked up the desired pace is the court cases against the NA on various contract-related issues. According to sources, the Army is seeking another two-year deadline extension for the project. The Ministry of Defense is likely to approve the deadline extension request, provided the NA gives its assurance that it will complete the work. Sources say the Ministry has sought a revised proposal including the project cost from the Army. The government awarded the NA the contract to develop the mega infrastructure project on May 4, 2017.  According to the 69th annual report of the Office of the Auditor General, the project has spent Rs 2.76bn (8.04 percent) of the total expenditure so far on purposes unrelated to the project. Similarly, the project has spent Rs 1.53bn (4.48 percent) of the total expenditure on consultancy services. It's worth noting that the consultant's contract is not based on the project cost or scope, but rather on the project duration. This means that if the project is not completed on time, the consultant will have to be paid additional fees. The OAG has found that the project has paid Rs 52.94m for the services of two consultants, despite already hiring an international consultant for similar services. The OAG has deemed this expense inappropriate and has highlighted it in its report. Stating that frequent changes in key personnel of the project could impact its quality, the OAG has recommended that the project should make necessary arrangements to avoid such changes, except in situations prescribed in the public procurement regulations. Although Section 4 of the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract guidelines requires offices to obtain pre-approval from the concerned ministry before initiating procurement through the EPC model, the fast-track project awarded contracts worth Rs 8.82bn for five packages prepared by consultants under the EPC, lumpsum, and item rate contract methods. The OAG had previously highlighted in its 59th annual report that the project office disqualified 21 bidders and awarded the contract to only one qualified contractor for Package 2 (tunneling works). Rs 6.32bn of the package's total cost of Rs 24.23bn has been spent. The project still needs to acquire 392 ropanis of land for the project's right-of-way, out of the targeted 5,172 ropani that should have been acquired by last year. Additionally, there has been no progress in acquiring an additional 49.3 ropanis for river training works, 49 ropanis for tunnel management and building, and 11 ropanis for the Mahadevtar base camp, as per the OAG report. Furthermore, the report indicates that the project office has not provided information regarding additional costs incurred for consultancy services related to river training works. The project had hired a separate consultant for this work, as noted by the OAG. Despite the fact that the cost of extending electricity lines and installation of transformers is supposed to be covered by the contractor company, the project office has paid Rs 18.27m to the Nepal Electricity Authority. The OAG has advised the project office to recover this amount, but it has not done so yet. The OAG has also noted that the project office has not maintained proper records of the sand and aggregates excavated during construction works, as required by the law. The project office has failed to meet the legal requirement of transplanting 25 saplings for every tree felled by the project. Altogether, 27,370 trees have been felled so far, which means that it needs to transplant 684,250 saplings. However, the NA has only transplanted 614,595 saplings to date. The project involves the construction of 72.5 km roadway, 87 bridges, tunnels, interchanges, toll plazas, and rest areas, among other features. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 213.95bn, which includes environmental and social costs as well as contingencies. The project office has released Rs 3.07 billion mobilization amount for three packages so far. However, the contractor of Package No. 3 was provided Rs 432.26m under a second installment on a different bank account even before the design work was approved. The project office has been found preparing cost estimation of Packages 1 and 2 even before getting norms for tunneling works approved by the government. The estimated cost of Package 1 was Rs 24.21bn while the contracted amount is Rs 21.51bn. Similarly, the estimated cost of Package 2 was Rs 29.32bn while the contract amount was Rs 28.53bn. The project hasn't prepared the design of a 6.4-kilometer section in Cluster 1 of the Khokana area due to a land acquisition dispute with the local people. The NA is requesting the government to resolve the issues surrounding the Khokana area, but nothing has come of it yet. The mega infrastructure project aims to connect Kathmandu to the southern plains through a six-lane expressway. The project is expected to significantly reduce travel time and boost economic growth in the region. Info for front page and box for second page

1. Details of Financial Progress:

Nepal and India have expedited their preparations for Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s official visit to India.  According to officials, India has proposed a tentative date for next month. With the appointment of Foreign Minister NP Saud, the government of Nepal is expected to decide on the dates shortly and communicate it to the Indian side. Minister Saud also confirmed that his office will now start preparations for the prime minister’s India trip, during which the two governments are expected to ink some vital agreements particularly in the areas of connectivity and energy cooperation. It has been almost four months since Dahal came to power, and as a customary practice, he is set to make his first official visit to India. An official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said most prime ministerial visits to India in the past were rather rushed, but the ministry is making intensive preparations this time so that the trip yields some tangible results. Over the past few years, Nepal and India haven’t signed any significant deals during the prime minister-level visits, as the two countries were focused on implementation of past agreements. But this time, the two sides are likely to make some important agreements, said a government source. However, a breakthrough on the border dispute or on the issue of revisiting the 1950 treaty between the two countries is unlikely to happen. A government source said the two governments could agree to resolve these issues through their diplomatic channel. PM Dahal is under pressure from the opposition parties to take up these issues with India. But the Indian side has maintained that these issues could be resolved only if they are not ‘politicized.’