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Followers of Hinduism celebrate lots of fairs and festivals round the year. Basant Panchami or Saraswati Puja is one of the main festivals, observed by worshiping Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. The festival heralds the beginning of the spring season and is very important for teachers and students. The fifth day of the new moon holds special significance in the Mithila region. The fifth day of the new moon of the month of Shrawan is celebrated as Mauna Panchami. People worship the Bishara goddess with special respect and reverence on this day. They also celebrate the famous festival of Madhushrawani. It is considered the honeymoon of the newly married bride and groom. Moreover they also pay due respect to the serpent god which is called Nagpanchami.The fifth day of Mangsir is celebrated  as Vivah Panchami.On this special occasion the marriage ceremony of Lord Ramchandra and goddess Sita is celebrated with great fanfare in Janakpur. The fifth day of the new moon on the month of Magh is called Vasant Panchami when the Goddess  Saraswati is worshiped in each and every educational institution in Mithila with interest and enthusiasm. Especially all teachers and students pay offerings to Saraswati, the Goddess of wisdom. She is not only the Goddess of wisdom but also the Goddess of knowledge, music, arts, science and modern technology.Goddess Sarswati is worshiped on Vasant Panchami day which is also called as Sri Panchami and Saraswati Panchami.People worship Goddess Sarswati to get enlightened with knowledge and get rid of ignorance for ever. It is also celebrated for attaining the blessing of Mother Saraswati.This special worship is performed by expert priest and Pandit who chant shlokas of Sanskrit and also read Saraswati Puran.She is considered mother of all the Vedas.She is also known as Bharati( persuasiveness), Shatrupad (survival), Vedamata( mother of the Vedas) Brahmi, Sharada, Vageshwari and Putkari.She is well known as the Goddess of speech.She is also revered and respected as the Goddess of aesthetics and alphabet because children of Mithila first of all learn alphabet on this auspicious occasion. Goddess Sarswati is represented as a graceful woman  in  white apparel, a symbol of purity and peace and chastity. She is the only Goddess, who signifies knowledge, learning, arts and culture. This puja is celebrated in a free and friendly atmosphere beyond the feelings of caste, creed and gender. It is a community festival scholars and students  community festival, which gives a suitable opportunity to forget all the  ill nourished feelings of the whole year. This festival  is celebrated in the spring season when Maithil people are mentally and physically prepared to make merry by worshiping the Goddess and distributing sacred Prasad among themselves. On this occasion, these people wear white new clothes befitting the occasion. The main person performing the pooja wears yellow clothes because yellow is the color of the spring season. This is an agricultural festival also because after a break of one month farmers  start to plough their barren fields on this day. The festival is observed somewhat differently in the Kathmandu valley. In the month of Magh, the Hindus celebrate Basant Pachami by listening to holy recitations from the priests about the advent of the spring season and its glory. On this auspicious occasion, a Vasant Shrawan ceremony is held at the courtyard of the historic Hanuman Dhoka, where the glory of the spring is sung and listened to. On this day, schools, campuses and universities all over the country are decorated tastefully with festoons and the goddess of knowledge is worshiped. Students as well as learned men and women gather at educational institutions in their native towns and villages for the celebrations. Goddess Saraswati is depicted as having four hands. On one hand, she holds a sacred scripture, a lovely lotus, while the other two hands hold the Veena, a stringed musical instrument. Her vehicle is a white swan. In Buddhism, she is said to be the consort of the respected Manjushri. Her earthen idols are immersed in nearby rivers and ponds on the following day amid recitations of prayers dedicated to her.

No leader in the CPN (Maoist Center) has been as consequential as Pushpa Kamal Dahal. The 68-year-old former rebel leader, who waged a decade-long armed insurgency against the state before entering peaceful politics in 2006, has become prime minister three times in the past 15 years. The only other Maoist leader to become prime minister is Baburam Bhattarai, who left the party in 2015. Dahal, sometimes referred to as the Maoists supremo, has been ruling the roost since the party’s rebellion days. Despite the presence of other influential leaders like Bhattarai, CP Gajurel and Mohan Baidya (the three are no longer with the Maoist party), it was Dahal, who gripped public and media imagination during the wartime. Better known by his nom de guerre Prachanda at the time, Dahal developed a cult around himself. There was an air of mystery about him. Most Nepalis saw him in person only after the party joined the peace process. While the cult of Prachanda might have helped the Maoist party become a major political force, it has also the potential of ruining it. Despite his many faults as a leader—from promoting nepotism to flip-flopping in his decisions to joining unnatural alliances to remain in power—Dahal is still revered by his supporters. One could even argue that the Maoist party is nothing without him. Though Dahal has no immediate plan of retiring from active politics, the virtual absence of successors is a cause for concern. While Bhattarai is said to be preparing to return to the mother party, his return is not going to make much of a difference. Bhattarai and Dahal are of the same age—and, more importantly, the former has already made his intention clear about retiring from active politics one day. This leaves the Maoist party with a smattering of leaders like Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Barsha Man Pun, Janardan Sharma, Dev Gurung and Krishna Bahadur Mahara. But the truth is these leaders are nowhere close to Dahal. The future of the Maoist party is at stake because it never invested the time and energy to build its organizational strength. Ever since joining the peace process in 2006, the Maoist leadership has more or less wasted time in power politics and suffered multiple splits. In the first Constituent Assembly election of 2008, the Maoists emerged as the largest party ahead of traditional big old parties, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML. But the subsequent elections—CA polls of 2013 and the general elections of 2017 and 2022—have seen the party become progressively weaker. The Maoists' merger with the UML to form the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) also proved disastrous, as the party broke up within less than three years. In the process, the Maoist party lost one of its senior leaders, Ram Bahadur Thapa, who went on to join the UML. The recent general election saw Dahal’s party come in third position, securing just 32 seats in the 275-member parliament, behind the Nepali Congress (89) and the UML (78). Dahal became the prime minister after breaking the alliance with the NC and joining forces with the UML. Multiple leaders that ApEx spoke with admitted that the Maoist party’s organizational strength has suffered so much that there are only a few constituencies from where the party can win elections on its own. The party forged an electoral alliance with the NC in the Nov 20 polls of last year out of this very fear. And yet the party could secure only 32 parliamentary seats, which is 17 fewer than the 2017 election. Party leader Haribol Gajurel says they have virtually no organization at the grassroots, without which their existence is in danger. Gajurel is in favor of reviving the party’s organization across the country, but he is unlikely to get Dahal’s nod, with other senior leaders like Shrestha, Pun, Sharma, Gurung and Mahara on the line. That is why Gajurel has been appointed as an advisor to Prime Minister Dahal. Party leaders say Pun and Sharma are more likely to win Dahal’s trust when it comes to handling of the party affairs. Shrestha, despite being Dahal’s trustee and a deputy, does not have a strong support base within the party, while Mahara has more or less taken a backseat following a rape allegation on which he got clean chit from court. Similarly, Gurung is someone who had defected from the party in 2013 to join the Baidya faction. Maoist leaders say now there is mainly a two-horse race between the general secretary duo Sharma and Pun to take lead of the party affairs. Both of them have considerable influence in the party structure, so much so that Dahal has to pick the leaders close to them while making key appointments in the party and the government. During the distribution of election tickets ahead of the Nov 20 polls, Pun and Sharma were dominant after Dahal. After the elections, two leaders stood on opposite corners on the issue of government formation. Sharma, who had served as finance minister in the Deuba-led government, stood in favor of continuing the pre-poll alliance, while Pun actively worked to bring communist forces together. But despite their growing clout and power within the party, Sharma and Pun can never measure up to Dahal. In any case, if one of them were to helm the party, there is bound to be a factional rift within the Maoists, which could be even worse for the party. It has been a year since the Maoist Center organized its general convention, and the party is yet to form its politburo and standing committees. Due to the party split, it took a long time for Dahal to select the party's office-bearers. The party has also yet to form its departments. Sharma is actively trying to take control of the party’s organizational department. A few weeks back, he even held a meeting of the party's organizational department where he came under fire. Maoist central committee member DP Dhakal said Dahal is unlikely to pick one specific leader to look after the party affairs, as the party is preparing to convene a central committee meeting for discussing ways to strengthen the party's organizational base. The meeting, added Dhakal, will most likely form committees to oversee the party activities collectively. Senior journalist Babin Sharma, who closely follows the politics of the Maoist party, said while Pun and Sharma are competing for the party leadership, Gurung, a general secretary picked by Dahal himself, could lead the party affairs. He said Gurung has a fairly good command in the party for the job. But central committee member Ramdeep Acharya has a different take on the issue of picking the next Maoist party leader. He said there are different modalities of the leadership selection process, so one cannot be certain as to who will replace Dahal. Acharya added Dahal selecting his successor is one of the modalities but there are other ways too. Whoever comes forward to lead the party, they will have big shoes to fill.

The South Asian region, which has a variety of climatic zones and physical topographies, is naturally isolated by the massive Himalayas in the north, the vast Indian Ocean in the south, the Arabian Sea in the west, and the Bay of Bengal in the east. Unusual monsoon patterns brought on by climate change have recently had a significant impact on the region, resulting in phenomena like glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), forest fires, mountain and coastal soil erosion. Pakistan's devastating floods are a case in point. Due to these catastrophes and crises, South Asian nations must work together more closely to combat the ecological catastrophe. In recent decades, temperatures of the Indian Ocean sea surface have risen roughly by 1 °C. As a result of the warmer atmosphere's capacity to hold more water vapor, South Asia's humidity levels and rainfall have increased noticeably. Furthermore, during La Nina, rainfall tends to be heavier than usual, increasing the likelihood of floods in South Asia. The periodic cooling of sea-surface temperatures across the east-central equatorial Pacific is referred to as La Nina.  Millions are also affected by severe and persistent heat waves that strike large portions of Pakistan and India routinely. A shortage of food and energy has resulted from events like glacier melting and glacial outbursts. The distinctive tropospheric jet streams over South Asia that are associated with the monsoon and westerly disturbances also impact and alter atmospheric circulation. Impact on South Asian countries Rising temperatures on the Tibetan Plateau are causing glacial retreat, resulting in decrease in water levels in South Asia’s major rivers, including the Ganges. Heat waves are becoming more common in India and Pakistan as a result of climate change. Severe landslides and floods are expected to become more common in Nepal, India and Pakistan. Afghanistan's temperatures have risen 1.8 degrees Celsius since 1950 causing severe drought conditions, which may worsen further.  Both Pakistan and Afghanistan may face further desertification and land degradation as the frequency of drought increases due to global warming. Glacial retreat has impacted some of the major rivers in Pakistan, which is grappling with a severe climate disaster, with an early monsoon causing devastating floods. Bangladesh is vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to a combination of geographic (such as its flat, low, and delta-facing topography) and socioeconomic factors (such as its high population density). Climate change is expected to cost Bangladesh two percent of its annual GDP by 2050, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Due to severe climate change, many of Bhutan's glaciers are also rapidly melting, increasing the frequency and severity of GLOFs. Many low-lying islands in the Maldives are vulnerable to sea level rise, with some projections indicating that the country will become uninhabitable in the coming years if appropriate measures are not taken immediately. In Nepal, climate change is causing wide variations in weather patterns as well as an increase in extreme weather events. Drought conditions in Nepal during the pre-monsoon season of 2016 caused a large number of forest fires. Unlike many developed countries, the people of South Asia are vulnerable to environmental problems due to a lack of industrialization and high reliance on agriculture. When a country's economy becomes weak due to external, environmental reasons, its security gets adversely affected. Cooperation is essential A fair and secure regional climate agreement demands enormous cross-border effort to reduce risks to the poorest people's lives and livelihoods. In addition, because environmental challenges do not respect international borders, South Asian countries must engage in strong environmental diplomacy. Bringing these issues to the international stage is a critical first step. Countries should use the South Asian Regional Cooperation Forum to exert international pressure and obtain financial assistance. The establishment of a South Asia Climate Fund (SACF) to support adaptation and mitigation efforts of the countries concerned can be one such example. Furthermore, with the exception of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, all other South Asian countries share a common border with India. This geographical dependence has an impact on these countries' internal and external decision-making capacity. This chasm becomes difficult to bridge in terms of regional cooperation on critical issues like climate change. Geopolitics has undermined the concept of "one South Asia" in recent years. Combating climate change is difficult because national borders are arbitrary. They are ruled by politics and frequently disregard ecological boundaries and corridors. Mutual diplomatic animosity has had a significant impact on regional cooperation. It is also crucial to implement improved internal policies. Politicians should consider possible environmental impacts while formulating laws and strategies for industrialization and development. The public should be better informed about the adverse effects of environmental degradation, which can be achieved through educational programs. Where illiteracy is widespread, the media can play an excellent role in developing environmental awareness. Raising awareness can improve citizen engagement in conservation initiatives, enabling them to hold their elected officials and other government agencies accountable. The way forward A rapid and uncontrolled urbanization of the region coupled with population growth means increase in average temperatures, surge in the frequency of heat waves, droughts and floods, sea level rise, resurgence of diseases and loss of biodiversity, among others. The South Asian climate crisis requires both global and regional cooperation for a solution. We cannot act alone and make a difference in a world that is more intensely interconnected than ever before, especially when it comes to environmental issues. The political sphere is frequently surrounded by issues of war and peace. Policymakers are preoccupied with abstract ideas like order, power balance, and economic interdependence. The South Asian region is no exception to this. The challenges linked with climate change and environmental degradation are the most serious of the major difficulties. If not handled immediately, these challenges have the potential to spark a large-scale humanitarian disaster in the region. The author is the President and Founder of Lumbini World Peace Forum

Chances of Nepal exporting 500 MW of electricity to Bangladesh appear slim, at least for the foreseeable future. This is mainly because an interim order from the Supreme Court, issued on Nov 3 2022, has put on hold the agreement based on which the Indian promoter company Gandhi Mallikarjun Rao (GMR) was planning to sell 500 MW in Bangladesh after completing the construction of the 900-MW Upper Karnali Project. On 15 July 2022, the Council of Ministers had extended the deadline given to GMR by two years for financial management and directed the company to finalize a relevant deal with Bangladesh within 18 months. The Supreme Court had issued an interim order on Nov 3 demanding to know why the firm had failed to manage funds on time. Issuing its verdict on a writ petition filed by Ratan Bhandari, a single bench of Supreme Court Judge Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada had issued an interim order to not implement the decision of extending the deadline given to GMR. This, according to experts, is spoiling the environment for foreign investment in Nepal’s hydropower sector. In mid-November last year, the government had moved the Supreme Court demanding that the interim order be vacated. The Upper Karnali project is being constructed under the build-own-operate-transfer model. If the project materializes, Nepal will receive 27 percent free equity and 12 percent free energy from the project, amounting to 108 MW of electricity, approximately equal to 15 percent of the current installed capacity in Nepal. Bangladesh has issued a letter of intent to GMR, expressing interest to sign a contract for the purchase of 500 MW. The power purchase agreement was expected to be signed by  December, which has not happened thus far. It is not only the case of Upper Karnali alone, with a petition filed in the SC against the West Seti project as well. The court order will have a bearing on the overall investment climate in the country, per hydropower experts. “The order will give an impression to foreign investors that investing in Nepal is difficult. In such a case, the developers will not be willing to invest here,” said Amrit Lamsal, spokesperson at Investment Board Nepal. The experts say the decisions should not put the entire work on halt. “The court should issue verdicts on time if such projects are against national interest,” said Mukesh Kafle, former managing director at Nepal Electricity Authority.