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Apple production in Mustang has been dwindling massively in recent years. Local farmers blame the unpredictable weather for it.  Dipak Hirachan has been in the apple farming business for the last 20 years, and he says the fruit production has dropped massively over this period. “There is a massive difference both in terms of the apple’s quantity and quality.” Hirachan owns apple orchards in Tukuche village. It is an area where rainfall rarely occurred until a couple of years ago. Mustang’s dry weather is one reason why apples from there, though tiny in size, are sweet and why people love them. But the region has been receiving excessive amounts of rain in recent years. As a result, apple farmers are facing problems of pest infestation and plant root decomposition due to excessive moisture in soil. It is extremely difficult to grow apples in lower Mustang these days. “There is a serious pest problem here, but we have no way to combat them. This is a direct result of climate change in these mountain areas,” says Bikal Sherchan, an apple farmer in Kuwang village. Experts say the overall crop output of Mustang has been hit due to changing climate. Achyut Tiwari of Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, says a study conducted in Mustang shows that apple production in Mustang has dropped sharply as a result of excessive rainfall. “Many farmers in the so-called apple region of the district such as Lete, Taklung, Dhampu, and Kowang are moving towards different crops.” Tiwari adds some places in the upper region of Mustang, where apple production was hard until a couple of years back, meanwhile, are seeing improved production. “This is because these areas haven’t been receiving as much snowfall as they used to. Apples and other crops that prefer dry climates are moving further up because of changing weather patterns.” Prakash Bastakoti, chief of Agriculture Knowledge Center, Mustang, says the effects of climate change can be observed particularly in lower altitude regions of the district, but there hasn’t been many conclusive and comprehensive studies. “The use of pesticide has also increased significantly because the apple farmers have been witnessing various crop diseases.”   There are around 3,700 households in Mustang and nearly 1,500 of them are involved in apple farming. Of late, some of these households have been migrating to upper Mustang, where they can grow apples without fears of rainfall or pests. Subas Adhikari, an environment expert, bemoans the fact that the government doesn’t have strong data to measure the effects of climate change and to prepare a robust action plan.  “There have been a few studies but they are not enough. Climate change research should be a matter of priority for all three tiers of government.”

A house is a lifetime investment. It’s a place where we spend most of our time. Most of us desire comfort as well as luxury in our homes. But in most cases, we fail to find housing companies that can cater to our needs. One exception to this could be Astra Developers. The company has so far built seven housing apartments, whose main purpose is to provide comfort and luxury to their occupants. Anushka Nepal from ApEx talks to Amit Adhikari, co-founder and CEO, of Astra Developers. What makes Astra Developers so different from other companies?  One thing we wanted to achieve from this company was giving chances to the younger generation and their ideas. Every employee, from architects to designers in our company, are in their 20s and 30s. What we want to give our customers is something different than what other housings have promised, and who else would be better to bring in fresh ideas than the younger generations? I will not deny that we have had a difficult time getting permits from governmental agencies, and a lot of skepticism from the people after seeing our young team. Our society is not quite well adjusted to seeing youngsters take up such heavy tasks. But even with all that, our team has persevered and prospered to make this company a success story. Is it easy to find a young team and work with them? It was not at all easy to find them. We actually had to do a headhunter to find employees for our company. But once we found them, it was worth all the time and effort. When it comes to work, that is where we face a lot of difficulty, not because of the team members but how the outsiders perceive our team. Even my partner and I are quite young for a businessperson. I personally have heard a lot of people from the older generation tell me how to do my own job. My team on the other hand had to go through a lot of tough times to get even a simple permit because people were not accepting of their age and the responsibility they carried. But I strongly believe that we need to give opportunity to the younger generation for a change. What makes Astra houses different from others?  One thing that makes us stand out is we do not take bookings before our project is completed. Most of the housings in Nepal start taking bookings just by showing their plans. But if you are interested in buying one of our housings, you can see the end work first, and then decide if you want it or not. Secondly, our main focus is luxury. We want our customers to feel at home and at peace after a long stressful day of work. That is where our location also fits. We are located in Budhanilkantha, 15 minutes drive from the core city area. It has a natural water source inside the compound, and a lot of greenery. It is a perfect way to escape the city and yet close enough to reach within a 15 minutes’ drive. Could you describe the houses you have built so far?  We have seven houses in tota, and all of them are fully furnished. We also provide people with rooftop swimming pools. Its main purpose is to put luxury in one’s home. And luxury does not always have to be extravagant. It needs to be efficient, comfortable, and should cater to the buyer’s needs. The reason it is fully furnished is because sometimes we feel that when individuals design their interiors, there is always one thing or the other missing. But when we built our apartments, we addressed each and every aspect of the housing to create a perfect luxurious setting to fulfill each and every need of a person. And one thing we introduced in our housing is multiple master bedrooms. No matter which bedroom you take, all of them are the same, so no one feels the need to decide on who gets the main bedroom in the house. What kind of customers does your company cater to?  Our housing is meant for people who are looking for luxury as well as comfort. We have not compromised on the quality of the products we have used on buildings. Yes, it does seem a little expensive for some people, but we feel that it is worth the investment. This housing is for people who want to leave their city life behind and come home to a secluded, peaceful environment. For many, a new home means they want to refurnish everything. This is why we provide fully furnished housings. We want our buyers to leave everything behind and come in only with a suitcase so that they can enjoy everything new and fresh. And we believe that Rs 50m to 70m investment for a strong and luxurious home is worth it. We are also planning to build an apartment in the city. We have moved forward with the process and this apartment will be located in Maharajgunj. It will only be six-storey high with similar features to what you see in our houses in Budhanilkantha.

Shambhu Rishidev lost his son during the Covid-19 pandemic. The resident of Biratnagar could not get an oxygen cylinder in time for his son who was admitted at a government hospital.  “My son was given oxygen at first,” he says, “but there was none left when he needed it again.” The 14-year-old passed away a few days after he was admitted to the hospital.  Rishidev’s story echoes that of many people in different parts of the country. They all lost their loved ones because they could not arrange for oxygen cylinders on time. Dr Sher Bahadur Kamar, senior consultant physician, Seti Provincial Hospital, Dhangadi, says the hospital didn’t have enough oxygen cylinders for their patients, especially after the second wave of the covid. “There were patients lined up in every corner of the hospital, from corridors to the entrance of the emergency ward,” he says. Many of these patients were suffering from low oxygen levels. “We didn’t have enough oxygen at the time.”  Discrepancies Nepal’s 30m population had access to 840 ventilators at the start of the pandemic, according to the government’s Health Sector Emergency Response Plan dated May 2020.  As the pandemic escalated, the Ministry of Health and Population (MoPH) received bulks of equipment from several countries, UN bodies, and NGOs as donations. Besides, the government also bought medical resources to outfit the hospitals and health facilities across the country.  While the government claims that the available medical equipment and resources were distributed to hospitals all over Nepal, their numbers do not match what the hospitals received, according to ApEx analysis of the datasets from 2 Feb 2020 to 18 Oct 2022. The data were provided by the Logistics Management Section of the Department of Health Services (DoHS) and the government hospitals.  For instance, the number of oxygen cylinders received by Seti Provincial Hospital is 50, when according to the government’s data, the hospital should have received 79 cylinders. This sort of discrepancy was discovered in almost every government hospital around Nepal. And it was not just limited to oxygen cylinders, but also oxygen concentrators and ventilators, all of which were distributed by the Logistics Management Section during the covid pandemic period. Responding to our queries, Dr Dipendra Raman Singh, director general, DoHS, says such discrepancies are bound to happen when large numbers of equipment and medical resources are being delivered. “It does not necessarily mean that the equipment went missing,” he says.  Rana Bahadur Gharti Magar, chief of Logistics Management Information Resource Center, DoHS, completely denies that there were any inconsistencies. When presented with the gaps in the records, he had no explanation.  Other officials ApEx spoke to refused to comment on the issue.  Fatal repercussions The discrepancies in the distribution of medical equipment affected everyone, but minorities suffered the most. “Most people from minority communities live in poverty and can only afford government hospitals because of their lower economic status,” says Sundar Purkuti, member and spokesperson of the National Dalit Commission.  Since government hospitals lacked the medical resources and equipment, the repercussions were largely felt by the people from minority communities. Several individuals from minority groups that ApEx spoke to were unable to get their family members admitted to hospitals due to lack of beds.  Dr Baijnath Sah, former coordinator (till April 2022), Koshi Hospital, Biratnagar, says that it was difficult to manage the patient numbers that grew exponentially. Purkuti says that minorities have always been left behind in every sector. “One reason is the discrimination that still lingers in our society. Minorities have little to no opportunities to uplift their socio-economic status.”  The Asian Development Bank’s analysis of the national census data say that poverty incidences by caste and ethnicity are highest amongst the hill and Tarai Dalits. A significant 57.8 percent and 45.5 percent of the total hill and Tarai Dalit population were poor in 1996 and 2004, respectively. The hill and Tarai Dalits were still the poorest during the 2010-2011 Nepal Living Standards Survey, with 43.6 percent of poor amongst the hill Dalit population and 38.16 percent poor amongst the Tarai Dalit population. Following the Dalits, poverty incidences in 2011 were highest amongst other caste groups in the Tarai, then the hill Janajatis at 28.25 percent. Conversely, poverty incidence was at a lower proportion for Newars and hill Brahmins at 10.25 percent and 10.34 percent, respectively.  The latest Nepal Multidimensional Poverty Index Analysis (2021) shows that Karnali Province has by far the biggest percentage of residents living in poverty (39.9 percent), followed by Sudurpashchim Province (25.3 percent) and Madhes Province (24.2 percent).  Only seven percent of individuals live in multidimensional poverty in Bagmati Province, compared to 9.6 percent in Gandaki Province. Madhes Province is the most poverty-stricken, followed by Lumbini Province and Province One, in terms of population. During the covid pandemic, privileged communities were better able to afford equipment and medications as compared to lower-income and minority groups, according to Hari Mainali, secretary of Forum for Protection of Consumer Rights - Nepal.  Rishidev’s experience attests this situation. “It was already difficult to receive free medications distributed by the government and we were in no position to afford medicines that cost money,” he says. “Private hospitals are more expensive than the government ones. It was not an option for us.”  According to Mainali, a lot of equipment may have ended up being illegally traded. “A good deal of equipment was being sold in the black market at higher price, which people of lower economic status were not able to afford.”  Minority communities in Nepal have always fallen victim because of the government’s lack of interest in strengthening the health infrastructure of state-run health facilities.  “From minor medications to major health services, the minority communities have never gotten the right treatment,” adds Mainali. Government oversight Concerns regarding discrepancies related to the procurement and distribution of medical resources to fight covid were raised by the public in April 2020, but the matter was brushed aside by the then prime minister, KP Sharma Oli.  After continuous public pressure, the government formed the Covid-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC), under the Ministry of Defense, replacing the High-level Coordination Committee for the Prevention and Control of Covid-19. The CCMC was mainly staffed by several high-ranking politicians for proper implementation and coordination of policies, as well as the Chief of Army Staff. The matter of securing and distributing equipment, such as oxygen cylinders, was under the jurisdiction of the CCMC.  Binoj Basnyat, a retired Nepal Army major general and security analyst, believes the CCMC is the government’s way of shielding itself from controversies.  “CCMC ensures massive army participation, which means the budget allocation, usage, as well as several other data would not be easily accessible to the public,” he says. “This gives politicians and civil servants leeway not to get caught in case any of them were to commit forgery.” None of these brings any comfort to the families who lost loved ones during the pandemic. “It is still hard to accept that I lost my son because there weren’t enough oxygen cylinders,” says Rishidev. “We felt hopeless. There was nothing we could do and nowhere we could go and ask for help.”     Annapurna Media Network’s district’s reporters Rakesh Karn, Ganga Khadka, and Rajendra Bahadur Karki contributed reporting Thankful to Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Emmy Abdul Alim for providing their support and guidance with this article

A stellar performance by the newly formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in the Nov 20 elections has come as a big surprise for established political parties and observers alike. The party has so far been able to garner third highest votes under the proportional representation (PR) electoral system. It is only behind the CPN-UML and Nepali Congress(NC).  Under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, the party had already won at least four seats at the time of writing and was leading in other four constituencies, mostly in Kathmandu Valley and Chitwan district.  The RSP is set to emerge as a significant and influential political force that could challenge the dominance of old parties in the federal parliament. The party didn’t file any candidacy in provincial assemblies. Says Krishna Khanal, a professor of political science, the success of RSP in this election is ‘the culmination of dissatisfaction’ of mostly young voters with the old parties.  He says the votes secured by the RSP are voters venting out their frustration. “Otherwise a party that is yet to become a full-fledged political force and decide its clear ideological line would not attract so many voters.” The success of RSP is also an expression of national mood for a change. “People have lost faith in political parties and their leaders,” says Khanal. Historic Low voter turnout (61 percent) can also be taken as an indication of public frustration.  Indra Adhikari, political and security expert, agrees that low voter turnout and success of RSP are both signs of voters’ resentment with old and established parties like NC and Maoist Centre.   “Due to the unchanged attitude of the old and tested leaders from dominant political parties, the voters in general are disenchanted,” says Adhikari. “This is a rebellion of ballots. It is clear Nepal’s young and urban voters want alternative political forces.” Though NC is set to win far more seats in the House of Representative under the FPTP system, initial trends suggest that its coalition partner Maoist may not perform as well.  The Maoist party will not be able to win as many seats as it did five years ago. It had won 36 seats.  The Congress, meanwhile, seems to have benefitted by leading the coalition of five parties that includes Maoist, Unified Socialist  and two other fringe parties. The Unified Socialist, a breakaway faction of UML is struggling to become a national party for which it needs to win three percent of total votes under the PR system and one seat under the FPTP.  This might lead to misunderstanding among the partners of the grand coalition that went to election under the leadership of NC.  “The coalition that came together to check the authoritarian tendencies of former prime minister KP Sharma Oli continued until election and for the purpose of election only,” says Khanal.  Though UML and Congress will emerge as the first two major parties, their proportion of votes might shrink compared to previous elections.  Poor performance of Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) and defeat of its leader Upendra Yadav at the hands of Janamat Party’s CK Raut also demonstrate voter dissatisfaction in the Tarai region. Another influential Madhes-based party, Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, is also not faring well either. Like elsewhere in the country, people in Madhes too desire change. “A chorus for change is ringing loud and clear across the country,” says Adhikari.  Perhaps the old political parties and their leaders have heard.