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The festive season is here but it’s been a sobering week for the country. Floods and landslides, triggered by heavy rainfall early this week, caused unprecedented damage to lives and properties across Nepal. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, 242 people lost their lives and dozens are still missing. A preliminary government assessment estimates that the disaster caused damages worth over Rs 6bn in damages to the agricultural sector, with paddy crops suffering the most, accounting for Rs 3.5bn in losses.

Floods and landslides affected 58,476 hectares of paddy fields across districts such as Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara, Parsa, Nawalparasi East, Baglung, Khotang, Jhapa, Kailali, Lamjung, Parbat, Kaski, Syangja, Makwanpur, Kavre and Sindhuli. The actual extent of the damage may be even higher, as many affected areas remain inaccessible. 

Natural disasters are unpredictable and occur worldwide, but last week’s events in Nepal offer important lessons for the government. A single agency must take a more proactive and prepared approach to minimize the damage. Additionally, the government needs to take environmental concerns seriously, as unchecked development at the local level and excessive exploitation of natural resources are contributing to increased landslides and floods. 

The government’s response after the disaster was also slow, with delays in rescuing trapped people and providing immediate relief. Although the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority was established a few years ago to handle such crises, it has come under public scrutiny for its poor management. Prime Minister Oli admitted that the country was unprepared for disasters of this scale. There is still a lack of coordination and communication among state agencies and the three levels of government.

Erratic rainfall patterns, exacerbated by climate change, are expected to bring more floods and rainfall in the future, and the government must enhance its preparations. Key security forces, such as the Nepali Army and the Armed Police Force, need better equipment and training to respond effectively to natural disasters. Unfortunately, history shows that we tend to forget these disasters quickly and fail to prepare adequately. The Melamchi flood of 2021 should have been a wake-up call, yet little has been done since then. Amid this crisis, the Dashain festival, the largest and longest in the Hindu calendar, has begun. Many are hopeful that the government will expedite the repair of major highways to ensure smoother travel during the festivities. 

In other news this week, Prime Minister Oli recently returned from an extended visit to New York, where he addressed several United Nations programs and held bilateral talks with leaders from other countries. While in New York, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba met with senior US officials to discuss bilateral relations. Nepal and the US have established a Bilateral Consultation Mechanism to discuss key issues annually. However, Prime Minister Oli faced criticism for being abroad while the country was in the midst of a crisis caused by floods and landslides. In contrast, opposition leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the CPN (Maoist Center) stepped into the spotlight, calling an all-party meeting to discuss the disaster and visiting flood-affected areas. 

Prakash Man Singh Rawat is set to become Nepal’s next Chief Justice after being endorsed by the Parliamentary Hearing Committee, as current Chief Justice Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha retires this week. Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Nepal Bar Association, Gopal Krishna Ghimire, is facing contempt of court charges in the Supreme Court over comments related to judicial appointments. 

This week, the Supreme Court also sentenced the publisher Yubaraj Kandel and executive editor Nabin Dhungana of the online portal Sidhakura.com to three months in prison for contempt of court. On April 26, the news portal had published a fake news report, claiming that the leadership of Annapurna Media Network and Kantipur Publications were part of a secret meeting involving sitting and former Supreme Court justices and senior lawyers to dismiss more than 400 corruption cases. 

On the economic front, there was some good news this week. The World Bank projects that Nepal’s economic growth will accelerate to 5.1 percent in 2025, up from 3.9 percent in 2024, driven by a recovery in tourism, increased hydropower production and improved paddy yields. The World Bank projects 5.5 percent growth for Nepal by the fiscal year 2026. The International Monetary Fund also issued a positive outlook for Nepal’s economy last week. The private sector is expected to benefit from the central bank’s more relaxed monetary policies and eased regulations. 

However, there are significant risks to this outlook. The financial sector faces vulnerabilities, including a rise in non-performing loans, which could limit credit growth for the private sector. Delays in capital spending could slow infrastructure development, and regional instability and trade disruptions could hurt tourism and domestic demand. Additionally, recent natural disasters may impede Nepal’s economic recovery.

That’s all for this week. Stay safe

The route for electricity export from Nepal to Bangladesh has officially opened. With the signing of an electricity sale agreement between three companies from Nepal, India and Bangladesh on Thursday, Nepal is set to export electricity to a third country for the first time. Nepal has been exporting electricity to India for the past three years.

A tripartite Power Sale Agreement (PSA) was signed between the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and India’s NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) during a program held in Kathmandu. As part of this agreement, Nepal will export 40 MW of electricity to Bangladesh in the first phase.

The agreement outlines that Nepal will sell the electricity, which will be transported through India’s transmission lines, and Bangladesh will purchase it. NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising, BPDB President Rejul Karim and NVVN CEO Renu Narang signed the agreement.

The signing took place in the presence of Nepal’s Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Deepak Khadka, and Bangladesh’s Minister for Forest, Environment, Climate Change and Water Resources, Syeda Rizwana Hasan. The Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, was also present at the event.

Although the tripartite agreement was originally scheduled for July, it was postponed due to political protests in Bangladesh.

NEA Executive Director Ghising described the agreement as a milestone in South Asia’s energy cooperation, stating, “This is the culmination of our shared vision. It will open doors for subregional and regional cooperation.”

According to the agreement, NEA will export electricity to BPDB at a rate of about Rs 8.64 per unit (6.40 US cents).

For the export to Bangladesh, BPDB will pay a ‘wheeling charge’ to NVVN for using India’s transmission lines.

Nepal will install an electricity meter in Muzaffarpur, India, where the amount of electricity exported to Bangladesh will be recorded. NEA will bear the technical losses incurred up to that point, while Bangladesh will cover the technical losses from Muzaffarpur to its border. As a result, the price of electricity will increase from 6.4 cents to 7.6 cents per unit by the time it reaches Bangladesh.

Bangladesh will receive electricity through the Brahmapur (India)–Bheramara (Bangladesh) 400 KV transmission line, which it currently uses to import electricity from NVVN.

The agreement, which is valid for five years, stipulates that 144m units of electricity will be exported to Bangladesh annually, Ghising stated. He also noted that around Rs 1.21trn worth of electricity will be exported to Bangladesh each year.

The export will begin after receiving the necessary permissions from India, making Nepal the first country to export electricity to a third country, according to Ghising.

He added that Nepal aims to export 10,000 MW of electricity to India and 5,000 MW to Bangladesh in the future.

The NEA plans to export electricity generated by the 25 MW Trishuli and 22 MW Chilime hydropower projects—both built with Indian subsidies and owned by the authority—to Bangladesh. Both projects have received approval for electricity export to India.

For the next five years, the authority will sell 40 MW to Bangladesh during the rainy season, from June 15 to Nov 15 each year.

Bangladesh had previously decided to import 40 MW from Nepal. On Dec 20 last year, the Economic Affairs Committee of Bangladesh’s Council of Ministers under then Finance Minister Mustafa Kamal approved BPDB’s proposal to import 40 MW.

NEA and BPDB agreed on the electricity rate in late February. A tripartite agreement was prepared in Kathmandu on July 13, but it was delayed due to political unrest in Bangladesh.

On Sept 15, 6:08 pm, I was heading back home. A torrential downpour was imminent. I hurried to catch a bus to Narayantar. I spotted a bus that appeared to have empty seats from across the street. I rushed across the road near the Bouddha police station, using the zebra crossing. 

I boarded the bus just as the door shut, a chilling fear gripped my soul as I noticed only a few men inside, scattered throughout the bus. There were men of various ages, with the conductor seated at the front and some men in the front rows and others in the back. The door was already closed, and the bus began to move as the rain poured down. The only thought that haunted me was the terrifying and brutal 2012 Nirbhaya Delhi rape case. I was paralyzed, unable to move or react, so I took a seat by the door and opened my window wide. I saw men chatting and smiling, and once again, the horrific memories of 2024 Kolkata rape case of Moumita and Nirbhaya cases tormented me deeply. 

Should I exit the bus? I was torn, knowing I would get soaked mercilessly if I did. Then the conductor started closing all the windows one by one. The driver yelled from his seat to close them quickly to keep the water out. My heart raced uncontrollably. I steeled my heart and mind, gripping the window on my side, preparing myself defensively. I partially closed my window and kept my hand on the window lock, gazing outside the bus, hoping more people would board. I checked the door locks, counted the men inside, and held my bag tightly. 

I scrutinized the various faces of those men, feeling frozen and crippled inside, but I clenched my fists tightly, planning to jump out if things turned sour. Then a second thought crossed my mind: do any of these Nepali men possess humanity and morality? Or should I fear stepping outside in the evening, unlike in India? Such horrifying incidents like the Priyanka Reddy and Moumita cases in our neighboring country and the Nirmala case in our own have set a precedent that men wield ultimate power, and even the law, judiciary, and enforcement agencies can do little to punish these predators, demons, and vermin. They roam free, searching for their next victim. 

The rain began to ease, and some people boarded the bus, bringing a sigh of relief to my heart and soul. Thank God the men on this bus are not like those vermin outside as in the Nirbhaya case. I felt saved, thanking God and even those men for not having ill intentions toward a lone girl in the bus on this frightening evening. I expressed gratitude to my fellow countrymen, hoping they still possess some humanity. 

As my stop approached, I exited the bus, reflecting on the recent news of the sugar daddy case in Nepal, where a man posed as a sugar daddy, befriending young people in clubs, luring them, kidnapping them, and then torturing them in various psychotic ways. Drilling body parts, inserting needles, mutilating, and applying hot iron to the back. 

Just thinking about it sends chills down the spine. Why are people committing such maniacal acts nowadays? Is it due to extreme modernization or the unchecked content in the media, with the government seemingly indifferent? Each time the government changes, a new leader takes over the next morning to rule Nepal. Yet, despite the changes, no leader has taken steps to address these contemporary crimes, as we witnessed in the Nirmala Panta case. 

There are laws in place merely to show teeth to the public, demonstrating that the taxes paid by citizens are utilized on paper or perhaps in electronics nowadays. Thus, that evening's incident left me with many unanswered questions. That day, I represented the entire female youth of our nation, who harbor a constant fear of evolving crime types and a growing rage toward the leaders who claim to protect us. I would like to ask, who would protect me if I were a victim in such situations?

‘Europe has to grow out of the mindset that Europe’s problems are the world’s problems, but the world’s problems are not Europe’s problems.’- S Jaishankar 

Foreign Minister of India, an oriental country (“rest” from the “west”), probably had not forgotten how Churchill’s exploitation of the word “barbarians” to fuel ‘western war’ in 1943 led to a devastating famine causing the death of nearly 3m people, including children, women and elderly. A decade later, he was awarded with the Nobel Prize in Literature, for his biographical description about defending human values. This is an irony of eurocentrism. Eurocentrism is rooted in a colonial mind-set that is poised on the idea that the knowledge, culture and civilization of Europe, including its extension to America and other former white colonies, are superior and the remaining as savage. As Jaishankar stated, Europe’s problems and its policies have always been presented as the global problems and policies, without considering the relevance for the whole world. 

The concept of global world, i.e. globalization of politics, economics and culture have derived its roots from the ideas of the western world, as opposed to ‘Vasudhaiba Kutumbakam’, meaning, the world is one family. It is the same mind-set that the western lens dominates what we think globally. Academic fields favor European perspectives, restricting global understanding and fostering ethnocentrism, leading to stereotyping and discrimination against non-European cultures. Today, extensive Eurocentric social theories have blended with neoliberalism that determines our vision of globality. Neo-liberal ideas claim to champion prosperity and development, pointing to calibrating numbers as indicators of progress. However, a question arises: is this growth a result of continuous human progression or the influence of neoliberalism? Even the term ‘sustainability’ derives its origin from the Western concept. After Europe and the United States had submitted benefitting from the development driven by industrialization, they popularized the principle to mean to protect the earth and its environment for the future generation. 

Now, when it comes to saying that human life has improved and we're moving towards sustainable development, my take is a bit nuanced. Certainly, technology, healthcare, and education have brought positive changes for certain sections of society. But are those changes accessible to all sections of society? While the champions of neoliberal economies are organizing the feast of prosperity, one large section is uninvited and another large section is struggling to appear at the table. The opulence and resources of the feast were one time or another expropriated from those who are not at the table today. 

The uncontrolled spread of neo-liberalism and globalization in South Asian countries is causing havoc, particularly in the realm of economic competition. The flood of inexpensive imported products from dominant market economies has overtaken our locally made goods, resulting in a trade deficit and creating further dependence on external markets. When eurocentrism historically has created a huge global economic imbalance, how can there be fair competition among first world economies and third world economies? 

The flagbearer of neoliberalism, Bretton Woods System, probably was the first of the Eurocentric policies presented to the East as a magic wand for development. The preconditions of structural adjustment to obtain monetary aids caused malfunctioning of the existing governance mechanism leading to perpetual political instability in the developing countries. The peculiarities of the Asiatic society were blatantly ignored to glamify the European idea of development. 

In South Asia, this has resulted in further marginalization of vulnerable populations, increasing economic disparity, limited access to essential services, and displacement due to market-driven policies. Privatization of essential services like healthcare, education, and utilities lead to a further exclusion of the marginalized. Agricultural sectors in South Asia are also vulnerable to the effects of neo-liberal policies. Market-oriented reforms have caused disadvantage to small farmers, sustenance agriculture based economies contributing to rural distress and migration. 

Multinational companies, the new Trojan horse have penetrated underdeveloped countries through neo-liberal policies starting to exploit natural and human resources right from their onset. Climate change, degradation of biodiversity, and social disparities persist as pressing challenges at a global scale. Indigenous people, once at the forefront in making truce with nature are likely to suffer from the climate disaster- mainly a result of neoliberalism, while others enjoyed the fruits. The crisis on food security is one of the evident and major failures of the Euro-centric idea of development. The production of hybrid and genetically modified seeds by multinational companies like Monsanto take over the entire agricultural system, a direct hegemony forced over indigenous scientific knowledge which has resisted unsuccessfully through food sovereignty movements. 

Addressing the problems associated with neoliberalism outside Europe, requires a careful consideration of the social, economic, and environmental impacts of market-oriented policies. Europe needs to realize that the Oriental societies are not the experimentation ground for the Eurocentric ideas of neoliberalism. Plus, the Orient societies do not require a European-meter to curate their progress. Although global challenges require global efforts of mitigation and prevention, the peculiarities of the Orient societies should never be meddled with. 

It is true that the world has made progress in recent times in numerous aspects, but Europe is not the cause of the improved human condition. Rather it is the opposite. Before European colonialism came to the Oriental Societies, civilization was thriving. Asia constituted the majority of the world’s wealth and prosperity. The ongoing major thirty eight conflicts continue to further deteriorate living conditions—which are either the problems Europe created or are the remnant of the Eurocentric idea of superiority mastered through imperialism. Only after the fall of colonies, the world’s societies have been progressing towards an improved human condition. Europe can only be credited for the progress towards sustainable development in one way, i.e., its colonial downfall. Moreover, it is now high-time that the Oriental and Indigenous ideas of governance should be credited for the progress towards sustainable development.