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The number of trekkers visiting the Annapurna Conservation Area has bounced back and reached the pre-covid levels.

A total of 172,108 trekkers visited the area in the fiscal year 2022/23, according to Rabin Kadariya, the information officer of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP). This figure comes close to the pre-covod record of 183,357 trekkers in 2018/19. This is the highest footfall the area has seen so far

After the outbreak, however, trekker numbers dropped to 104,165 trekkers in 2019/20 and a meager 4,916 in 2020/21 during the peak of the pandemic. However, there was a positive resurgence, with numbers picking up to 75,824 in 2021/22. In the fiscal year 2022/23, ACAP generated Rs 299.43m (including VAT) from permit fees.

As only the ACAP and Pokhara International Airport records the number of tourists visiting Pokhara, the exact number of foreign tourists visiting Gandaki Province is not precisely known. The provincial tourism ministry had initiated the registration of foreign tourists two years before the covid pandemic, but it has been discontinued now.

With the commencement of construction on Pokhara International Airport, tourism entrepreneurs have made substantial investments in various tourism infrastructures such as hotels, restaurants, and several adventure activities. The hotel industry alone received investments of over Rs 100bn in the past five years, according to Laxman Subedi, president of Pashchimanchal Hotel Song Pokhara, the industry lobby representing hotels operating in Pokhara and its surrounding areas.

Charges leveled against me (vis-a-vis the 100-kg gold smuggling case) are totally false and fabricated. What’s the motive? I see things from two perspectives. First, whenever some big scandal happens, our police and political system face pressure to identify the main culprit immediately. Buckling under pressure, they fabricate a character.

Second, all this is meant to divert public attention and protect the main culprit. There’s another baffling thing in this case. It is cheaper and more profitable to purchase brake shoes produced in India in the same country. No trader can make profit by importing brake shoes from Hong Kong via air. Our customs officials don’t even know a basic thing?

The government has formed a panel to probe the case. It should identify the main culprit through a proper and impartial investigation; it should expose the nexus involved. Linking a businessperson in this case is a character assassination attempt. 

In July 2018, Nepal gifted two pairs of endangered greater one-horned baby rhinos to China as part of rhino diplomacy. The first pair was Bhadra (male) and Rupasi (female), who boarded a chartered flight to the Chinese city Guangzhou as symbolic ambassadors of Sino-Nepal friendship.

Right before their flight, I had followed all the preparatory activities and rhinos’ road journey in a truck from Chitwan National Park to Kathmandu. After exactly five years, this June, when I traveled to Guangzhou, I couldn’t stop myself from saying hello to the exquisite and rare pair living in a special zone of Chimelong Safari Park.

As Harisharan Pudasaini, Consul General at Nepali Consulate Office in Guangzhou, said, the baby rhinos have not just found a new home in Guangzhou, but also have helped strengthen the friendship between the two countries. “Nepali rhinos are in good hands, growing in a safe and healthy environment. Every time I visit the park, I feel like they are happy and smiling for being able to see us; their Nepali connections. It’s a special feeling.” Are they really happy? How is their new home in China? I tried to find answers through Zhang Xueli, general manager of Chimelong Safari Park.

Excerpts from the interview:

What is the current status of baby rhinos brought from Nepal?

On 12 July 2018, the young Bhadra and Rupasi boarded a chartered flight from Nepal's capital Kathmandu to Guangzhou to start their new life in Chimelong, China. Bhadra and Rupasi are in good condition and have grown up healthy. Bhadra, the male Greater One-horned Rhino, has grown from 670 kg to 1,830 kg, with a total weight gain of 1,160 kg, while the female Rupasi, has grown from 865 kg to 1,474 kg, with a total weight gain of 609 kg.  

Have they adapted to the new environment? How is their nature, food habits and daily activities?

Yes, they are now adapted to their living environment in Chimelong. They are docile and enjoy basking in the sun on the ground. They are large and cute animals. In order to ensure that Nepal’s national treasure is better adapted to the Chinese environment, Chimelong Group has specially set up a special farm for Asian rhinos, planting a large number of high-quality elephant grass for Greater One-horned Rhinos to eat a large amount of food, while adding other grass, leaves, some amount of vegetables and fruits, concentrate and other foods to make it nutritiously balanced. RUPASI especially likes carrots. At the same time, in order to solve the imbalance of dietary fat, soluble and insoluble carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins, Chimelong has developed a special diet for them, adding salt bricks during the feeding process. We believe that the inorganic salts in salt bricks can promote the bone growth of Greater One-horned Rhinos. In addition, Chimelong deliberately expanded the logistics conservation area, which consists of the hay area and the soil area, so that they can express their daily behaviors freely- roll mud bath and grind.

Do you plan to continue keeping them in a special protected area or relocate in the public section of the park?

At present, the two rhinos from Nepal are nearing adulthood. Because the species is so valuable, breeding and enlarging the population is a priority compared to the park display. Chimelong is currently concentrating its efforts to carry out scientific research and strive for early reproduction. Meanwhile, Chimelong has put the exhibition on the agenda and will show them to the public at the right time.

Any specific future plans regarding the increase in their population?

Chimelong has built a herbivorous research center, and continues to carry out scientific research on rhino protection and breeding, constantly breaking through the artificial conservation technology of rhinos, and successfully achieving the breeding of black and white rhinos. At present, Chimelong animal conservation and scientific research team is working on the conservation technology of Greater One-horned Rhino, cooperating with the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA) and  participating in EAZA breeding program, and striving to achieve successfully breeding at an early date. In addition, we hope that the Nepali authorities will re-approve the export of Greater One-horned Rhino to Chimelong and establish a sustainable artificial population in Chimelong. In the future, Greater One-horned Rhinos individuals born in Chimelong will be returned to Nepal, making contributions to Nepal’s wild population protection and public education, as well as the world's rhino conservation.

Since they are in a special protected area, do the Chinese public have any impression about these Nepali rhinos?

More than 100 years ago, the Greater One-horned Rhino was distributed in the wild in China. There are records of rhinos on oracle bone inscriptions dating back more than 3,000 years, referring to the Greater One-horned Rhino. Even now, the Greater One-horned Rhino has a high profile among the Chinese public and is an important flagship species that China needs to restore its wild population in the future. Bhadra and Rupasi carry the deep friendship and trust of the Nepalese people to the Chinese people. As the symbol and messenger of China-Nepal friendship, they have been carefully cared for and managed by the Chimelong conservation team. They are growing healthily and vigorously in their new home in Guangzhou.

What is the significance of these rhinos in China? How will the Sino-China friendship be promoted through this precious gift? 

The Greater One-horned Rhino carries the memory of the Chinese people for thousands years, and has a high status in the minds of the Chinese people. Greater One-horned Rhino is extinct in the wild in China. We hope that with the gradual recovery of wild habitats in China, we can reintroduce Greater One-horned Rhinos to the wild in China in the near future through our efforts. Nepal is known in China for its famous snow-capped mountains, and the Chinese public doesn't know much about Nepal’s Greater One-horned Rhinos. Through the publicity of the Greater One-horned Rhinos of Nepal, people can learn about the diversified wildlife and natural environment of Nepal, more and more people will be attracted to travel to Nepal, friendly exchanges between the people of China and Nepal will be promoted, and the friendship between two countries will be enhanced. May the friendship between people of China and Nepal last forever.

Recent events in Russia have brought the Wagner Group, a controversial private military company, into the spotlight. With concerns about the fate of its fighters and leader, the group’s future hangs in the balance. Reports indicate that the leader of the group has sought refuge in Belarus, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has presented the soldiers with three options: Join the Russian military, return to their families, or seek refuge in Belarus. As uncertainty looms, the group continues to expand its operations and attract new members, including young individuals from Nepal.

Nepalis possess renowned combatant qualities as the enlistment of the Gorkhas, acknowledged globally as an exceptionally fierce warrior, in the Indian Army and the British Army since 1815 shows. Gorkha regiments raised by the British exhibited remarkable valor in various military campaigns. “This is a troubling circumstance. The Nepal government lacks the capacity to intervene as these individuals have taken action independently,” EurAsian Times quoted Nepali Army’s Major General Binoj Basnyat (retd) in reference to the Nepali youths’ involvement in the Ukraine war.

“If Nepali citizens are serving in the armed forces of a sovereign nation, it should align with the government's foreign policy, or there ought to be (an) MoU or a treaty with the respective country. However, such mechanisms are absent in this instance,” he remarked, stressing the need for the government of Nepal to address the matter promptly. Numerous videos have emerged on social media platforms over recent weeks (some of them self-captured), showcasing Nepali youths enlisting in the Russian Army, exhibiting their training sessions or their arrival at training facilities. 

In one particular case, the video shows a young individual from the Koshi region, a Russian university student, pointing out that he had two choices with the expiration of his visa: Either return to Nepal and face unemployment or secure a position in the Russian Army.

An attractive incentive

President Vladimir Putin has offered Russian citizenship to individuals willing to commit to one year of military service. This game-changing move seems to have further attracted the Nepali youths to the group along with the relaxing of some of the requirements, including language proficiency.

Historically, Nepal has sent its youths to serve only a number of armies and police forces, including the British and Indian armies. However, India’s new recruitment scheme—Agnipath—has strained Nepal-India relations, prompting Nepali youths to explore alternative opportunities.

Uncertainties surrounding Wagner

While Wagner prospects may appear enticing due to its financial rewards and promise of modern warfare experience, it is crucial to keep in mind that the group is not an official army and that its operations have frequently sparked controversies. The group faces an uncertain future, raising legitimate concerns about the long-term viability of the Nepali youths’ decision to join their ranks.

The recent mutiny and the Wagner leader seeking refuge in Belarus have added another layer of uncertainty surrounding the group, raising questions over the fate of the fighters concerned. It is essential for individuals considering joining the group to carefully evaluate the potential risks and associated challenges.

In conclusion, young Nepali individuals joining the group has raised eyebrows and prompted deeper analysis. Putin’s decree offering Russian citizenship to those, who commit to military service, has fueled the recruitment drive further. While the future of the group remains uncertain, it is crucial for potential recruits to carefully consider the risks associated with joining a private military company by looking beyond the benefits like offer of citizenship, attractive salaries, health and life insurance benefits, performance-based bonuses, and the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with modern weapons.