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A handful of sugarcane farmers from Tarai-Madhes are back in Kathmandu protesting yet another delay in the payment of their dues by various sugar mills. Were it not for Covid-19 restrictions, there would have been many more protestors. These farmers have time and again been forced to take to the street as their payments continue to be delayed on various pretexts. Nearly half their dues, which comes to around Rs 400 million, are yet to be cleared even though both the government as well as the sugar mill owners promised to do so by December 2020. Around 6,000 farmers have been affected in Sarlahi district alone.

Mill-owners say they have cleared all dues and there is no point to the farmers’ agitation, a stance that is backed by the central government. Apparently, the farmers have failed to provide concrete proof of the dues that the mills still owe them. The differing perception on payments partly owes to the fact that while the farmers say they were to be paid Rs 536 for a quintal of sugarcane, they only received Rs 500 a quintal. They have accused the mill owners of falsely claiming that the farmers had agreed to the lower price.

Besides Sarlahi, farmers from Nawalparasi (East), Nawalparasi (West), and Rautahat districts have been most affected. As they have repeatedly faced hurdles in getting paid, many sugarcane farmers are no longer cultivating the cash crop. The other persistent problem they face is a shortage of fertilizers. Nor, for that matter, are Nepali sugarcane farmers liable to the kind of subsidies their counterparts in India get. Whatever the case, it is in everyone’s interest to settle the dispute at the earliest.

In the last fiscal year, Nepal imported sugar and confectionery worth Rs 12.26 billion, nearly three times it did in the previous year, which is reason enough to make the country self-sufficient in sugar. But this will be possible only when our farmers are treated and compensated well. Whatever the status of their payment, they have not gotten the kind of support they need to sustainably harvest their crop year in and year out.

Governance should be based on principles, not partisan interests. With the intent of strengthening his government, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is bringing an ordinance to make it easier to split political parties. During the tenure of KP Oli, his predecessor at Singha Durbar, Deuba as the leader of the main opposition had principally opposed a similar ordinance. This act of hypocrisy suggests the new prime minister is no different from Oli, at least when it comes to misusing the PMO’s powers for personal gains. Moreover, such acts are a threat to our democratic process.

Even during his four previous tenures as prime minister, Deuba was never far from controversy. He was among a clutch of post-1990 politicians who initiated the culture of offering inducements to MPs to bolster the ruling coalition. Even parties with a single seat in parliament got cabinet berths. The latest ordinance has similar aims. Again, this is precisely the kind of naked opportunism that contributed to the unpopularity of the previous government.

Our government representatives seem to have learned little from their previous mistakes. They are still tone-deaf to public criticism and feel entitled to do pretty much as they please. Deuba undoubtedly has an eye on the Nepali Congress general convention in November-end. He wants to use all tools at his disposal to ensure that he is the prime minister going into the general convention. In his calculation, it will then be easier for him to engineer his way back to the party presidency.

Reactionary forces couldn’t be happier. They are trying to remind the public of the ‘golden days’ under a constitutional monarchy and Hindu state. Public memory is short. Our political leaders have been so brazen and shameless in their actions, a sizable section of the public is starting to rethink. 

The allure of a benevolent dictator is an ever-present phenomenon in Nepali politics. Especially if our main political parties go into elections with current leaderships and their stale agendas, the rise of reactionary forces is a distinct possibility. Such foresight, alas, is in short supply among our top leaders.  

Complacency is proving to be deadly. The ratio of corona-positives in daily tests is again over 25 percent, which means at least one of every four of us has the Covid-19 virus. The total number of covid deaths, meanwhile, has crossed 10,000.

This isn’t a surprise. Under 10 percent of the population is fully vaccinated yet most folks seem to have thrown caution to the wind. Masks are being ditched. Few are now using the once fashionable hand sanitizer. Public vehicles are crowded again.  

Yes, the vaccination rate is up, as reportedly around 200,000 a day are being administered. Vaccines are also arriving from abroad in large quantities. Yet that does not mean we are safe. Even the fully vaccinated are showing troubling covid symptoms as the virus continues to mutate. For the rest, they simply don’t seem to care. Having had enough of being locked down in their homes, they are breaking free with abandon. Covid numbers are shooting up all over the country and empty ICU beds are again starting to fill up. Authorities meanwhile seem to be groping for a coherent response.

On August 10, the covid-restrictions in Kathmandu valley were extended till August 24, with a new provision that bars non-essential vehicles from plying after 8 pm. But that means little when nearly all establishments have been allowed to open, in clear violation of the restrictive measures. Our local, provincial, and federal authorities, it appears, are happy to be seen as doing something—anything.

Corona-related restrictions are tricky and hard to get right. Health is important but so is getting back to your professional and academic routines, which, when disrupted for long enough, can invite their own set of challenges. The missing ingredient in effective corona control in the past year and a half was trust. Still, not much is being done to regain that all-important component of the social contract between those governing and the governed. And without it, even the best of plans will fail. 

In the 18 years he played for Nepal, two distinct avatars of Paras Khadka emerged. The middle-order batsman and medium-pacer who captained the national men’s cricket team for a decade was a brilliant all-rounder, leading Nepal to some unbelievable wins, most notably during the T20i World Cup in 2014. His second avatar was that of a fearless speaker who never stopped talking about the need for sweeping reforms in how Nepali cricket has been run over the years. He repeatedly took on the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) bigwigs, his employers who were mostly political appointees.

It thus comes as music to the ears of Nepali cricket fans that Khadka, after his retirement at the age of 33, is now interested in serving in the association. In fact, even though he has not said so publicly, his constant tussles with CAN administrators might have contributed to his relatively early retirement. Perhaps he had had enough. Khadka had given up captaincy in 2019 and would have retired the same year had there been other players in the pipeline to fill his giant boots.

In many ways Khadka was Nepal’s first sporting idol, loved across generations. The millennials could easily identify with his fearless persona. The ease with which he presented himself abroad was also something of pride for the whole country. The body language of the whole team had changed under him. The new message: they would be pushovers no more. Khadka, as captain, was also a master at working the media, a trait that helped bring much-needed attention to the dysfunctional state of national cricket.  

We here at ApEx would like to wholeheartedly thank Khadka for the countless moments of joy he brought to us while representing Nepal. You were a treat to watch. We also hope that you get into cricket administration soon. We need administrators who know the game, who can work in cricketers’ interests, and who can fend off political interference. Again, Captain Nepal fits the bill perfectly.