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Of late there has been no shortage of voices linking higher taxes with the supposed failure of the federal formula. It is true that taxes have been increased (and their scopes widened) across the board, from properties to small businesses. Even cattle and bicycles are now being taxed. Land and property taxes were minimal under the old unitary dispensation, with most people paying no more than Rs 100. But under the new consolidated taxes, the same taxes have jumped to an average of well above Rs 1,000.Kathmandu municipality has introduced a spate of new levies and jacked up old ones. It will charge Rs 500 for a person to prove, on paper, that he is alive. To be liable for a naturalized citizenship, the recommendation forum will set you back by Rs 10,000. In Dhangari sub-municipality of Kailali district, you will have to pay an annual tax of Rs 15 if you own a bicycle; crossing a local river on a boat there will incur you Rs 25 a trip. In Godavari municipality of the same district a chatpate seller will have to fork out Rs 20 and an ice-cream seller Rs 30 a day.

Perhaps one reason for such widespread skepticism of the new tax regimen is that people are just not used to hearing of ironsmiths and fruit sellers paying taxes. In time, they might sound pretty normal. But in the view of political analyst Shyam Shrestha there is another, more important reason for this skepticism. “Neither the central government nor the local level governments have bothered to explain the ratio­nale for these levies,” he says.

He has a point. These taxes will help pay for social security and basic health and education needs of the locals, a duty of the local bodies under the new constitution. “How can the local bodies guarantee these services without raising taxes?” Shrestha asks. But Shrestha says elected representatives have thus far been unable to credibly assure the people that their money will be well spent.

“If you can assure them that all their basic needs will be taken care of, who will oppose higher taxes?” he asks.

Notably, three years after the promulgation of the new constitution, the all-important National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission it envisioned to work out taxes and division of spoils among different tiers of the government is yet to get a complete shape (See: HERE). Perhaps the political masters of the country were never sold on federalism.

Nearly one in three Nepalis will have a mental health problem at some point in their life. But on current trends most of them will silently suffer rather than seek help. There is still a lot of stigma attached to having a mental illness and coming out can be tough on the sufferers. But at least those in Kath­mandu, where nearly all the mental health facilities in Nepal are concen­trated, will have somewhere to go should they decide to get themselves treated. Those in other parts of the country may not be as fortunate. Untreated mental illnesses are a big burden on the sufferers and their families but they also weigh heavy on the economy. According to WHO, mental illnesses typically cost a country between 3-4 percent of its Gross National Product. Yet Nepal currently allocates under one percent of national health budget for mental health. The priority is still on physical illness whose symptoms are clearly visible rather than mental illness whose symptoms may not be as apparent. Moreover, the govern­ment seems to have almost given up on mental health, in the erroneous belief that there are enough NGOs around to deal with it. There are not.

APEX heard harrowing tales of people living with various mental health disorders, most of them suf­fering silently. We clearly need a more open debate on mainstream­ing of mental health disorders, which should ideally be treated no differently than other physical ailments. In fact, debilitating mental health problems, which often lead to suicides and destroy lives and fami­lies, are potentially lethal.

Full story HERE

The owl population in Nepal is in danger. Their smuggling has greatly increased in recent times owing to the belief in parts of Central Asia, China, India and Vietnam that they bring good luck. Experts are worried that owls may completely dis­appear from Nepal. Among 225 species of owls in the world, Nepal has 22. “Nepal government has not paid any attention toward its conser­vation,” says Raju Acharya, who conducts studies about owls in Nepal. By contrast, he points out, South Africa has taken many steps to protect its owls.

According to a study by Friends of Nature Nepal, an NGO, around 2,000 owls are smuggled alive from Nepal every year. They are mostly used for medical purposes. Magicians also use them. In China and Vietnam, owls are even used for making alco­hol. There is a superstitious belief in China that drinking alcohol made with owls kept in a bottle for 10 years cures arthritis. “In India, religious priests purportedly use it to cure various illnesses, which is also why smuggling of owls out of Nepal has increased in recent times,” says Acharya, who has visited 46 districts to study Nepali owls.

Owls are used to kill rats in Africa and Malaysia, he informs. An owl, in the pro­cess of giving birth and tend­ing to its offspring, can con­sume as many as 3,000 rats. This is one good reason why Nepal should also conserve its owls, Acharya says.

Though exact statistics on owls in Bardiya are missing, locally, owls are mostly found in community forests and the Bardiya National Park, says the park’s Chief Conservation Officer Manoj Shah. “Thieves and smugglers pose a big threat to conservation of owls. They take the offspring away from the nest, raise them and sell them,” he informs. If a person is found killing, raising or harming owls, they can be fined Rs 50,000, be jailed for three months to two years, or get both the punishments.

Around 91 percent of social media users in Nepal are on Facebook. YouTube comes second at 5.5 percent. But it is a niche ‘dating and hook-up app’ that is making new waves. Dating apps are relatively new to Nepal. But Tinder, the global dating app with over 100 million downloads, is fast gaining in popularity. In its essence, this is the new and trendy way to find people to date and/or have casu­al sex with. Right now most of its Nepali users are concentrated in Kathmandu and Pokhara.

It is a simple process. When you open the app, different profiles pop up. Swiping right on a profile means you are interested in that person. If that person likes you back, you can start chatting within the app. You filter people by select­ing preferred gender, age group and physical distance. Tinder allows 100 swipes in 12 hours. If you want to see more profiles, you have to pay a certain amount. But how common is it in Nepal? It is hard to get exact figures so APEX did the next best thing: conduct an informal survey.

We asked 100 Nepalis aged 20-32 if they used Tinder. Just 26 of them said they did. Yet there were also folks like Priya, a 24-year-old woman who works for an NGO, who wants to use the app but is scared of doing so lest “my relatives find out.”

According to its users, you real­ly do meet all kinds of people on Tinder: very young people to older folks in their 30s and 40s; foreigners looking for locals to hang out with while they are in Nepal; students as well as established businessmen; gays and lesbians; singles and those in relationships.

Just looking

Many are using it on the recom­menda­tion of their trusted friends or because they had heard of it and wanted to give it a try. “Once I was telling a friend that I am bored of my single life. She then recommended Tinder. I installed the app but still do not use it very often,” says Milipa Thapa, 24, who works in a project called Rural Access Program 3. She has been using Tinder for a year now.

Ayush Thapa, 22, who is a soft­ware engineer, has been using Tin­der for two years. “I saw an ad about Tinder online and wanted to try it,” he says. “I wanted to find a romantic partner but now I am just looking to make new friends.”

Indeed, according to a widely-cit­ed paper published in February 2017 (by Sumter et al.), while using Tinder people have all kinds of things on their mind: love, casual sex, ease of communication and thrill of excitement.

Ayush believes “people are using it more for hook-ups and one night stands rather than for friendship.”

Milipa says she only uses it when she is bored. “I like to swipe right and have a conversation online, but meeting people through Tinder has never been my intention,” she says. Many have asked her out but she has declined every time because “I hardly get to meet my own friends!”

Pranaya, 23, who works in an INGO-funded project, installed the app after being told about it by a foreigner on a flight last year. “Many feel you’re in Tinder because you are desperate for sex, which is absurd. For me Tinder is simply a dating app. It is not a matrimonial site or a site you go to when you want to get laid.”

Likewise, Jimi, 32, a musician by profession, installed Tinder two years ago hoping to find someone interesting. “It is like Facebook mes­senger to me. I don’t use it often. But I have already met three women through it,” he says.

Shallow and short-term

Although Pooja Khati, 24, a journalist, who has been using Tinder on and off, finds the app “shallow”, she has used Tinder in both South Korea and Nepal and met many people through it. So what was the difference between Tinder-use in South Korea and its use in Nepal? “The experience is similar. The common theme was that no man was ever interested in a long-term relationship.”

Some believe Tinder makes communication easier for those interested in each other. “Swip­ing right basically implies that you are attracted to that person so communication becomes smooth­er,” says Abishake Shakya, 22, who is also an engineer. He has been using Tinder for a month because his friends were also into it. “I found some women on Tinder, we then became friends and started chatting over Facebook or Insta­gram. But I have not physically met anyone solely based on my interac­tions over Tinder.”

When asked about its safety, Shakya says, “No social media or dating app is 100% safe. You just have to be careful.”

Shubham KC, a 21-year-old student, has also been using Tinder for a month. His suggestion: “You have to use your judgment before meeting people. Make sure they are who they say they are.” However, as you can link Tinder to your other social media accounts such as Facebook and Instagram, it is easier to test whether some pro­files are fake, KC adds.

So who should be using Tinder? KC, who has already met three wom­en via Tinder, says, “I would recom­mend Tinder to everyone. It does not matter if it is for a casual hook-up, long term relationship or just for informal chat.”

Autonomous creatures

According to Sociologist Pra­nab Kharel, Nepali society was not always so free. “Thirty years ago, you discovered your romantic partners through your families. But for those between 18 and 35 today, they have a lot of autonomy when it comes to choosing romantic part­ners,” he says.

Technology has also played an important part in this development, Kharel adds. “With the growth in the use of social media platforms like Facebook and Tinder, the trend of dating and making new ‘friends’ has also grown.”

All these conversations suggest that the use of Tinder in Nepal will keep growing. And not just for sex. It is also a good way to connect with people, to make new friends and to have some fun online. Just make sure that the intentions are clear on both the sides before you meet someone in person through Tinder.

(In some cases only first names have been used to protect privacy