Nepali Mahila : Hisila Yami

Central Committee Member, Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
Member, Constituent Assembly
Former Minister for Culture and Tourism
Born in 1959, in Kathmandu
Hailing from a traditional Newar society, Hisila Yami has become an off-the-beaten-track role model for Nepali women in many ways. Credit goes to her 'rebellious' father and her affiliation with the Maoist party.
She was born on 25 June, 1959, the last of seven children in the upper middle class family of Dharma Ratna Yami in Naradevi of Kathmandu. She grew up in a lavish environment as the last daughter of a large family.
Yami's father, Dharma Ratna, was a political figure and party meetings were frequently held in her home. She overheard a lot from their talks and understood the political situation as well as her father's personal views. But Ratna never tried to politicize his children and instead used to joke that all his siblings were from a Science background, but that he, as a politician, had better knowledge. Indeed, he had written over two-dozen books by that time.
Ratna was very liberal-minded and deliberately kept his children away from religion. He did not bother taking all his daughters through the "Ihi" and "Baray" (religious rites of marrying a girl to a wood apple and closing a girl child to a room to teach her about her body changes), traditions considered a must in Newar society. This was a kind of eye-popping revolution in the conservative cultural setting of the Newar community. Her mother bore the brunt of much criticism and was warned no Newar families would be ready to accept her girls as daughters-in-law as a result. "I can bet my father was more revolutionary in many ways than the Communists of those days," Yami said.
But Ratna preferred not to be labelled a Communist or a Democrat. Instead he was a person who "belonged to everyone, belonged to none". All honoured him, but nobody gave him any position of authority, so, as a result, he was used by the king. "He was a die-hard anti-Rana revolutionist, but his strength fell apart after King Tribhuwan drew his attention."
Yami joined Kanya Mandir High School in her neighbourhood. Her mother passed away when she was only ten years old and her sisters took care of her, especially her youngest sister Timila who was like a mother for her. Yami joined Kendriya Vidhyalaya of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, in 1971. The school taught her the qualities of being dashing, sporty, extroverted and revolutionary, as well as being a lover of culture. "I love sports and live culture. I used to sing a lot. I would have become an artist if I were not married to Dr Baburam," she said in a jolly mood.
A good number of Nepalese lived in Kanpur, but all were very poor and working there as porters or gatekeepers. Yami's sensitive heart lead her to ask herself why it happened only in Nepal that people were not allowed to live a dignified life. The bitter reality of class difference deeply touched her conscience and she was thus drawn to Marxism.
Yami was an average student but possessed talent in cultural and other extracurricular activities. Her sister suggested she study Architecture in order to tap in to her creativity.
She completed her schooling in 1975 and joined the School of Planning and Architecture in Delhi to obtain her Bachelor of Architecture. The atmosphere in the college gave her insight into societal hierarchy and inspired a devotion to bridging the gap between the rich and poor.
It was at college in 1977 when she first came into contact with Baburam Bhattarai, who was there to complete his master's degree. She was impressed with Bhattarai as he knew of the pathetic state in which Nepalese were living in the streets and he possessed a great deal of knowledge about her father and his contributions. "Meeting with Baburam was a qualitative leap in my life," Yami said.
They soon became good friends. He saw in her an interest in learning new things and was impressed by her political orientation. They worked together for the Nepali Ekata Samaj, an organization for low-class Nepali people working in different parts of India. Their friendship eventually turned into a marriage in 1981. Local Swami Agnivesh, a leader for the bonded labours movement, helped them marry.
Yami was busy in organizational tasks after the marriage, such as organizing Nepali students in India, mainly through Akhil Bharatiya Nepali Bidhyarthi Sangh, of which, she was general secretary between 1981 and 1982. She had obtained membership of the Nepal Communist Party by that time.
She returned to Nepal with the purpose of expanding the organization. To do this she had to take a professional track. She began teaching at the Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, as a lecturer between 1983 and 1996. Teaching was only a platform to unite fellow left-wing people.
Yami was initially a district committee member of the party and worked as the central chairperson of the All Nepal Women's Association (Revolutionary) up until the People's War was finally waged.
Yami completed her Masters in Architecture from the United Kingdom's University of Newcastle in 1995. "It was a bit difficult but study and work for the movement, but both went side-by-side in my life," she said.
When the party decided to launch the People's War, Yami became a full-time member. She was working for the International and Immigration Department and was a member of the regional bureau in the party. She was also editing the publication of the Camposa. She was made a central committee member in the national congress in 2000. She gained popularity among cadres as Comrade Parvati, a sportive leader who could adjust to any kind of person or situation. Although Yami was not physically involved in the war or military operations, she worked actively during this period and, in such, due credit of the movement's result must go to her.
"It was quite difficult for a husband and a wife to work together for the party. We were more guided by thoughts than sentiments and, obviously, contradictions erupted now and then," she said, adding that despite this, the contradictions lead to a greater commitment to work hard for the party and Nepal.
Yami suffered serious depression when she was first forced to go underground, as she was doing her best in the streets and was a young and energetic activist. She felt party work was shrinking and that she had lost her identity. When mobility was restricted she went first to Pokhara and then India. She was an extrovert and keeping her mouth shut was difficult.
People from society's low class generally join Communist movements and criticize higher classes, both within the party and outside. This may explain why her commitment and loyalty to the party came under question several times, so much so the party took action against her in 2005. Instead of generating prejudice against the party, she concentrated on party literature and waited for justice. The party's Chunwang Meeting finally unified all doctrines and forces. "Question marks are okay. But nobody could chase me out because of my family background. There was no chance of being not accepted," she said.
Women are not easily accepted in politics. Men tend to underestimate women and their contributions, a natural reaction in a country in which a feudal or patriarchal setting governs society. In comparison with others, the CPN (Communist Party of Nepal) - Maoist is considered a party which is liberal to women. "Women are given special rights and more women have come to upper levels of leadership. We honour women militants. But, still, I have to admit that women are not all equally treated in the party. The reflection of feudal thinking is still there somewhere," she said.
The People's War overthrew the monarchy. The Maoists entered legislative parliament and then the government. But they were faced with much opposition. Parties and people were not ready to accept transformation of the Maoists into a political force.
After a decade working underground Yami appeared in public on 18 June, 2003, as negotiations between the government and Maoists formally took shape. Understandably, most Maoist leaders did not possess the skills necessary to face other political forces, international institutions, and the press. Yami, however, had an understanding of different ideologies and an exposure to the international scene prior to the party's formation, which is why she did not have to 'come out of the den'. She felt very comfortable when she met different people and listened to their criticism and expectations.
Yami had been attached to the women's rights movement from the beginning of her political life. Through the All Nepal Women's Association (Revolutionary) she spread messages of women's rights and gender equality, and generated the masses' opinions on the need to fight against the century-old patriarchal ideology. Yami faced criticism from within her party as her way of thinking differed from most. She said, "I have conceived a difference between women's thoughts of yesterday and those held today. These days we have to go to totality. We cannot survive as extremists in the 21st century. So, we need to leave outdated ideology behind and collaborate with men for overall women's emancipation."
She added that many women cannot come out of their homes even though they have the zeal and capacity to do something for society. "In my case, my husband has been very accommodative and supportive to me".
Yami became Minister of Physical Planning and Works in the interim government on 1 April, 2007. Along with her many other achievements, she is often remembered for her political and diplomatic decision to end the deadlock preventing the Melamchi Drinking Water Project to go ahead. Taking control of the situation she tactfully brought the Asian Development Bank to Nepali people's interest and made the donors happy.
After winning the election from Kathmandu Constituency No. 7 in April 2008, she is now a member of the Constituent Assembly. She again joined the government led by Maoist chairman Prachanda on 18 August, 2008 as the Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation. Her radical approach to reform the tourism sector was well recognized. She has also proved herself to be a role model as a well-rounded and fearless politician by bungee jumping at the age of 50.
Yami has now become an advocate of Newa Autonomous Region. She believes we cannot forget our ethnic identity when we restructure the country. "The Kathmandu Valley and surrounding area is undoubtedly the civilization of the Newars. And the new state formation must not overlook this truth. But, she warned, "This does not mean that we can forget the reality today. By giving honor to the age-old civilization of the valley, all should live in this valley in social, religious, cultural and ethnic harmony". She also believes Kathmandu has been overloaded with centralized development and the concept of decentralization of the administrative hub should be introduced, perhaps by relocating the capital.
She has authored and co-authored several books, such as Adha Akash Adha Dharti (1991), Adhikar: Demystification of Law for Nepali Women (1993), Marxbad ra mahila mukti in and People's War and Women's Liberation in Nepal (both 2006).
Yami believes society and the party have given her a lot. "I have not been able to return. Now I should give all (back) - my studies, my struggles and my achievements. I should contribute from all aspects."
Even though she has now left the government, Yami has become more involved in party organization. Still, she believes now is the time for her to review her struggles and achievements. "I once made up my mind to write an autobiography but I could not concentrate. Now, I believe that the right time has come," she said.

Written by Razen Manandhar.
http://web.archive.org/web/20141011002255/http://www.wwj.org.np:80/mahila/profile_hishila_yami.html

Nepali Mahila : Bindra Hada Bhattarai

Secretary at the Ministry for Women, Children and Social Welfare

Born in 1965, Kathmandu



Bindra Hada Bhattarai underwent all sorts of hardships in Nepali bureaucracy, something women in general in Nepal choose to stay away from. Now, she is regarded as an energetic woman secretary in the history of Nepal's civil service.

Bhattarai was born on June 23, 1965 in an extended joint family of typical Newars of Bhotahity in the center of Kathmandu, where any change in the traditional system was always restricted. Being the first child of the eldest son in the family, she enjoyed immense love, both from her father's relatives as well as her mother's home.

Her father, Bishnu Hada, a retired government officer, did everything to educate his children. She joined local Balkumari High School, but changed schools quite frequently as she had to travel along with her father to Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, Ilam and other districts. Bhattari finally returned to Kathmandu and joined Nepal Adarsha High School, from where she completed her exams for the School Leaving Certificate in 1982. She later joined Tri-Chandra Campus where she did her master's degree in Organic Chemistry in 1991.

Bhattari's childhood dream was to become a teacher. After doing her master's degree, she started working as a part-time teacher in Tri-Chandra Campus. There was discrimination against part-time teachers, who were scantily paid and had little chance of promotion. She, along with a group of other teachers, demanded a secure position in campus administration. A teacher challenged and mocked her to pass the examination of Public Service Commission (PSC) in order to join the campus.

She may have forgotten this teacher's name now, but Bhattari thanks him for the success she has achieved today. The teacher may have wanted to remind her that not everyone who passes the university exam could be fit for a teacher's job. On the other hand he may have intended to teach her that getting a job is not easy. But Bhattari chose to take what he said as a challenge and immediately applied for the examination of PSC. She attended the examination without much interest and hard work, but passed regardless. She still wanted to become a teacher and went to the campus again; just to advise the teacher she had passed the examination and was now eligible to hold the teacher's position. The teacher was shocked and advised her to take advantage of her hard-earned qualification by joining a government office.

Bhattari was the daughter of a government officer and therefore understood how things work in government offices. It was not that she hated government jobs, but she wanted to do something else. However, after talking with several people in the campus as well as her family, in 1992 she finally received her appointment letter to work as a chemist in the Department of Mines.

She had an inter-caste marriage in 1992 with Nagendra Prasad Bhattarai, who is affiliated with the Department of English at Tribhuvan University. The couple now has two daughters. Bhattari is one of very few women in Kathmandu not to face any consequences following her inter-caste marriage. Both families are traditional, but have accepted their decision and are now living as part of a joint family. She added, "Had my husband and my in-laws not helped me, I could not have continued my professional life or career."

Bhattari believes her husband has been very cooperative and a great help in her social and professional life. Still, traditional male-domination is there. Even in today's urban family, in which both husband and wife work, husbands generally seek respect from their wives. "When we meet somebody, we have to think from which cultural background they have come, and this helps us a lot to compromise and take things ahead," she said.

Working in the office was fine and she performed in her role well, however working for over seven years Bhattari came to find her job quite monotonous. She told her seniors she wanted to be transferred to other office. She was sent to the Ministry of Finance and started working at the Department of 'Value Added Tax' in 1999 as a chemist.

Nepal's bureaucracy means people are seldom promoted within the technical field so there is often little chance of progress. Bhattari realized technical persons and their expertise are undermined. Thus she tried several times to escape and create a career in other fields such as teaching and banking. One day, she found herself applying for a job working for someone she had taught long time back.

"It was a time of unfathomable humiliation. Almost everybody in the office was against me. I cannot say if it was because I was a woman or not, but they just did not let me work. Then I remembered that life is a struggle. You need both hard work and destiny. I found ways to survive in those circumstances."

In 2002, she sat an examination for the post of joint-secretary, which, to her surprise, she passed. It was a two-step promotion and people in her office naturally envied her. Some of her co-workers did their best to convey the message to seniors that Bhattari could not handle the post. Nevertheless, thanks to her performance in previous offices, she was posted as a joint-secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration in the same year.

Bhattari has been observing Nepal's government employment and administration through her father since childhood. Handling administrative hassles was not difficult for her and she came up with an idea to do something for women bureaucrats. She, among others, successfully arranged a provision for a man to receive paid leave at the time of his wife's delivery. Similarly, she also worked to bring change within the conventional system of promoting government staff, arguing that using the mark-sheet method should not be the only guide while promoting hard-working staff. The next year she was responsible for promoting 75 section officers to the post of under-secretary. She had staff complete a form to determine where they wanted to be posted. Of them, 70 received their post of choice and were happy. "I believe that we can get the maximum from staff if we know their orientation, and this will ultimately be beneficial to the state," she said.

Later, she went to the Department of Commerce as the Director General. It was around this time she came down hard on corrupt businessmen and launched a campaign for consumers' rights. Market inspections became regular and black-marketers were put behind bars. However, many businessmen still managed to escape. She used all her tactics to bring the market under control. She admitted that although the period was thrilling, she did make mistakes and came into controversy. "It was the time when I could do something I wanted. I proved that bringing the market under government control is possible. Still, I could not do all because of a flaw in our laws," she said.

www.nepalimahila.comBhattari was later promoted as a secretary at the Cabinet Office from 1 October 2007, where she stayed for 13 months. It was a place where competitive people were appointed as secretaries, though they could not prove their expertise. It was an even more difficult place to work.

Still, she introduced a provision to make separate desks for social, economic and other issues. She handled the desk for infrastructure and the social sector. That is, she collected information on agriculture, economics, industries, women, children, education, land management and physical planning. A database was prepared, and all information from the respective Ministries was compiled for the Cabinet office so information regarding all Ministries could be held in the one place. The system showed promise and progress; however was put on hold amid the hectic time of the Constituent Assembly election. When the election results came through, more time was taken from Bhattari's project as resources were spent on the forming of the new government. She said she had the opportunity to learn many cross-cutting issues, but could not perform well in that environment.

She was transferred to the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare in November 2008, a Ministry considered to be small, manageable and without much hassle. In Bhattari's words, it is a Ministry in which "responsibility is big, but is opened out of small concept".

Bhattari took the responsibility of secretary of the Ministry as a challenge as well as an opportunity. She said, "Now, I feel that I am in the right place. I see so many things around me which must be done for women, children, disabled people and elder citizens as well as society. But I see the constraints as well. We are covering over 80 percent of the total population, but the budget the government has provided is only nominal. For the current fiscal year, the Ministry only has an Rs 805,500,000 budget. It is smaller than that of one big project and there are hundreds of big projects to be implemented."

She added that women members of the Constituent Assembly often visit her and suggest launching programs in their respective districts. "Their ideas are good, but we cannot do what we plan because of lack of financial resources."

Bhattari is now focusing on adolescent girls' education. It is a 10-day training for drop-out girl students with the purpose of either sending them back to schools, or arranging for them to complete simple vocational training. By the end of this fiscal year the Ministry will reach 2,342 Village Development Committees (VDCs) and plan to add 600 more in the year ahead. "If we have enough money, we can develop our country with our ideas alone. We Nepalis do not lack good ideas. I believe that this Ministry can bring a change in Nepali society."

Meanwhile, the Ministry will establish a complaint desk for victims of domestic violence in all VDCs.

Written by Razen Manandhar
http://web.archive.org/web/20141011003537/http://www.wwj.org.np:80/mahila/profile_bindra_hada_bhattrai.html

Nepali Mahila : Bidhya Bhandari

Vice chairperson of the Nepal Communist Party (Unified Marxist-Leninist)
Chairperson of All Nepal Women's Association

Minister of Defense

Born in 1961 in Bhojpur district



A few people had heard of Bidhya Bhandari before she married Madan Bhandari, a prominent leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) who died in a car accident in 1993. Some people criticized her for being a 'widow politician', common in South Asian countries, when she contested in the parliamentary election of 1994 by succeeding her husband and won. She proved herself to be a 'real successful politician' in the eighth general convention of the CPN (UML), held in March 2009, by being elected vice president of her party.

She was born in June 1961 in Ambote village of Bhojpur district in eastern Nepal to a well-to-do farmer's family of Brahmins. She was a lucky girl in Nepali society who had seldom experienced gender discrimination in her childhood. Her father Ram Bahadur Pandey was headmaster at a local high school. Her grandfather Tilak Bahadur Pandey was a social worker as well as a Pradhan Pancha, a powerful post in the village during the Panchayati period.

She first joined Behereshwar Primary School and later shifted to Bidhyodaya Vocational High School in the district headquarters, from where she completed her SLC (School Leaving Certificate) in 1979. Bhandari was the first person to complete matriculation in her family. In her generation girls seldom had a chance to go to school, but her grandfather insisted she attend . "I happened to be a role model for the women in my village and it prom pted other parents to send their daughters to school," she said.

Bhand ari learned about politics w hen she was in seventh grade. She listened to regular discussions on politics in her family between her grandfather and uncles who had worked as student activists in the Nepal Student's Union and the ANNFSU. Nepal was then under the party-less Panchayat system and in Jhapa district a radical communist group raised weapons against landlords under the influence of the Naxallites of Eastern India. In the village she was told this Jhapa movement was launched by 'beheaders' who took away all unmarried girls. In such, g irls were allowed to go to the jungle to collect fodder only after wearing 'pote and chura', traditional ornaments worn by married wom en. But at home she heard that communists had raised arms in Jhapa to fight against all sorts of inequality .

Her family had no real financial problems but Bhand ari was sensitive enough to worry about the poor people in her villages. "I felt very bad when I saw some people begging for money, medicine or some old dresses to wear. I wondered why they we re so poor and what was the cause of this inequality," she said.

Bhandari heard her relative Khagendra Pandey praising China's Cultural Revolution . He said that every person would have food to eat, places to shelter and jobs for wage in communist society. The communis t philosophy attracted her.

When she was in eighth grade Bhand ari learned about the Coordination Committee, the communist organization that was founded in 1975 by those activists who participated in the Jhapa movement and later turned into the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) in 1978. She began to participate in activities distributing pamphlets in villages to warn the local landlords. "My grandfather was known as a feudal lord in the village. And I was on the frontline to distribute pamphlets against the feudalists. But he had never scolded me for my activities. He was radical enough to support me," she said, adding that her grandfather rather inspired her to move ahead with her political slogans.

"My grandfather used to say that all his grandsons were following the old track, but that I would do something for the country as I was taking a new track. It became a great inspiration for me throughout my life."

In 1978 Bhandari joined Bhojpur Campus and took a course in humanities. In the same year, the student movement erupted in Kathmandu and spread all over the country. She and her colleagues collected money to send several students to the capital to show solidarity in the movement as members of the All Nepal National Free Student Union (ANNFSU). That was the beginning of her involvement in politics.

Bhand ari was very active as a student leader in her campus during the Panchayat period. Her group would go to remote villages to hold meetings with local activists. While she was doing her B achelor's degree in Mahendra Morang Campus in Biratnagar she was elected treasurer of the ANNFSU. Bhandari slowly became involved in party politics through its women's wing, the All Nepal Women's Association (ANWA), and developed associations  with the Biratnagar City Committee of the CPN (ML).

In 1982 Bhandari married Madan Bhandari through the intermediacy of her party. Before marriage the pair had met twice, once in 1979 and again in 1980 in Bhojpur, during party programs. She was among the participants Madan Bhandari gave political training to. She was very impressed with his personality, his political ideology and his leadership ability.

"It was not a love-at-first-sight kind of thing. I was nervous to be in front of him. His sharpness and his ability to present various issues with depth touched me. I was sure that he was a man with a difference but I did not know that he would one day acquire the position of general secretary of the CPN (UML)," she said.

Their marriage was inter-caste as Bidhaya belong ed to a Brahmin family and Madan to a Chhetri . Every arrangement of their marriage which took a year to finalize was handled by the party, without family support. When she told her mother about their marriage she neither took the news positively nor opposed it.

After their marriage, the two were both busy with their own party work and neither had time to take care of their family. They didn't even have time to think about whether their marriage was the right decision or not. "Even now I feel that it was an extremely difficult time and I wonder how we came to this stage," she said.

www.nepalimahila.com
Bhandari kept a low profile after her marriage while her husband made many landmark contributions for his party as well as the country. She said she kept a low profile by choice . She explain ed, "I saw a kind of unexpressed agony in many wives of political leaders. They feel that they had to sacrifice their abilities and possibilities for their husband's sake, which I don't like. Instead of working neck and neck with my husband, I preferred to let him move ahead by himself. I never took advantage of his personality and his position in the party, neither had I ever thought of competing with him. I was free from these two extremes. But I was careful of not putting him in any controversy because of me."

Bhand ari became more active in politics after Madan Bhadari died in a controversial car accident in 1993. In the mid-term election of 1994, her party gave her a ticket to contest in a constituency in Kathmandu where her husband was elected as an MP, by defeating veteran politician of the Nepali Congress, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai. She won and became M ember of Parliament.

She has been engaged with AWNA since its establishment in 1980. She became a president of chapters in Biratnagar, Morang district, and Koshi zone before she was elected a central president in 1998. She did not have the feeling that women were discriminated against before she was engaged in activities with ANWA. After becoming a member of ANWA, she went among women in search of more information on women's issues. She came to see that women are deprived of the same rights men enjoy , and that women face various other problems within their family and also society.

Bhandari finds a difference between the modality of women's movements before 1990's political change compared with the way it has been since . ANWA's  main political target before 1990 was to organize women to end the party-less Panchayat system. In those days, their movement was more political and they expected nothing but liberation for women while o n the streets.

However, after politics opened up in 1990 new kinds of women activists wearing clean dresses from middle-class or rich families came to the stage and tried to raise women's issues under the guidance of donors. Bhand ari is quite critical of those 'new-comers' in the fields of women's issues. She said, "We political activists spent our life for women's issues on dusty roads, with children on our backs, but activists of mushrooming NGOs took benefit from our issues." She is proud to admit she has never run after donors nor compromised  with them.

In 1997 she was appointed Minister for Population and Environment for seven months in the coalition government. "I was happy with my portfolio but I found very difficult to work in the environment where I could hardly find anybody to support me in the Ministry. I have to say, I faced lots of problem being a woman minister," she said.

Bhandari tabled the controversial 'property bill' in Parliament in 2006 with the support of several women MPs if the Nepali Congress after a long wait . It was easily approved. "Through this bill, women for the first time in the Nepali history got a right to succeed their parental property and a right to issue a child's citizenship with the name of a mother," she said.

After working as a central committee member of the CPN (UML) since 1998, she was elected one of three party vice presidents. "In fact, during the convention many male leaders tried to prevent me from contesting for a seat of vice president but there was some dramatic change and I was elected unexpectedly. I was glad to win but feel I have more responsibility now."  Bhand ari sometimes becomes sentimental when she look s at the chaotic situation of her party over the past few years , but she is willing to lead the party by herself should the time come .

Written by Razen Manandhar and Subhechha Bindu Tuladhar
http://web.archive.org/web/20141010125333/http://www.wwj.org.np:80/mahila/profile_bidhya_bhandari.html

Air is gong to cost more than water

Air is gong to cost more than water
Razen Manandhar
The price the residents of the Katmandu Valley have been paying for the air that comes from the dry pipelines (except for an hour or two in a week when water really appears to drip) is going to be more expensive than ever, thanks to the pressure of foreign investors of ambitious water projects and slave-like mentality of government officials. Despite protests from various consumers' organizations and civil society networks, the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL)has decided to hike water tariff very soon. The brazen decision of the so-called public-private partnership institution is now guided by foreign managers. While, the two other institutions Water Management Board and Water Tariff Fixation Commission have turned out to be puppet bodies of KUKL.

Following high-scale meetings, delegations and telephone conversations - going on in various hot-spots of the capital from Friday to Tuesday, the KUKL has recently received green signal to hike the water tariff. If it goes as KUKL has dreamed a few months ago, the water tariff will rise from 11 per cent to 150 per cent. And once the flood gate is open, KUKL will think that it has right to raise tariff every year.

The KUKL, which have came into shape after disintegrating the state-owned Nepal Water Supply Corporation and taking out the most profit-making part of it, that is, the Kathmandu Valley, literally failed to do "anything" to provide service to the thirsty denizens of the capital city. Neither they could make good relation with the public, nor they could do better homework to increase supply side. From the very beginning they were doing their best to hike the price, for, it was the mission of KUKL to do so, to let ADB release loan money for the tunnel construction of the Melamchi Water Supply Project.

In fact the KUKL was born not out of necessity, but to please the foreign investors. The concept of "privatization" was conceived in Nepal and was forcefully introduced the hybrid kind of privatization by the government not because the service of former Kathmandu section of NWSC was hopeless and this KUKL will come up with a magic stick. But there was a clause in the contract between the government and the ADB that the there must be some foreign kind of management of the water distribution body before it will release the loan money for construction of the Melamchi tunnel.

Melamchi has been a boring story for past several years. Even the promoters of this ambiguous "almost half a billion dollar" project are not sure when the water will really be flown in the valley's surface from this project. Even if the things go as smoothly as the politicians often speak, it is going to take at least half a decade from today's date. And the government does not have a single concrete plan how to supply water to the 4 million people of this centralized city in the years to come. Still, the government officials as well as political leaders from "revolutionary" parties cannot find time to think of some alternative solutions to the ever rising water crisis. The bankruptcy of intellectuality only drives them to go to the foreign investors and plead for some unfathomable amount of loan for some hazy kind of project. And, the investors, taking full advantage of the present situation, tie the almost impossible service to indispensable need and make the naive citizens slave of the bureaucracy and technocracy.

In one way, we may also try to be rational and think that why cannot we let KUKL do something if it wants to, after hiking the price.
Having assumed that the tariff hike is the need of the time, there is no guarantee that the situation of water scarcity will ever improve after the tariff hike. It is as clear as the day what the KUKL has done for the consumers of the three major districts of the country. Neither quality not quantity of water has shown any visible improvement in past 11 months. Both in the Monsoon as well as the dry season, the KUKL was just passing excuses. This shows that there is no relation between the proposed price hike and improved future. The situation was only dilapidating. What might have improved is just the pay scale of some selected employees of the Limited, into which we many not have to poke our noses.

Next, we may also tend to become more wise and say that why we cannot let the KUKL hike the price if it will open the gate of Melamchi tunnel construction? If the tunnel has to be there, there should not be any "if's" and "but's" to stop it from being there. And there is no reason why those "businessmen" who want to invest millions of dollars in a least developed country, cannot invest some more money by letting the consumers drink water (I mean dry air through water pipes) for some more years if they are sure that there will be tunnel soon and there will be expensive water at every doorsteps soon. This shows that the situation is not going to improve even if the tariff is hiked and the tunnel construction is started. Then why the consumers of the Kathmandu Valley are being made escape goats of some unseen forces?

It is shame that in the whole business, the consumers the the least addressed people. When the water is being sold to the consumers, why the multi-millionires do not find time to listen to them? The locals from here and there go to the KUKL office almost everyday and try to meet the officers who think that Nepali is their colony state and they are here to serve their country. Hardly any of the consumers have chance to see the "god-like" figures of the KUKL management. What we know is that they are impotent and they are reluctant to say sorry. And, we all know, the media persons have always been a no-no for them. When they want to do business with the local people, and when they are introducing a new commodity, which has been regarded as things to donate for past thousand years, they should at least have some sense of salesmanship, which is totally lacking. This only ignites aggressiveness of the consumers' organizations.

Possibilities are there: It is also possible that some underground forces are trying to project the present management of KUKL as failure and to let a new foreign management company take the whole of KUKL. But this does not mean that we play the role of slave and always be exploited by the "service provider" institutions.

Personally speaking, I was born in Khichapokhari, once a populated area of the core city. But I was displaced from my birthplace because of water scarcity. I will be positive to any institution, taking responsibility of water distribution, only when I will be assured that the desired amount of water will be available there and a situation will be made for my rehabilitation.

Even though, naturally, the consumers are still not united to fight against the bureaucracy and technocracy. Politics divide them more harshly than any issue can bind them together. Still, this is the high time for the consumers to let those feudalistic institutions understand the depth of the problems we have been undergoing and ask them the rationality behind raising water tariff. No doubt, the consumers would pay money if the Limited is ready to provide us water with better service. But there is no chance for any businessmen to rise price of the commodity and do not give us even what we deserve. When it has been established that water is people's basic human rights, no state should turn its back to the responsibility of providing every citizen with his or her basic needs.

Jen la fino de la laboro!

Hodiaŭ estas speciala tago. Ni sukcesis deklari ke ni finis la laoron sur la Nepali-Esperanto-Vortaro. Hieraŭ vespere mi, Narendra kaj Poshraj diksutis pri la restintaj vortoj, pri la ordo de nomoj kaj vortoj de redaktintoj. Mi verkis longan artikolon nome de la redaktintoj kaj petis sugeston de la du. Ili konsentis kaj donis kelke da sugestoj al mi pri ĝi. Kaj, ni ankaŭ diskutis kia maniere ni helpu al NEspA peti financan subetenon de KAEM. Poste ni telefonis al Jacob por hodiaŭa renkontiĝo.

Matene mi kaj Poshraj iris kune al MS Nepalo oficejo kie Jacob atendis nin. Poste venis Narendra. Ni diskutis pri la rolo de NEspA je peto de mono al KAEM. Ni ankaŭ diskutis kiel ni povas meti malfermecon de alveno de la mono kaj ĝia travidebla uzo.

Ni unue verkis leteron al NEspA, informante al ĝi ke la vortaro estas preta nun. Kaj petis ke ĝi skribu al KAEM por la financa helpo. Ni kvin membroj de la vortaro-komitato -- mi, Narendra, Poshraj, Jacob kaj Philip -- subskribis sub ĝi. Ĉar Philip ne povis ĉeesti en la kunveno, mi iris al lia oficejo kun la letero kaj li volonte donis lian subskribon. Ni sendis la kopion de la letero al KAEM, por ke ĝi traktu la leteron iom pli haste.

Ni volis ĝin fari iom urge, ĉar eble KAEM bezonos pli da diskuto por aprobi la subtenon de ĉiuj anoj. Kaj daŭras longa tempo por veni la mono al ni (mi ne sicas en kiu konto la mono venos ĉar la konto de la ascio jam ne funkcias ĉar la ekseksa prezidanto ankoraŭ ne transdonis la rajton uzi la konton al nova kaj denove nova prezidanto). Super tio, nun mankas elektro en Katmando, la presmaŝino povas labori nun kelkaj homoj en tago kaj la laboro en ĉiuj presejoj abundas.

Ni ĉiuj deziras le la voratro estos en manoj nia dum la Internacia Himalaja Renkontiĥo! Kia bela sonĝo!!

Estis planita ke ni sidu kune kaj festu vespere, sed tio ne povis okazi. Moragaŭ tagmeze Jacob vojaĝos al Thailando kaj mi tre esperas ke tiam ni havos la monan subtenon preta.

Vesprere, Jacob, Narendra kaj mi diskutis kiom da mono ni petus. Mi proponis ke la sumo estu 1400 dolaroj kiom mi antaŭe proponis laŭ la antaŭa kalkulado, kvankam nun la prezo multe altiĝis intertempe. Ni vidu kiel la plej bone ni povos utiligu la financan subtenon kaj ĝi daŭre helpu nin eldoni aliajn Esperanto-librojn. Aŭ ni sukcesos resendi almenaŭ duonon da la subtenon al KAEM post disvendado de la vortaro.

Nun mi volas verki longan artikolon pri mia rilato kun la vortaro, eble por mia blogo.

UK en Bjalistoko, vidata el malproksimo

Ĝoje, ke 94-a Universala Kongreso de Esperanto, okazis en Bjalistoko, Pollando, 25 de julio - 1 de aŭgusto 2009, Estis fakte longe atendita okazaĵo. Mi bedaŭras ke mi ne povis esti parto de la historia evento.

Mi mem ne estis fizike en Bjalistoko, sed mi estis tie mense, viturale. Ĉiu tage mi iris al blogoj kaj aliaj retpaĝoj por legi ion ajn pri la UK. Kompreneble, homoj estis okupitaj dum tagoj kaj noktoj kaj mi esperis ke ili ĉiutage skribu ion pri la eventoj, pri iliaj sentoj ktp. Tute stulte. Sed kion fari? Du personoj el Ipernitio bone metis fotojn de la UK. Dankon al ili. Mi nenion vidis en Youtube ankaux.

Tri personoj el Nepalo sukcesis aranĝi vojaĝon al Bjalistoko kaj partoprenis en ĝi. Ili tute ne skribis al mi pri la okazaĵoj. Unu skribis antaŭ la komenco kaj alia respondis pri mia blogaĵo.

Tute ne gravas. Mi estas feliĉa nun ke tuj post la kongreso, mi ricevis multajn leterojn - de konataj geamikoj kaj eĉ kelkaj nekonataj (eble forgesitaj) homoj kiuj detale rakontis min pri la kongreso, precipe pri nepalaj partoprenantoj. Mi legis ĉion kaj nature, mi interesiĝis pri aferoj kiuj rilatas al miajn nepalaj partoprenantoj, nepala movado kaj aziaj aferoj.

Anaŭ la kongreso Barabara, mia malnova pola amikino gastigis P-on kaj dum la aranĝo ŝi ekkonis reston de la grupo en Nepalo. Dankon Barbara por bona zorgo pri li. Mi ne scius se sxi ne dirus al mi.

Mi leginte ĉion nur bedaŭas ke partoprenoj de nepalanoj estis pli ĥaosaj ol mi iam povis imagi. Nepalanoj preskaŭ ĉiutage surprizigis eŭropajn gastogantoj/zorgantojn, kun iliaj novaj planoj aŭ manko de planoj. Ili rajtis sanĝi iliajn planojn post ĉiuj du horoj sed tio donis malbonan impreson al zorgantoj. Tiom ke ili ne parolis pri iliaj planoj dum sep tagoj de kongresumado. Eble esperanto-nivelo de niaj partoprenantoj malhelpis ilin bone komuniki kun aliuloj tie.

Mi havas sperton de Japanio. Nepalanoj simple ne sidas por plani ion ajn kaj unu persono ne scias kion havas en alies koro. Ĝuste okazis tiel ankaŭ en Bjalistoko.

Mi ĝojas legi ke iu mendis 100 kopiojn de Nepali-Esepranto-Vortaro. Dankon al li. Tio pruvas ke estas homoj en la mondo kiuj vere ŝatas posedi ĝin, kvankam apenaŭ en Nepalo aĉetis ĝin. Nur esperantistoj konas valoron de la esepranto-libroj.

Mi goĵas trovi ke ĉiuj kopioj de "Vojaĝo al Muktinath" estis venditaj. Tiom ke eĉ miaj karaj geamikoj ne povis ricevi ilin kiel miaj donacoj. Tre bedaŭrinde ke mi mem ne povis esti tie por plenumi miajn promesojn. Kaj, aliflanke miaj libroj iris al nekonataj manoj kaj mi povas poste sendi kopiojn perpoŝte aparte. Mi volas legi de KAEM aŭ KAEManoj kiom da kopiojn ĝi vere sukcesis vendi.

Mi nur povis esperi ke ili portu ĉiujn librojn de Nepalo. Mi donis al P sed li ne povis ĉar li havis grandegan pakaĵon kaj H (eble) ne povis kolekti ĝin. Certe mi prenos aliajn kopiojn kiam mi en estonteco partoprenos en UK.

Ankaŭ estis ĝojiga informo por mi ke nepalanoj estis tiom okupitaj dum la kongreso ke ili ne havis tempon por saluti aŭ babili kun konataj geamikoj, tiom multe ili dronis sin en la evento. Ili estis kune dum semajnoj sub la sama tegmento sed ili ne havis 10 minutojn da babilado. Kongresoj estas tiaj... aŭ kongresoj devas esti tiaj.

Krome, mi petis al kelkaj geamikoj eksterlandaj ke ili renkontu nepalanojn kaj salutu. Ili fakte serĉis nepalanojn sed tute ne povis trovi ilin, eĉ dum la inaŭgura sesio. Mia amiko ne povis vidi P-on dum iu prelego, ankaux ne dum artaj aranĝoj. Ŝajne, la nacian vesperon li forlasis post duona horo kaj malaperis kun iu. La balon li ne partoprenis, dum koncertoj mi ne vidis lin. Dum la grupaj diskutoj pri la kongresa temo li ne ĉeestis. Nur foje mi vidis lin en la KAEM budo kie li vendis la librojn kaj respondis al demandintoj.

Maljuna amiko el Germanio, Hans gastigas P kaj ili duope volis viziti diversajn lokojn. Li deziris viziti al Ursula dum kelkaj tagoj, sed Hans jam planis alion. Kaj poste Ursula havos alian programon ĉe ŝia hejmo.

Aparte, H estis tute senhelpa. Li estis iom malsana je la komenco. Li tamen multe laboris por la KAEM budo okazis, sed maltrafis ĉiujn aranĝojn. Eble liaj nepalaj kolegoj ne nepallingve klarigis al li aŭ li ankaŭ ne demandis siaflanke. Eble, denove, lia sperto en Bjalistoko devigos lin lerni Esepranton pli serioze - miaj bondeziroj. Jes, iu vidis ke li estas la persono kiu ofte havis N-E vortaron en liaj manoj. Li finfine vojaĝis al vilagxo de Ursula.

Kiel estroj de nepala registaro, nepalaj reprezentantoj estis sendependaj; do ĉiuj ne devis zorgi pri aliaj membroj. Tio estas kutimo de multaj jaroj. Mi legis/aŭdis pri tio en Ĉinio kaj bone vidis en Japanio.

I kaj P ekskursis kun islandano Jon kaj iu pola knabino iom zorgis pri H kaj eĉ vizitis lin en sia ĉambro.

Estas por me almenaŭ bedaŭrinda ke neniu rezervigis vortaron por UEA kaj libroservo. Danke, Franciska devis trankviligi Osmo Buller per la fordono de ŝia propra voraro. Tio estas ĉiel malbona. Konflikto ja estas en Nepalo. Sed iu devas montri en UK ke Nepalo ja produktis almenaŭ ion en pasitaj 20 jaroj. Vere, ni estas bonaj esperantistoj en Nepalo, sed nia organizado estas nulo.

Tio vere aplikiĝis dum la KAEM kunsido. Ĉeestis ĉ. 50 esperanstistoj, de en kaj ekster Azio. Nek P nek H iris; kaj I iris tro malfrue, duonan horon post la komenco. Hontinde. Ĉiuj landoj raportis kaj prezentis sin. I nur diris unu frazon : "Nepalo sukcese aranĝis himalajan renkontiĝon". La ĉeestintoj lauxte ridis pro tia unu frazo. Oni povas kompreni ili ridis pri Nepalo, au pli bone, pri ĝia reprezentintino aŭ aktuala nivelo de nepala Esperanto-movado. Denove hontinde.

Ŝi ne volis paroli pri la vortaro (dum ĝia inaŭguro, mi ĝuste blogis: neniu estis feliĉa krom mi). Danke, iu eŭropanino havis unu vortaron en sia sako kaj ŝi tuj iris antauxen kaj montris la vortaron. Hontinde denove por I. Tuj s-ro Lee emfazis ke la vortaro aperis per la financa helpo de KAEM, komprenite.

H kaj P ofte sidis en la KAEM budo kaj vendis la librojn, sed ne havis unu foton pri la nepala montaro por varbumi pri la IHR. Ili maltrafis gravan ŝancon varbumi por la IHR kaj por prezenti sin al la azia mondo.

Ĵus venis al mi informo ke I gastiĝas ĉe hejmo de Joakimo, mia Esperanto-instruisto, kiu bedaŭrinde nun estas for de la movado.

Mi ne estsa "Sangxaja" de Mahabharato, sed mi povis vidi la veron kiel antaux miaj okuloj. Komrepneble, mi skribas la veron tiom rekte ke kelkaj kaŝemauloj tute ne toleras min. Eble iu (almenaŭ unu, mi bone konas) diros ke tio ne estas vero. Mi lasas ĉambrojn al vi ĉiuj respondi kio estas vero se ĝi ne estas.

Quake-proof school building a source of inspiration in Hetauda

RAZEN MANANDHAR

Hetauda, July 12:

A small and ordinary-looking building at the Shramik High School in the Karra area has become an inspiration for disaster risk reduction initiatives in the fast-growing Hetauda

Municipality, where around 500 houses are built every year.

“After looking at the building we have come to believe that earthquake-resistance technology

is not complex,” said Sambhu Dhakal, a student at Shramik.

“Our parents should follow this model while building houses,” Dhakal said.

At Rs 6.5 lakh, the building cost only five per cent more than ordinary load-bearing houses, but it can resist an earthquake as strong as 6.5 on the Richter scale. The building was constructed on the initiative of the Community Based Management Group with the support of the United Nations Development Programme, the Hetauda District Development Committee, the Hetauda Municipality and the school management committee. The National Society for Earthquakes and Technology also provided technical help.

“The building itself may not be that important,” said Rajendra Karki, chairman of the CBMG Hetauda,

“but the message this symbolic building is giving is significant. It has been a source of inspiration for the whole city.” “As a demonstration project, we chose this school because the school has a vulnerable community building. Besides, it could spread good message all over the city through the new generation,” said Karki.

A civil engineer at the Hetauda Municipality, Satya Narayan Sah, said after construction of the school building, people started visiting the municipality with queries about the earthquake resistant technologies and begun a trend of constructing new buildings like it. “Most of new load-bearing houses have been built by adopting this technology,” he added.

According to Karki, disaster risk-reduction technologies are not expensive but people know little about them.

Most part of the country is seismically active, seismologists say, adding that major earthquake jolts Nepal every 70 years. The 8.4 earthquake of 1934 AD claimed 16,875 lives and destroyed 3,18,139 houses. Earthquakes in 1980 and 1988 AD killed around 178 and 721 people, respectively, beside damaging property and infrastructure.

Published: July 13, 2008 12:00 am On: Nepal

https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/quake-proof-school-building-a-source-of-inspiration-in-hetauda/