When it rains, it pours
On the recent rains and subsequent floods and landslides
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening from Kathmandu. This is Issue 159 of KALAM Weekly, the only newsletter you need to keep updated with everything happening in Nepal.
In this newsletter:
Sidha Kura journalists convicted for spreading misinformation
Oli at Harvard
Dashain break
The Deep Dive: When it rains, it pours
Sidha Kura journalists convicted for contempt of court
Earlier this year, in April, the news portal Sidha Kura published an audio tape allegedly featuring the voices of a sitting justice of the Supreme Court, two media barons — Rameshswor Thapa of Annapurna Media Network and Kailash Sirohiya of Kantipur Media Group — and senior lawyers discussing the dismissal of certain cases for kickbacks. Almost immediately upon publication, all alleged parties denounced the recording as fake, and the Supreme Court filed a contempt of court case suo moto, i.e., of its own volition, without requiring a petitioner. The Court argued that the audio tape had been faked to malign the judiciary. I wrote about this in detail in a previous newsletter:
On Sunday, September 29, the Supreme Court finally decided on the case, declaring the audiotape fake and holding Sidha Kura responsible for its dissemination. Publisher Yubraj Kandel and executive editor Nabin Dhungana were sentenced to three months in jail with a caveat that their sentence would be reduced to just seven days if they apologized publicly, published a corrigendum, and vowed to be more vigilant in the future. The court was harsher on Raj Kumar Timilsina, who created the fake audio, sentencing him to six months in jail.
In my previous newsletter, I concluded that the audio was faked and in such an amateurish fashion. Numerous artifacts on the recording should have raised the alarm for any seasoned journalist. When confronted with such a damning audiotape, Sidha Kura should have been all the more cautious and forensically verified the audiotape before publishing it. In their rush to publish such a sensational story, it seems they failed to exercise any journalistic rigor. I generally do not favor jailing journalists for their writing, but misinformation and disinformation must be tackled. In this case, I think the judiciary did well, sentencing Sidha Kura to just a few months in jail, brought down to just a week if they publicly apologize and issue a correction. It isn’t a harsh punishment, but enough to dissuade others from spreading such misinformation. Hopefully, the media, especially online media portals, will now work to publish only what they can verify and stand behind, not whatever sensational news falls into their lap.
Oli at Harvard
Last week, the Deep Dive looked closely at Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s discussion at Columbia University. On Friday, he held a similar discussion at the Harvard University Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics. There’s little point in devoting another Deep Dive to a very similar discussion, so I’ll briefly cover what Oli said at Harvard.
In his opening address, Oli didn’t reiterate Nepali history, focusing instead on pressing issues like transitional justice and climate change. The following discussion, moderated by Michael Puett, Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History and Anthropology and Director of the Asia Center at Harvard University, and Fatema Z. Sumar, Executive Director of the Harvard Center for International Development, focused on these two issues. In response to questions from the moderators, Oli once again emphasized the importance of the Himalayas in combating climate change and how Nepal was bearing the brunt of the consequences without contributing very much to climate change. He reiterated Nepal’s commitment to reaching zero emissions by 2045 by focusing on hydropower and even remarked how Nepali researchers were working on developing hydrogen-powered cars. The latter is really still a pipe dream. This was an opportune moment to mention the floods that were devastating Nepal as Oli was speaking, but he didn’t bring any of that up.
Regarding transitional justice, the moderators congratulated Oli on the passage of the transitional justice amendment bill but rightly asked if it would be implemented in good faith. Oli answered that the ruling coalition of the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML were committed to transitional justice as these two parties had been instrumental in all of Nepal’s modern political changes. The Congress and UML had brought the Maoists to the negotiating table during the civil conflict, he said. Oli greatly downplayed the role of the Maoists in this entire process when that party is one of the most significant stakeholders in transitional justice. Without the Maoists on board, transitional justice will be all the more difficult to implement, contrary to Oli’s promises.
Questions from the audience followed. The first question was about out-migration and how Oli’s government would reverse this trend. Oli answered that as many Nepalis who were leaving were coming back too, downplaying the out-migration. Most migrants were temporary, he said, and he isn’t wrong. However, Nepal is indeed heavily dependent on remittance sent home by these temporary migrants. Oli pledged that his government would focus on productive industries to create jobs and retain the working-age population in Nepal. Those are lofty promises and certainly not about to materialize anytime soon.
The next questions concerned the 2015 constitution and asked Oli about why so many people protested against its promulgation, leading to at least 50 deaths. The students also asked if Oli would release the Lal Commission report, which looked into those deaths. This report has never been published. These were great questions but Oli sidestepped them by saying that the statute was a document of consensus among all the parties and that amendments would be made as necessary since the constitution is a living document. He did not remark on the Lal Commission report.
Two other questions followed—one on the narrative of Nepal as a poor, third-world, crime-ridden country and one on political instability and the possibility of instituting term limits. Oli didn’t remember the questions, but when reminded, he answered glibly, asking, “For America?” as an answer to the second question, eliciting laughs from the audience. Oli responded that politics is not about age and that anyone who can work with the energy of a younger man should be allowed in politics. He appeared a little irritated at this question, which the youth have been asking consistently, even at Columbia. He said that young people are free to contest elections and win and that he’s a politician because he wins the votes of the people, not just due to his age.
And that’s pretty much where the discussion ended. It wasn’t very different from the Columbia address and Oli did his level best to keep the audience entertained with his quips. Not much substance though, but then again, that’s nothing new with Oli.
Dashain is here
Thursday was Ghatasthapana, which officially marks the beginning of the festival of Dashain. This year’s Dashain is going to be a somber affair for many, as many people lost their lives and properties in the recent floods and landslides. Even now, many roads and highways are blocked by landslides, and many bridges have been washed away by flood waters, making it difficult for Nepalis to get home to celebrate the festival. I commiserate with everyone who is suffering and hope they can get some semblance of comfort in these trying times.
To everyone else, I wish you all a Happy Dashain. I will be off next week for the festival so there will be no newsletter next Friday. I’ll be back the week after. In the meantime, why not gift a paid subscription to a friend or family member as a Dashain gift? It would be a great gift not just to them but also to me!
That’s all for this week’s round-up. The Deep Dive continues after the break below.
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The deep dive: When it rains, it pours
Image: Getty
The death toll from the rains this past week has crossed 220. The fatalities are highest in the Kathmandu Valley, where over 50 people died. Dozens are still missing, hundreds more are injured, and the damage to public and private property is in the billions. Thousands of families have lost their homes and belongings. By all counts, it has been a disaster.
We were warned. Last week, days before the rains, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology issued a special weather bulletin warning of extreme rainfall across the country over the next three days. The accompanying map alone should’ve been enough to scare us — covered in angry red. The map warned: red means take action.
Just as the rains began on Thursday, environment journalist Abhaya Raj Joshi tweeted out: “Never seen such frantic calls from Nepal's department of hydrology and meteorology before. Should the govt give public holiday for a few days so that people don't get caught up in possible disaster?” None of us knew then how prescient Joshi was. Perhaps if the government had declared a public holiday and treated the warnings with the gravity they deserved, the death toll would’ve been lower.
Alas, no real action was taken. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was in the United States, Deputy Prime Minister Bishnu Poudel was in China, Anil Pokhrel, chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) was in Europe, Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal was receiving garlands in his home district of Syangja, and acting prime minister Prakash Man Singh was nowhere to be seen. The government prohibited long-haul travel on Friday and halted all domestic flights due to the inclement weather. But by then, it was too late. Hundreds of people were already stranded on the highways, and dozens had already died from landslides triggered by the rains.
Over the next three days, from Thursday until Saturday, the country would receive more rainfall than it had in years. The rain gauge in Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport measured 239.7mm of rain over 24 hours; the previous record rainfall had been 177mm of rain on July 23, 2002. That same day in 2002, Chapagaun in Lalitpur received 200.5mm of rain; this past Friday-Saturday, it received 323.5mm. Daman, Makwanpur district had the greatest rainfall, which received 410mm of rain. Rainfall of over 100mm over 24 hours is considered dangerous as it can lead to flooding and landslides.
In the face of the incessant rain, the authorities appeared paralyzed. The Home Ministry, led by Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, was caught seemingly unaware by the scale of the destruction. Rescue teams from the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, and Nepal Police were all mobilized but a little too late. Even the NDRRMA, the government body mandated to prevent disasters and coordinate rescues, failed at its role. Early warnings were not disseminated adequately among the public, and strict measures were not implemented to prevent loss of life and property. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who was in the United States at the time, admitted at a press conference upon returning that his government was “not prepared for a catastrophe of such magnitude.”
Things were already too far gone once the rains began and flooding started. People and homes were already being washed away when the security teams sprung into action. Much more could and should have been done before the rains started. That’s what prevention and preparation is all about. When the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology sounded the alarm, did anyone listen? Not the government and not the people. Fatalism set in, and the government, as usual, was content with letting the people fend for themselves.
So what can we do to prevent another disaster like this from occurring?
First, early warning systems need to be put in place and the local authorities must issue warnings. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority cannot simply post warnings on social media and hope that the public sees them. Local governments must be mobilized to go door-to-door if necessary and evacuate people from high-risk areas. Telecom providers like Nepal Telecom and Ncell can also issue alerts directly to mobile phones. The Home Ministry and disaster reduction authority should have played much more prominent roles in prevention and preparation. Rescue equipment and personnel should’ve been stationed close to high-risk areas. Temporary shelters should’ve been identified long before the rains started.
Weather forecasts must be taken seriously. Nepal can forecast the weather, especially rainfall, pretty accurately. But when the government itself doesn’t take these warnings seriously, why would the people? Red alerts must become the norm, and all three tiers of government need to take them seriously. Err always on the side of caution.
Second, we must assess where the loss of life and property was and formulate policies and guidelines to prevent such high-risk settlements. Much of Nepal is hilly, and rain almost always triggers landslides. These are often natural and cannot be prevented, but the least we can do is not build homes right next to a dangerous slope or on top of a cliff just waiting to slip away. Human activities like haphazard road construction also worsen landslides. Many of Nepal’s roads are built without proper environmental assessments and are thus very prone to landslides. All of this must be reined in, not just by the federal government. Provincial and local governments must be mobilized to assess risk zones and prevent human settlements in such areas. The construction industry, which runs roughshod across the country with barely any oversight, must be put on a very tight leash. Some provincial and local governments are trying to rein in the ‘crusher’ industry but other local governments are hand-in-glove with the construction industry.
This brings me to the third point — our built environment is unsustainable and actively killing us. There is a reason the death toll is highest in the Kathmandu Valley— for many residents, it is a death zone. There are thousands of people living along the banks of Kathmandu’s major rivers — Bagmati, Bishnumati, Hanumante, Manohara, Dhobi Khola, Tukucha, Nakkhu, etc. The rivers have been hemmed in by concrete embankments, which narrow the river's flow. Right next to these barriers are homes and businesses. During the monsoon, the water levels rise and if the rivers had more space to spread out, they perhaps wouldn’t be so destructive. Instead, their narrow, forced pathways turn them into angry, raging demons that ravage everything in their path.
Successive administrations have allowed this encroachment, aided and abetted by donor countries. Urbanist Prashanta Khanal has consistently pointed out the culpability of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in promoting and funding unsustainable infrastructure and prioritizing wide roads and highways with little regard for the natural environment. Here’s what he writes regarding the encroachment of the Dhobi Khola:
The JICA report entitled Project on Urban Transport Improvement for Kathmandu Valley (2017) urges the government to widen the existing roads to four and six lanes, and build inner and outer ring roads. Now with the widened roads already getting gridlocked, JICA is providing technical assistance to build underpasses and flyovers, and indoctrinating bureaucrats about their need. JICA had suggested building a four-lane inner ring road over the Dhobi Khola by covering the river. Fortunately, the then transport secretary rejected the idea. In a bid to modernise, Tokyo had made the same mistake.
Every river in the Kathmandu Valley has been similarly built over. Let’s not sugarcoat it. It’s not just the fault of governments, corrupt officials, or donor countries. Residents, too, have willingly bought land and homes beside the rivers despite knowing the danger they pose. They’ve covered rivers with concrete so they can have a road that leads right up to their gates. They’ve supported narrowing waterways to enlarge their properties and drive up the value. When the rivers break free of their confines and flood these homes, they cannot just blame the government. We all know the Nepali administration is compromised; it is also up to citizens to exercise proper judgment.
The Kathmandu Valley is now all concrete, and this is what is killing its residents. Concrete everywhere. Even residential homes now don’t bother with trees, gardens, or just a patch of soil. No, everything is paved over so that not a drop of water can permeate into the ground below. All of this water flows into canals and drains and ends up right in the river, only increasing its monsoon fury. “Once a compact city of bricks and mud, wetlands and ponds, Kathmandu and the entire Valley has become a sprawling metropolis of concrete,” writes Tom Robertson in his article, ‘Kathmandu’s flash floods are 4 decades in the making.’ According to Robertson and the many experts he cites in his article, flood management is not about control but drainage. If you allow the water to seep into the ground naturally, there will be less runoff that floods homes and streets.
Finally, there is a factor that must be acknowledged — climate change. While some experts deny that climate change played any role in the current flooding, it is likely that the intensity of the rains, more ferocious than seen in decades, is not wholly natural. Climate change exacerbates existing weather patterns and turns them unpredictable and more intense. This is what is happening across the world throughout the year. However, the Nepal floods cannot be chalked up to climate change, pawned off to some NGO, and then forgotten. That same old fatalism that Dor Bahadur Bista identified decades ago always threatens to rear its head when it comes to us Nepalis — “It’s climate change, so what can we do?”
Perhaps we can’t immediately solve climate change or even change the urban settlement patterns of cities like Kathmandu. We can, however, prevent more damage to the fabric of this valley. Leave the rivers alone. Leave also the few forests, parks, and open spaces we have left. Everything does not need a monetary value. Every parcel of land does not need to be cordoned off and sold to the highest bidder. So many dream of owning land and a home in Kathmandu, but what does it all amount to if a flash flood can destroy the home you spent decades slaving for in a matter of minutes?
That’s all for this week. I will be back the Friday after next, in your emails, for the next edition of KALAM Weekly. Happy Dashain!
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