What's happening inside the Kathmandu city government?
On the numerous controversies currently plaguing the city administration
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening from Kathmandu. This is Issue 191 of Kalam Weekly, the only newsletter you need to keep updated with everything happening in Nepal.
Before we begin, a moment of silence for all those who died in the Air India crash.
A big thank you to Ms Jesselina Rana and a contributor who has chosen to stay anonymous for becoming my newest paid subscribers. Your support and readership are what enable me to continue producing this newsletter every week. Thank you so much for your support!
The Nepali media landscape is broken. Corporate media collude with business interests while mushrooming digital media outlets are patronized by political interests. Amidst the barrage of information, thoughtful, independent analysis has become difficult to find. That is where Kalam Weekly comes in. We have no masters except ourselves and our loyalty is to our readers.
That is why we need your support. If you value the insights and analysis this newsletter provides, please consider pledging a paid subscription. Readers abroad can click the button below while those in Nepal can click this link for more information on how to become paid supporters.
Together, we can understand Nepal better.
In this newsletter:
Israel launches offensive against Iran, retaliation likely
Arrest warrant issued against journalist Dil Bhushan Pathak
More corruption charges filed against government officials
Nepali doctors perform first gender-affirming surgery
Recommendations
The deep dive: Why is the Kathmandu city government in crisis?
Israel launches offensive against Iran, retaliation likely
Early Friday morning, June 13, Israel launched dozens of aerial strikes in Iran, attacking both military and residential targets, including Natanz, Iran’s primary uranium enrichment nuclear plant. The military operation was dubbed Operation Rising Lion by the Israelis with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that Iran was on the verge of producing nuclear weapons that would threaten the very survival of Israel as a state. The Israeli Defense Forces said on social media that Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps General Hossein Salami, and the Commander of Iran’s Emergency Command “were all eliminated in the Israeli strikes across Iran by more than 200 fighter jets.” The New York Times confirmed the killing of Bagheri and Salami, two of the top leaders of the Iranian military, and also the deaths of two top nuclear scientists. The United States, Israel’s primary patron, said that it was not involved in the attacks and asked Iran not to retaliate against its forces.
On Friday itself, Iran reportedly responded with over 100 drone strikes into Israel, all of which were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome. Israel is currently under a state of emergency in anticipation of Iran’s retaliation. Iran has declared the attacks an “act of war” and has vowed vengeance. Iran cannot allow the killing of top military leaders, including Bagheri who was second only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini, to go unanswered. Israel appears ready to go to full-blown war with Iran if necessary with Prime Minister Netanyahu making increasingly belligerent public statements about Iran’s nuclear program. Israel sees Iran as an existential threat and will do anything necessary to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons, even though Israel itself is sitting on a pile of its own undeclared nuclear weapons.
Watching from Nepal, the immediate question should be about the thousands of Nepali citizens currently living, working, and studying in Israel. Although exact figures are difficult to come by, around 4,500 Nepalis are estimated to be living in Israel. Nepal does not issue work permits for Iran, and there are no Nepali students there. Nepal had temporarily suspended work permits for Israel after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, but issuance quickly resumed. In the fiscal year 2023-25 alone, over a thousand Nepalis received work permits for Israel. In August 2024, over 2,000 Nepali caregivers were selected to work in Israel. When Iran retaliates, these Nepalis will undoubtedly be in danger as bombs and missiles don’t differentiate between Israeli and Nepali. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to act immediately to bring back Nepalis already there and halt the issuance of any more work permits for Israel. Nepal cannot continue to put its citizens in danger by allowing them to go work in war-torn countries.
Lest we forget, 10 Nepalis were killed in the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. One Nepali, Bipin Joshi, is still being held hostage. Bring back the Nepalis before more of them die in a war they have nothing to do with.
Arrest warrant issued against journalist Dil Bhushan Pathak
On Tuesday, June 10, an arrest warrant was issued for journalist Dil Bhushan Pathak, former editor-in-chief of Kantipur Television and host of the popular talk show Tough Talk. Although the Nepal Police has not officially commented on the allegations behind the arrest warrant, there are reports that it is linked to an episode of Tough Talk where Pathak discussed the alleged investments and wealth of the Deuba family, particularly Jaybir Singh Deuba, the son of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and current Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba.
Pathak specifically spoke about reports alleging that Jaybir had acquired a significant share in the Hilton Hotel. Those reports came from unreliable sources and were quickly refuted by the Shankar Group, which owns and operates the Hilton Hotel in Kathmandu’s Naxal. Pathak also discussed how, in 2022, tax rates in the federal budget were allegedly tweaked to benefit Jaybir Deuba’s business ventures. That, too, was never substantiated. These allegations are just that, allegations. No evidence has been produced to support either claim. They could be true, but they could very well not be either.
As a seasoned journalist, the video is not Pathak’s best work. Perhaps it is the nature of the medium. Pathak was a long-time television journalist but has recently made a leap into YouTube, where this kind of “analysis” is a popular format. He also probably doesn’t have access to the sort of editorial oversight and assistance he had back at Kantipur. Still, Pathak should at least have pointed out the unreliable nature of the allegations and their source, if discussing the issue at all. Pathak’s explainer does not directly accuse Jaybir of wrongdoing, but discusses the allegations, which the public is ready to accept at face value, given the current state of trust in the political class. It is naturally assumed that every single politician is corrupt. Jaybir could be involved in all kinds of shady deals, but journalists with reputations like that of Pathak should not make allegations without evidence.
That said, arresting Pathak is going too far. Pathak is allegedly being pursued under the Electronic Transactions Act (ETA), a notorious piece of legislation that has long been used to silence online criticism. However, for complaints against journalists and media outlets, the proper avenue for redress is the Press Council, the governmental body responsible for overseeing the media. Instead, Jaybir, or whoever filed the complaint, has chosen to pursue legal action, weaponizing the police against the press. A political scion like Jaybir could have easily called out the video, issued a public denial, and presented evidence to clear his name. Getting the police involved is only going to turn public opinion against him even more.
A new twist in the tale appeared on Friday. Nagarik Daily and Republica both published front-page reports alleging that Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba, mother of Jaybir, had threatened the publication’s Director Shobha Gyawali over the phone concerning their coverage of the arrest warrant against Pathak. Rana Deuba allegedly threatened to “bring down Nepal Republic Media and its management.” Both reports, however, do not quote a single line from the alleged conversation between Gyawali and Rana Deuba, only asserting that the latter launched a “nearly four-minute verbal tirade.” There is nothing in the reports to substantiate the alleged threat, what form it took, or what Rana Deuba said exactly. Rana Deuba, meanwhile, asserted on social media that she was shocked by the report and that she had made no such threats. In the post, she confirmed that the Deuba family had made the complaint against Pathak and that they had chosen to file a case under the Electronic Transactions Act since Pathak’s YouTube channel was not registered with the authorities as a company.
More corruption charges filed against government officials
The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) appears to be working in hyperdrive. For the third week in a row, corruption charges have been levelled against high-level bureaucrats and/or politicians. On Monday, the CIAA filed three corruption charges against Chandra Bahadur Adhikari, chairman of Nepal Bank Ltd. Along with the Rastriya Banijya Bank and the Agriculture Development Bank, Nepal Bank is one of the three banks that the Nepal government itself owns and operates. While the Banijya (Commercial) Bank is fully state-owned, the Agriculture Development Bank and Nepal Bank are partially state-owned and partially publicly owned by shareholders. Adhikari is accused of accepting bribes in exchange for favorable loans in three separate incidents involving three companies — Bhusal Hospitality, Akala Devi Traders, and Himal Terai Construction.
Days after the corruption charges, Republica reported that a Nepal Bank shareholder had filed a complaint with the Office of the Auditor General, alleging that Rs 20.4 billion had vanished from Nepal Bank. The shareholder claimed that billions allocated as loans for small and medium enterprises had disappeared. A likely explanation for the disappearance is that large loans amounting to over Rs 20 billion were forgiven in exchange for kickbacks to certain high-level bank officials.
Then, on Wednesday, the CIAA filed corruption charges at the Special Court against Pradeep Pariyar, former chief administration officer for the city, and six others from the Kathmandu city government. They are accused of corruption over a contract to construct a sewer. Pariyar is currently the director-general of the Department of Information and Broadcasting. The seven are accused of violating public procurement laws that mandate contracts go to the lowest bidder. According to The Kathmandu Post, the Rs 224 million contract was awarded to Kalpavriksha Kohinoor JV despite Samanantar Sewa Pvt Ltd submitting a lower bid of Rs 180.9 million.
In yet another corruption case, Kathmandu city engineer Ram Babu Mahata Koiri was accused by the CIAA of amassing wealth beyond his means. According to the CIAA, Koiri worked at the city for over 30 years and during this time, accumulated wealth and assets amounting to Rs 79.67 million. However, he was only able to legally account for Rs 33.79 million. The CIAA believes that he acquired the remaining Rs 45.79 million by misusing his public position and indulging in corruption.
The CIAA under Chief Commissioner Prem Kumar Rai really appears to be taking the tigers and flies approach to combating corruption, going after everyone from engineers and bureaucrats to former ministers and a prime minister. It is, however, just a little surprising that no Maoist politicians have been caught up in his net yet, only those from the Congress, UML, and Unified Socialists.
Nepali doctors perform first gender-affirming surgery
On Sunday, June 8, doctors at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, under the guidance of Dr Alireza Hamidian Jaromi from Temple Health in the United States, performed the first gender-affirming surgery in Nepal. According to The Kathmandu Post, Doctors performed the surgery on a 25-year-old transgender woman from Janakpur, removing the penis and testes and using tissues to form a vagina, clitoris, and labia. Until now, there were no provisions for gender-affirming surgery, also called sex reassignment surgery (SRS), in Nepal. Transgender individuals who wished to undergo the surgery had to travel to either India or Thailand, spending millions of rupees in the process. According to doctors, the same procedure costs between Rs 150,000 and Rs 200,000 at TUTH.
This is a significant milestone for the queer community in Nepal, occurring in the midst of June, which is recognized as Pride Month. TUTH is reportedly also planning to open up a gender-affirming clinic to serve transgender individuals better. TUTH’s plastic surgeons are also able to provide other cosmetic surgeries like feminization, masculinization, and breast augmentation or reduction. The fact that it is TUTH providing these services is even better since it is a public hospital where medical costs are often a fraction of what private hospitals charge.
While this is an achievement that must be celebrated, there is still some way to go before Nepal can claim the mantle of a queer-friendly country. Transgender individuals still face harassment, abuse, and discrimination due to their gender identity. Bureaucrats, too, are often unwilling to entertain changes in gender on official documents, demanding proof of gender-affirming surgery and invasive medical examinations. Such surgeries are elective and should not be required for transgender individuals to “prove” their gender identities. Same-sex couples are still not afforded all of the rights given to heterosexual married couples, leading to difficulties in marriage registration, property sharing, divorce, and adoption.
Still, with Nepal looking to brand itself as a queer-friendly tourist destination, affordable gender-affirming surgeries could be a draw. This, however, will require proper policies and legislation, as well as a political commitment from the government to improve the lives of the local LGBTQIA community. Nepal also needs to figure out the legal recognition of transgender individuals. Currently, Nepal offers an ‘O’, or ‘Other’ categorization on official documents like passports, but transgender individuals are not a third gender; transgender men are men and transgender women are women. It remains to be seen how the state will recognize transgender individuals who have undergone gender-affirming care, as third gender or as a man or woman.
Recommendations
Article: The Last Days of Gaza by Chris Hedges, The Chris Hedges Report
Article: नेपाल प्रिमियर लिग: अपारदर्शिताको बलिङ, भ्रष्टाचारको ब्याटिङ (Nepal Premier League: Opaque balling, corrupt batting) by Aadtiya Nepal, Ukaalo
Article: How to live an intellectually rich life by Utsav Mamoria, Tumse Na Ho Payega (recommended by
)The deep dive: What's happening inside the Kathmandu city government?
Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah and Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol. (Image: The Kathmandu Post)
Numerous crises are currently unfolding within the Kathmandu Metropolitan City government, least of them is the corruption case against former city engineer Ram Babu Mahato Koiri (detailed above). The city is in the midst of a standoff between Mayor Balen Shah on one side and Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol and the chairs of Kathmandu’s 32 wards on the other, leading to confusion over the city’s budget and its plans and programs for the upcoming fiscal year.
The budget is due by June 24, but Mayor Shah has been actively avoiding meetings, which has led to uncertainty over the city government's functioning. If the budget is not presented by the June 24 deadline, all city activities will come to a halt in mid-July as the city cannot function without a budget and corresponding policies and programs. But for the budget to be finalized, the municipal executive must meet, and it hasn’t held a meeting since December 29 last year. The law dictates that the executive, which consists of the mayor, deputy mayor, chairs of Kathmandu’s 32 wards, and additional nominated members, meet at least once every month.
Despite a largely cooperative relationship between the independently elected Shah and the UML’s Dangol, things have lately come to a head with the latter publicly criticizing Shah. Dangol initially campaigned as an independent but then joined the UML party to run as deputy mayor under the UML’s candidate for mayor, Keshav Sthapit. Shah won the mayoral race while Dangol was elected deputy.
The few times that Deputy Mayor Dangol has called out Shah publicly have concerned the mayor’s rule by diktat. It is well known that Shah does not consult with many outside a close coterie of “advisors,” who primarily consist of his friends and loyalists. These include Kumar Byanjankar, also known as Kumar Ben, founder of the gaming group DRS Gaming and Troll Nepal, a Facebook page that shares memes, Sunil Lamsal, a childhood friend from Bhairahawa, and Victor Paudel, founder of the “news” Facebook page Routine of Nepal Banda. Shah has also not provided any interviews to the media, refusing to speak to anyone. The one interview he granted was to the New York Times in 2023, which resulted in a glowing profile that ignored many of his shortcomings.
Mayor Shah’s working style has been to issue orders without consulting anyone else. Politicians are supposed to speak to their constituents and convince them of the advantages of their plans and policies. Instead, Shah seems to believe that he knows best and that everyone should fall in line. A case in point was Shah’s attempt in 2023 to widen pavements in New Road. Wider pavements are universally acknowledged to increase revenue for businesses while providing a cleaner, safer, and greener cityscape. It would’ve been easy for Shah to convince New Road residents of the benefits that wider pavements would bring them. Instead, he held no consultations and ordered road work to begin. New Road businesses, instigated by the UML party, went on the warpath, refusing to allow the city crew to work. What should’ve been a win-win for everyone if handled correctly turned into a months-long standoff between the city and businesses.
However, it is necessary to discuss the role of the UML here. Mayor Shah and the UML party, in particular, have never seen eye-to-eye. Shah has publicly lambasted UML chair and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli multiple times on social media, calling him corrupt and ineffective. Shah pointed to Oli’s alleged complicity in the Giribandhu Tea Estate land scam and for interfering in the city’s prosecution of Rekha Sharma, a UML party member and member of the Lumbini Provincial Assembly. Sharma was accused of child abuse and child labor after a sting conducted by the city found children working as household help in Sharma’s Kathmandu home. Shah alleged that Oli had directed the judiciary not to proceed with the case against Sharma. UML party members retaliated by instigating city residents against Shah, like in New Road. Many private businesses were led to believe that widening the pavements would result in revenue losses.
Mayor Dangol, despite being a member of the UML, has not been partisan. Her criticisms of Shah have primarily centered on his opaque working style and his refusal to consult with anyone else. The most public spat between the two involved the city’s chief administrative officer (CAO) Suraj Guragain.
Back in December, Mayor Shah sent CAO Guragain on leave, accusing him of “policy-level corruption.” Shah alleged that Guragain had approved the building permit for a 19-story building in the Old Bus Park area without using the Electronic Building Permit System and without informing other city officials. Shah formed an investigation committee to look into Guragain’s alleged corruption and asked the federal government to appoint a new chief administrative officer. Guragain, in turn, filed a complaint with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration stating that Shah had padlocked his office and prevented him from discharging his duties.
Guragain was replaced by acting CAO Govindra Prasad Sharma, who himself resigned shortly after taking office. Without a CAO to sign off on salary sheets, thousands of city workers stopped receiving their pay, leading to widespread anger against Mayor Shah. In April, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration refused Shah’s request to appoint a new CAO and reinstated Guragain, saying no evidence of corruption had been found. Shah has not publicly published the report of the committee that investigated Guragain. On April 3, as Guragain attempted to resume his duties, Shah deployed municipal police to bar his way. But Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol, ward chiefs, and irate city employees shepherded Guragain past the police and into his office. Shah, however, has refused to recognize Guragain as the CAO, which means that executive meetings cannot be held, as the CAO serves as the secretary of the executive.
Perhaps there is substance to Mayor Shah’s accusations against Guragain but we’ll never know unless he produces a damning investigation report or credible evidence. This controversy once again embodies Shah’s rule by diktat. He expects everyone to follow his orders and resents those who question him. Shah’s popularity has perhaps filled him with a sense of supreme confidence, leading him to believe that everyone is on his side. And they could be, if he just explained himself.
This is where Deputy Mayor Dangol has been most vocal. In April, after Guragain returned to office, Dangol criticized Shah for giving “orders from his room.” She expressed astonishment at the deployment of municipal police to bar a city employee from entering his office and said that if they were acting on Shah’s orders, he should’ve come forward to take responsibility. Dangol herself was instrumental in allowing Guragain to return. Municipal police chief Raju Pandey backed off when confronted by the deputy mayor herself.
However, relations between Dangol and Shah have not soured completely. On Thursday, Shah met with Dangol and several ward chairs to discuss the upcoming budget and the possibility of holding an executive meeting. It is still unclear, however, as to how the meeting will be held when Mayor Shah still refuses to recognize CAO Guragain.
Amidst this standoff over the budget, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has sought clarification from Mayor Shah and two of his advisors, Sunil Lamsal and Kumar Byanjankar, over their trip to France last year to attend the Cannes Film Festival. Shah and his two aides attended the festival after Kathmandu applied and was approved to join UNESCO’s “Cities of Film” list, part of its Creative Cities network. A complaint was filed with the Office of the Auditor General, alleging inconsistencies in spending and a violation of the Local Level Officials’ Foreign Visit Guidelines. The Auditor General forwarded the complaint to the CIAA, which is now investigating the matter.
Shah, Lamsal, and Byanjankar are alleged to have spent over Rs 2.25 million from the city’s coffers for the trip. Questions have been raised regarding the expenses, and there are allegations that multiple payments were made for the same expense. Furthermore, Lamsal and Byanjankar’s inclusion in the trip has also been the subject of controversy. The Local Level Officials’ Foreign Visit Guidelines state that officials accompanying high-level representatives, like the mayor, should be officially nominated and should have relevant expertise for the trip. Byanjankar is the mayor’s management consultant, while Lamsal is the infrastructure consultant, both of whose portfolios are exactly relevant to a visit to the Cannes Film Festival. The three are old friends, and perhaps Shah could not resist a trip to Europe with his buddies on the taxpayer dime.
We are now three years into Balen Shah’s tenure as mayor of Kathmandu. He remains a widely popular mayor, despite the numerous controversies that have dogged his rule. His inhumane persecution of street vendors and squatters has drawn particular criticism, as has his authoritarian style of work. Shah appears to think of Kathmandu as his fiefdom, where he can do as he pleases. But whether he likes it or not, he is now a politician in a democracy, and democratic politics requires consultation and consensus. If he hasn’t learned this in the three years since he was elected, it is doubtful he ever will. The Capital city, meanwhile, will suffer through his whims and decrees.
That’s all for this week. I will be back next Friday, in your inbox, for the next edition of KALAM Weekly.
If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, please consider sharing it with others who might enjoy weekly updates from Nepal or consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Thanks for reading KALAM Weekly! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.