Don’t take it lightly

The fact that as many as 12 lives were lost in traffic accidents during the Dashain festival speaks volumes about the chaotic state of the country’s road traffic. We must hasten to add that the accidents, the fatal as well as incapacitating ones, occur more frequently not merely because of the rise in the number of motor vehicles but also because of the callous attitude towards road safety on the part of vehicle drivers and pedestrians alike. Things are made worse by children playing in busy thoroughfares and parents and guardians not caring much about this. The local authorities like the municipalities and village development committees have not helped matters by allowing open spaces to be fenced off for sundry and newfangled purposes, and no provision has been made consciously anywhere in the kingdom to set up parks and playgrounds in each locality to pull the children off the streets and into the safety of designated playing fields. This is a serious matter that deserves the attention of elected representatives at both local and central government levels as also that of child-related NGOs. In the capital, for instance, there used to be so much open space even during Rana times that children then did not at all have to take the risk of playing in the streets. But now with supposedly more sensible and better educated people’s representatives at the helm of affairs, this very important factor in urban life seems to have been neglected. To add to the woe and misery of Nepalese road traffic, particularly in the capital, political leaders, including those elected to the municipalities, refuse to do anything about the street hawkers who effectively prevent pedestrians from walking on the pavements (footpaths) and instead force them to overflow onto the streets thereby putting them in harm’s way. For all intents and purposes, the hawkers of the capital have taken over the footpaths of the capital. And the political leaders do nothing about it because they bank on their votes and the police, even those responsible for ensuring smooth traffic flow, will not or cannot do anything either. Does anyone care about all this? No wonder traffic accident fatalities are on the rise.

Time has certainly come for the government to do something about the worsening traffic situation in the country if we are to avoid preventable fatal accidents. However belatedly, children in the city must be given open spaces, not streets, to play in and parents and guardians must ensure that their wards do not play in streets when alternatives are available. City and local governments must ensure that traffic flows effortlessly with a minimum of obstacles and at the same time due priority must be given to pedestrians and children. The problem cannot be solved only by building overhead bridges and without undertaking matching measures in other sectors. It is certainly time the authorities began treating traffic problems with the seriousness they deserve and not take them lightly anymore.

Shadow of terrorism

By Prakash A Raj

Terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th and subsequent bombardment in Afghanistan by the world’s only superpower have brought war to our neighbourhood. The attacks on New York and Washington were followed two weeks later by a bomb attack on the Kashmir Assembly in Srinagar in which 38 people were killed. Afghanistan is situated on the fringe of the sub-continent. Although Nepal remained largely unaffected during three wars between India and Pakistan in the past half century, there are indications that this may no longer be the case in future conflicts.

The Christmas eve hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight in 1999, which ended in Taliban ruled Afghanistan’s spiritual capital of Kandahar, had started in Kathmandu. The terrorists had succeeded in getting inside the aircraft after evading security at Tribhuwan International Airport. Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh who had flown to Kandahar exchanged jailed Kashmiri militants including one named Masood Azhar for airline passengers. The hijack was the first major and visible act of terrorism in which Nepalese territory was directly "used". If there is fire in a neighbour’s house, one is likely to get involved. The fact is we are already deeply involved whether we like it or not.

According to an Indian newspaper (The Hindustan Times, 5/10/01), Masood Azhahar, the militant released in exchange for passengers is supposed to have close links with Osama bin Laden’s Al Queda network. He is also supposed to be very close to Mullah Omar of the Taliban. Another militant released by India in exchange for passengers of hijacked plane was Sheikh Syed who was supposed to have wired money to Mohammed Atta, ringleader of the September 11 attacks on the US. (People’s Review, 11/10/01). It is important to remember in this context that two diplomats working in the Pakistan embassy in Nepal were accused last year of having circulated counterfeit Indian currency and having dealt in the deadly explosive RDX. Both were declared Persona non Granta and deported discreetly by the Nepalese Government.

According to a Nepalese weekly (Ghatana Ra Bichar, 15/8/01), a delegation of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front visited the Maoist controlled areas in mid-west Nepal to study the military capability and strategy of the Maoists. It is quite possible that Al Queda may be in Nepal. This is just guesswork based upon the fact that the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft which flew from Kathmandu finally landed in Kandahar in Taliban Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden has his base.

The Maoist movement in Nepal is deeply anti-religious as in the case of other communist movements. According to Samacharpatra (3/10/01), several Hindu temples have been demolished by the Maoists, including a Shiva temple constructed by local villagers in Jajarkot district. Another newspaper (Himalayan Times, 4/10/01) says the Maoists cut the sacred thread and tupi of some Hindus at a school in Achham district, who were teaching the Vedas. The Maoists have also waged a successful campaign to stop teaching of Sanskrit in many districts in Nepal. This is one of several such incidents in the country in the past six months. A Nepalese weekly (Punarjagaran, 2/10/01) has claimed that Osama bin Laden had assisted the Maoists in Nepal. It is not known how reliable the report is. The Indian government has also branded the Maoists as terrorists and placed 60,000 troops along the Indo-Nepal border. (The Kathmandu Post, 15/10/01) India is one of the countries like the US and Israel, which has been targeted by Osama bin Laden in its Jihad or "holy war". One of the most important achievements of the restoration of democracy in 1990 is the fact that the press in Nepal is totally free. However, it is important to analyze the enormous amount of information available in the vernacular press in today’s context and to examine how reliable any given information is. The reliability of information has to be examined on the basis of the credibility of newspaper involved and its publisher.

It is interesting to remember in this context that not all communist leaders in Nepal are anti-religious. The leader of the opposition CPN (United Marxist Leninist) is reported to have visited the temple of Tirupati in South India during an official visit as Deputy Prime Minister. On the other hand, Mod Nath Prashrit, another Brahmin communist leader of Nepal, while speaking at a meeting of Nepali Moslems is on record as having said that he was sorry Mohammad was not born in Nepal.

A news item in the daily Samacharpatra (5/10/01) reported that a local commander of the Maoists named Krishna Chaudhary Yug called people to his People’s Court in Banke district near Nepalgunj and told them "there is no such thing as Allah or Bhagwan" and tore up copies of the scriptures, including the Holy Koran. He also said temples and mosques should be demolished in order to make houses for the poor. The villagers were so enraged that the Maoist leaders were badly beaten up and had to be hospitalized. It is interesting to note that about a fifth of the population in Banke district consists of Moslems who are concentrated in an area south of the Rapti river where the incident is reported to have taken place. On one hand some newspapers have published news reports about possible linkages between the Maoists and Moslem fundamentalists. On the other hand, another newspaper has published an incident involving anti-religious activities of some Maoist leaders against Hinduism and Islam. This is one example of the kind of information available and the need to analyze the credibility.

There were also posters on the streets of Kathmandu about a week ago which declared "Long Live Osama bin Laden" (Daily Commander, 12 Ashoj 2058) and made inflammatory statements against Nepalese Hindus and Buddhists. It is difficult to understand why supporters of Osama bin Laden would publish something like this in a non-Muslim country like Nepal where Muslims make up only 3.5 percent of the total population.

It is also possible that Gurkha soldiers serving in the British army could be sent to fight in Afghanistan, which may result in many casualties. A committee of the National Planning Commission formed recently to assess damage to the Nepalese economy from recent acts of terrorism concluded that these have badly affected industry, commerce, aviation and revenue collection (Spacetime, 12/10/01). The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington followed by American attacks on Afghanistan have affected the arrival of tourists in the "peak" tourist season in Nepal. The only consolation is that things could have been worst. We are still getting some tourists even during this "worst case" scenario.

The tempo of life

By Nitya Nanda Timsina 

Crouched on the tempo seat she looked at me with knitted brows. The wind just knocked her loosely flung hair over her shoulder.

"Off!" she said looking as though tired and exhausted as I sprawled beside her. "It’ll soon be over," I said and lulled myself to sleep. The noise of the vehicle outside was enough to split a few eardrums but certain things need no shouting to be heard.

One of them is travelling in a tempo mysteriously surrounded by girls twisting their noses around you in disgust.

We pulled into another station and a newcomer, ironically a slim crinkly-haired girl bustled in with all haste as if everything including the universe was her’s. We never complained. She echoed the same concern - lambasting the limited space. She carried half-a-dozen of goods about her. The other one already grumbling like a child to its mother repeated "Off!" "Off!" for which we found no reason. The combined might of around half a dozen fairy queens pushed us all aside as the tempo began to pull out of the station.

Two of the male passengers took to hanging at the back like orangutans as the ladies groaned like Chetah munching at a deer’s flesh.

We were holding our noses tight under our fists as perfume tantalized us. Perhaps, they might have sprayed more than the limit set by the industry like the tempo itself exceeding its capacity. At yet another station, a newcomer, fortunately an elderly man stammered an apology, "Sorry!", and flung to the side of one of our grumbling girls.

A look of faint disgust flicked into her eyes. "Don’t you have eyes...?" She shouted in exasperation and mouthed a volley of rude remarks. He stared at her for over a minute before he also quietly fell into coma.

In this world of mine and ours you will find many people who think only of themselves and of their own selfish advantage. Poor old man rested only half his buttocks on the razor- thin boundary of the seat lest he run into an imbroglio with his neighbour.

Experience has been a stern teacher. Travelling on a tempo has lot to teach about human behaviour. The other day, I was travelling with a female friend when we had to encounter stomach churning human behaviour. We had to close our eyes unable to stomach a scene where two partners were sharing the requirements of a bed-room. By then, the other girls were already going hysterical. But the laughter among around half a dozen travellers echoed through the walls of the tempo.

I wish I had further mile to go in a tempo with my friend. But my station came and I had to step down. The laughter in the Tempo was echoing still. It was refusing to die down when I got down.

An extraordinary day has an extraordinary event. I was hardly at my dinner table the same evening when the laughter echoed again recalling the day in the tempo. Sometimes, all the limits set by nature are trampled upon without regard or regret. Our grandma would flee in shock and disbelief if she were still alive.

Civil society and feeble voice

By Sangram S Lama

We have almost a five decade long history of planned development in Nepal. So far, eight periodic plans have been implemented and it can be said that the achievements of these plans do not measure up to their expectations. There is no substantial increase in the agricultural sector upon which the majority of Nepalese people depend for their survival. Foreign assistance has not been utilized properly and the internal savings of the people have remained very low. As a result, the problem of poverty still remains alarmingly high. Also the gap between the rich North and the poor South and the rich and the poor within the southern countries is still increasing. One of the main reasons for this is that governments all over the world are overburdened and the market or the private sector is hesitant to invest in every sector. This has proved that the state and the market cannot do everything and therefore it is time for the people to take their destiny in their own hands and reformulate and reshape the development process in their own interest.

Since the early 1990s, INGOs/NGOs were recognized in Nepal as important avenues for developmental promotion through formulation of new plans and policies. These new policies have increased the number of local NGOs to several thousands - some say over 30,000. As per the new policies, the Social Welfare Council has been established to coordinate, facilitate, promote and mobilize these organisations for social welfare activities. All INGOs are also required to have permission from the SWC to work in Nepal. This has activated different INGOs/NGOs to transfer the decision-making process as well as the resources to peoples’ institutions and organisations.

As developmental agencies, NGOs have certain strengths and advantages when mobilizing rural masses. The greatest advantage that NGOs have is their flexibility in delivering services to the uneducated, downtrodden and underprivileged groups. They can function without a large bureaucratic structure and cumbersome rules and regulations, respond promptly to emergencies and change their programmes in the process of dialogue with the
people targeted. NGOs can design their programmes and projects according to the felt needs of the specific groups. Because of their integrated approach and flexibility, NGOs have been able to work efficiently and effectively with ethnic minorities, women and marginalised groups.

For their potentials to materialize, NGOs need proper planning, evaluation and monitoring processes incorporated in their project design and plans. They are also required to re-examine their performance against set objectives. As for INGOs, they often work with their own priorities that may not come under the national priorities of the host country. They also change their priorities and terminate their programmes without considering local ground realities. Other serious problems with the INGOs functioning in Nepal are lack of accountability, transparency and long-term commitment.

Furthermore, donors have tended to fund NGOs established by close relatives of the political and bureaucratic authorities for political purposes rather than looking at the potentials and strength of their programmes. It should also be noted here that the donors are not fostering institutional and organizational development by establishing and encouraging INGOs run by expatriates to implement projects and programmes in Nepal. This will no doubt help to build the capacity of expatriate institutions through the resources supposed to be channelled to Nepal via local organizations.

If pro-poor development policy and strategy are to materialize, there has to be meaningful and fruitful partnership amongst INGOs and NGOs and other stakeholders. This is because a people based sustainable model of development needs attitudinal change both in the North and South. INGO/NGO operations should be concentrated in the communities which are relatively more deprived, underdeveloped and dwell in remote area. They should be prepared to work with people at the grassroots level building trust in their power to generate knowledge and charter the human relations map based on the knowledge that is relevant to development endeavours. Furthermore, these organizations must be transparent in their dealings and decision-making process and help strengthen community organizations. The Ministry of Finance, the NPC and  other concerned Ministries of HMG should implement all possible measures to make INGO/NGO operations transparent.

In view of the above, it can be said that the INGOs in Nepal are important development partners bringing in new resources and the local NGOs can play a crucial role to alleviate poverty. Many development think tanks, academicians, policy makers and planners therefore believe that the development approaches of these organizations do offer a ray of hope for uplifting the living standard of the rural poor at the grassroots level and marginalised social groups. But they cannot afford to lose any more time after five decades of planned development.