Managing Water Resources
Bilateral Negotiation Needed

By Khilendra Basnyat

NEPAL has abundant water resource. This can be shown by the fact that its actual hydropower potential in South Asia. South-east Asia and Far-east Asia is equal to that of the United States, Canada and Mexico put together.

Potential

It has been estimated that the hydropower potential of Nepal is about 83,000 MW, of which the actual production is only 240 MW, less than 1 per cent of the feasible output.

In fact, Nepal's per capita electricity consumption is as low as 19 kWh. Still only 18 per cent of the total population have access to electricity. The majority of the people have been using firewood to meet their energy needs.

Due to high population growth, the demand for firewood has increased from 0.58 million tons in 1983-84 to 1.48 million tons in 1986-87. The firewood deficit was expected to rise by 3.5 million tons by 2000.

Since half of the total population of our country lives in poverty, they do not have means to buy modern kinds of fuel. In addition, the slow growth rate in industries and urbanisation had led to a steady rise in the demand for the commercial energy. High dependence on wood without an emphasis on re-plantation of trees has resulted in deforestation, topsoil erosion, water pollution, flood, etc.
In reality, the energy situation in Nepal is precarious because it has shortage of energy sources such as oil natural gas, oil products particularly kerosene, jet fuel and gasoline which air imported from India.

Oil consumption has increased nearly one and half times more now than in 1991. Since 1991, it has registered a growth rate in petroleum consumption in 1981-91.

Dependence on energy import has put a burden on the foreign currency reserves of Nepal. Actually, it is logical to develop precious water resource to meet not only the country's energy needs but also foreign exchange by selling power to neighbouring countries.

Dams provide a renewable clean source of energy. In the case of Nepal, they would give relief to the over used forests. Apart from generating electricity, the multipurpose dams are also beneficial for irrigation and flood control.

No doubt, Nepal has strove a lot to harness its water resource. The major step taken in this direction is the adoption of hydropower development policy (HDP) in 1992, followed by the Electricity Act in 1993 and Electricity Regulation Act in the same year.

HDP offers time bound basis of the licensing process, royalty rates and tax exemption. To attract private enterprises, it pledges not to nationalise on project that is under the tenure of license. However, license is not required to undertake a hydroelectric project having a capacity of less than 1,000 kilowatt. No royalty or tax would be levied on projects with capacity of 1,000 Megawatt.
Despite richness in water resources, Nepalese people, especially of the rural areas, have not been able to enjoy electricity facilities. It is due to the fact that power production is less than the demand.
In Nepal, the demand for electricity is increasing every year. Nepal Electricity Authority, the sole government's body to distribute electricity in this country, has been finding it difficult to supply electricity as per the demand.

No doubt, the government has adopted some measures to increase the production of electricity for electrifying the country and meeting the every increasing demand for power. For example, after the restoration of democracy in 1990, the government decided to bring in more private sector's participation and investment from within and outside the country in the hydropower sector. According, it has brought about changes in its policies and legal provisions regarding investment in hydropower generation in order to create a lucrative environment for more projects. Consequently, some international agencies have already shown interest to invest in Nepal's hydropower sector.
It is natural to expect that the decision of the government would bring positive results in the hydropower sector to change the face of the country through rapid industrialisation and increase revenues from the sales of electricity.

Of course, Nepal is unable to utilise its water resources on its own. However, it can do so with the joint venture with India, which has adequate technical manpower. This would not only help in flood management and irrigation but also in hydroelectricity generation, which would contribute to Nepal's economic development by earning foreign exchange after selling the surplus hydro-power to India. Also, India would reap benefit by ensuring a steady flow of electricity for its power deficient states, especially in the north.

Apart from utilising the water resource for electricity, it is also necessary to manage it properly lest it gets wasted. However, this has not been possible in the past.

It has been found that the reverbeds are rising at the rate of 1 foot per year. Our rivers flowing to India invite natural disasters such as flood, drought, water logging, salinity and pollution in the Himalayan rivers, which cause an adverse impact on the environment, economy and the people of Indian plains.
Nearly 75 per cent of North Bihar is prone to annual flood. However, more than 60 per cent of the basin areas of the rivers flowing through North Bihar lie in Nepal.

About 4.5 lakh hectares of area and 21 million people are affected in Bihar by flood every year. Actually, flood in the plains of Bihar is a recurrent feature that brings in adequate damage to life and property. Regional governments cannot ignore such damage.

The high Himalayan ranges have given birth to many rivers and streams that have found their natural way towards India, the downstream country. This water resource can be best harnessed through the joint efforts of India and Nepal.

There are 6,000 rivers and streams flowing from Nepal to India carrying about 174 billion cubic meters of water per annum. Both these countries share not only the advantage of water resource but also the anxieties associated with it. They share rivers, river basins, sedimentation, flood and ecological risks.

Problem

Despite continuing endeavours, the harnessing of our water resource has presented problems. It has been realised that the main problem in this context has been the differing perception between India and Nepal. However, bilateral negotiation is essential for the proper management of water resource.

Peace Talks For All

By Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

AFTER seven years, we are within reach of getting back to the normal that we need so much for development and prosperity of the Nepalis in general. Nepalis have directly or indirectly suffered very much from this conflict between the rebels and the party in power during the last seven years. Direct victims of the conflict are the relatives and friends of those killed in the undeclared war. Many parents lost their sons and daughters, wives became widows prematurely, and many children became orphans and lost their hope of bright future.

Victims

All Nepalis are indirect victims of the war that brought a grinding halt to the development work in rural areas and to the industries and commerce in the urban areas. The economic growth of the country slipped. So we need nothing but peace at this juncture.

The party in power, in other words, the government and the rebels have been talking informally for several months, and this has culminated in the declaration of the code of conduct on March 13, 2003. The 22 point-code of conduct for the talks is the first step toward peace in the country. The code of conduct has the provision for setting up a monitoring team to monitor the compliance with the code of conduct by both parties during the peace talks. Thus, this monitoring team will act as a referee to ensure the fair game of peace talks.

We hope that both parties will sincerely follow the code of conduct during the peace talks, and that they will conclude their peace talks ensuring ever-lasting peace in the country. Any party breaking the ground rule shall lose the game. For example, if we read our scripture called Mahabharat we find that Bhisma, Commander-in-Chief of the Kaurav army and Dhristdhumna, Commander-in-Chief of the Pandav army agreed on the code of conduct for the fight between the Kaurav army and the Pandav army before beginning the fight in the area called Kuruchhetra. Both parties had kept up the code of conduct until six field marshals of the Kaurav army attacked and killed Abhimanyu breaching the code of conduct. That was the beginning of the end of the Kaurav army.

While the government and the rebels will have peace talks the political leaders will be sitting on the fence. The political leaders have been welcoming the peace talks in public but they have refused twice to participate in the all-party meeting called by the Prime Minister for discussing the upcoming peace talks with the rebels, and the Prime Minister is going to call for the all-party meeting for the third time; we have to see whether they will be cooperative this time.

The political leaders have three options in the peace talks besides being uncooperative. They may either take the side of the rebels or of the government or be a third party in the peace talks. The last option is the best for them. If the political leaders take the third option and are the third party in the peace talks, the tripartite peace talks will be conclusive and it will lead to a sustainable peace in the country. The political leaders will not need to take the blame for being uncooperative in the peace talks.

If the peace talks end in success and everyone agrees to keep the current Constitution intact all players in the political game will be the winners. The rebels will benefit from it because they will have an opportunity of returning to the mainstream of politics without losing their face. The political leaders will have the continuity of democracy, and they will have a chance of going to the people for a fresh mandate. The main beneficiaries of the successful peace talks will surely be the Nepalis in general. They can have peaceful night for sleep; they will not need to worry about whether they will be alive next morning or not. They can till their land peacefully; they can earn living by working as porters without the fear of the rebels and the army in the remote areas. Our tourism industry that has been derailed by the conflict will be back on track. The economy will grow and the people will be back on the track of improving their lives.

If the peace talks end in failure not only the parties taking part in the peace talks will be responsible for it but also the political leaders sitting on the fence while the government and the rebels talk to each other for peace. Nobody will know who will land where if the peace talks breakdown. However, the conceivable scenario is that the rebels will go back to their jungle camps and continue to fight against the anti-rebel forces; the people who need peace will suffer; the government will be standing on a shaky ground; perhaps the political leaders will launch an agitation for restoration of the House of Representatives or formation of an all-party government pursuant to the Article 128 of the Constitution.
The conflict between the rebels and the anti-rebel forces will be intensified, the agitating political leaders may find themselves plunging the country into uncertain future. Certainly the main sufferers will be the general public who will have difficulty in earning the daily livelihood.

Call

So all Nepalis want the peace talks between to be successful. This is the only alternative Nepalis have today for making their lives better in the future. Hence, all Nepalis call on the political leaders and the concerned parties to take the upcoming peace talks seriously and contribute to making it a success for the bright future of all Nepalis.

Some Aspects Of Social
Life Of Medieval Nepal

By Guna Dev Bhattarai

DURING the Kiratas and the Lichhavis there was no watertight caste system. Before the rise of Jayasthiti Malla (1380 A.D.) the then society was a mixture of many communities and some of them had migrated to the valley from India to save themselves from the foreign invaders. That was why it necessiated Jayasthiti Malla to reorganise the hotch-potch society into a solid one based on rigid caste system. He, with the counsel of learned scholars of India, divided the society on the bases of Manusmriti. Accordingly the society was divided into four Varnas and various Jaats. He fixed the professions of the people in keeping with their caste. The Brahmins, Kshetriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras were assigned their duty in a befitting manner. Many rules and regulations were practised with regard to feast, birth, marriage, death and the like.

The social codes enunciated by Jayasthi Malla might be regarded as exploitation over the lower caste people. It was the disorderly society that had prompted Jayasthiti Malla to do so.

The medieval society of Nepal was dominated by religion. The rulers, the courtiers and even the commoners were god-fearing and religious minded. The rulers and the ruled always considered any evil deed more a sin than a crime.

Some Muslims were permitted to settle in Nepal but were strictly prohibited to do anything contrary to the codes of the Hindus. Christian Missionaries were permitted to carry on with their activities but they were strictly prohibited to convert any one to Christianity by force. They were not allowed to eat beef and to enter into the Hindu shrines.

There was no system of Parda among the women. They freely mixed in society with some restrictions imposed upon them. Female education was confined to some aristocratic families.

The water-tight caste system deprived the lower caste people of even the normal facilities and privileges. They were always engaged in the service of the high caste people.

Most of the Malla rulers had many wives and concubines. The demise of one king was followed by the burning of several women on the funeral pyre. Even wives of priests, governors and nobles practised Sati. Sometimes even mothers and sisters who could not tolerate separation from their deceased sons and brothers would commit Sati. As the medieval society was superstition-ridden some people went to the extent of forcing unwilling widows to practise Sati. Those who would not like to immolate themselves were tolerated and they lived as widows until their death. That system lingered for a long time because of the prohibition of remarriae among the upper class people.

During the medieval age the joint family system was in vogue. Sons, grandsons, great grandsons and their spouses lived together. Grenerally there was unity among all the memebers of the family in which the headman by virtue of being the oldest one commanded respect from all other members of the family. He possessed every right to punish the persons if the latter acted against social and religious norms.

The lower caste women were entitled to divorce their husbands if the latter slighted, neglected or hated them or were suffering from in curable diseases.

Harsh punishment was awaded to low caste men or women if they had sexual relation with high caste men or women. The Brahmins and the Kshetriyas could marry lower caste women but the latter were classed as illegitimati. Even lower caste women if they were the favourites of their husbands had great respect in the family though they were deprived of participation in big religious functions.