Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, February 2[2004]
Every street has its day...And so, Kathmandu's busiest street and commercial hub, New Road, which also has the distinction of being the country's first ever two-way road, is waiting for its day to say 'no' to vehicles. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is thinking of converting New Road into an open entertainment-commercial ground where only pedestrians will be allowed.
New Road was built on the rubble of those hundreds of mud-and brick houses that collapsed in the 1934 earthquake. After the road was constructed, it was wider than people had expected. Popularly known as "Elephant Walk", it was named Juddha Sadak after the then prime minister Juddha Samsher, who designed it. "The current chaotic scene in New Road will no longer be there. Instead, it will be an open street where everything except vehicles will be allowed," said Mayor, Keshav Sthapit.
According to the KMC master plan, people wishing to use the main road will have to leave their vehicles in area around Sundhara or RNAC building. From New Road Gate to the Juddha Samsher statue chowk and Basantapur, open bistros, coffee shops and shopping malls in the middle of the road will enliven the atmosphere. Bhugol Park will be expanded to become a part of the new New Road. The building which houses the Nepal Investment Bank will be demolished. However, old landmarks like the pipal tree, newspaper stands around it and the shoe-shine spots will stay. Until 1990, the spot was a popular haunt of politicians and journalists.
Sthapit voiced his dream, "This will be a hub for the youth to spend time with their dear ones and to be mentally rid of violence, terror and negativity. Artistes will perform on the street to amuse passers-by and make the scene more romantic." Ward 23 chairman, Siddananda Bajracharya, said that the local ward chairmen had not been duly informed of the proposed changes. He demanded that the project provide special facilities for locals who would otherwise face practical problems.
Amrit Man Shrestha, a KMC advisor, said that the project would take some time to kick off. "The process is likely to begin with a facelift of old Bhugol Park.”
[ KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 03, 2004, Magh 20, 2060 ]
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Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Friday, December 05, 2003
KMC plans big budget without enough cash
Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, December 5[2003]:
Five months after the beginning of the fiscal year 2003/04, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City is preparing to make public a budget, which, the insiders say, will be three times bigger than the previous one. The mega-budget will be made public within a week.
According to KMC officials, a Budget Preparatory Committee, led by deputy mayor Rajaram Shrestha, is preparing to present an annual budget of Rs 2.98 billion for this fiscal year. Last year, the KMC had approved a budget of Rs 808 million.
The KMC plans to spend a sum of Rs 2,985,544,633.22
this year. Out of it, Rs 2,189,579,863 (78.94 per cent) will be spent on improvement of urban infrastructure, while Rs 584,047,270 (21.06 per cent ) will be spent on administration.
According to an official, the KMC has committed to provide only Rs 1.45 billion from its resources. No one at the KMC knows from which source the rest of the money � Rs 1.35 billion � will come. �It is a dream project. Such a mega-budget, at a time when the roles to be played by the mayor and other representatives is quite unclear, is bound to raise controversies,� says an officer.
Some of the KMC officers maintain that the projects that were expected to be completed last year have not been completed yet because of political meddling and corruption controversies. That is why, there is no reason to come up with such a budget. The KMC administration should focus on completing the unfinished projects, they say.
�Last year, the KMC had estimated to have spent Rs 22.3 million management of land-fill site alone and Rs 2.5 million on heritage conservation. But it is yet to be examined whether the
KMC spent that money properly. Similarly, it also said that Rs 2.5 million will be spent on management of the City Hall, which is still a dream project,� another KMC officer says.
Amrit Man Shrestha, an adviser to the Budget Committee, said, �though the proposed budget is comparatively bigger, it can see the light of the day if government sanctions loans.�
Kathmandu, December 5[2003]:
Five months after the beginning of the fiscal year 2003/04, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City is preparing to make public a budget, which, the insiders say, will be three times bigger than the previous one. The mega-budget will be made public within a week.
According to KMC officials, a Budget Preparatory Committee, led by deputy mayor Rajaram Shrestha, is preparing to present an annual budget of Rs 2.98 billion for this fiscal year. Last year, the KMC had approved a budget of Rs 808 million.
The KMC plans to spend a sum of Rs 2,985,544,633.22
this year. Out of it, Rs 2,189,579,863 (78.94 per cent) will be spent on improvement of urban infrastructure, while Rs 584,047,270 (21.06 per cent ) will be spent on administration.
According to an official, the KMC has committed to provide only Rs 1.45 billion from its resources. No one at the KMC knows from which source the rest of the money � Rs 1.35 billion � will come. �It is a dream project. Such a mega-budget, at a time when the roles to be played by the mayor and other representatives is quite unclear, is bound to raise controversies,� says an officer.
Some of the KMC officers maintain that the projects that were expected to be completed last year have not been completed yet because of political meddling and corruption controversies. That is why, there is no reason to come up with such a budget. The KMC administration should focus on completing the unfinished projects, they say.
�Last year, the KMC had estimated to have spent Rs 22.3 million management of land-fill site alone and Rs 2.5 million on heritage conservation. But it is yet to be examined whether the
KMC spent that money properly. Similarly, it also said that Rs 2.5 million will be spent on management of the City Hall, which is still a dream project,� another KMC officer says.
Amrit Man Shrestha, an adviser to the Budget Committee, said, �though the proposed budget is comparatively bigger, it can see the light of the day if government sanctions loans.�
Sunday, November 09, 2003
Govt, local bodies encroach ponds in Kirtipur
Razen Manandhar
Kirtipur, November 8
Dozens of ponds around the medieval hillock of Kirtipur, around 8 km south
west of Kathmandu, are being encroached by government and local
institutions.
Strategically, Kirtipur is one of the well-designed settlements of the Malla
period. The hillock was surrounded by walls and there was a trench which
also served as a canal for irrigation. The trench later turned into ponds.
But due to rapid urbanisation, these ponds have been encroached. As a
result, hardly any of them have water and most of them have already been
turned into private buildings, campuses, libraries and health posts.
"We used to see fish in these ponds some 15 years ago and the water was also
used for farming. But God knows, what has happened to our town, nobody is
interested in its conservation," said Krishna Lal Maharjan, a farmer,
pointing towards a grassy patch of land near a swimming pool.
Local Nikhashi Pukhoo was turned into Shahid Campus, Bhni Pukhoo became
Ilaka Police Office, and one Palye Pukhoo has been turned into a Health
Clinic. Another Palye Pukhoo is on its way of being turned into a
multi-purpose building, under a controversial project of the Kirtipur
Municipality.
According to Shukra Sagar Shrestha of the Department of Archaeology, the
ponds one can find today used to serve the town as a security trench. "These
ponds are the evidence of urban planning of the medieval civilisation," he
said, adding that if the ponds cannot be revived then they should be
utilised as parks so that excavation projects can also be taken up.
The Palye Pukhoo of Ward No 4 on which the Kirtipur Municipality has decided
to construct a multi-purpose building, is an ancient one, which has a
special cultural purpose of offering lotus flowers to the Buddhist temple of
Chilanchwo.
Gyan Ratna Bajracharya, a member of Chilanchwo Bhagwan Guthi said the trust
for the Chilanchwo had 60 ropanis of land, out of which 56 ropanis had been
acquired by the Tribhuwan University and the remaining four ropanis is being
targeted by the municipality.
"We had been offering lotus flowers to Chilanchwo for ages. But we later
stopped this practice as the government withdrew our facilities. Later on,
some social organisations started keeping fish in the pond, which also
disappeared," he said. He has been fighting alone to save the ponds. The
Guthi Sansthan has stated that the ponds have historic value and hence
should be conserved. However, the municipality has not give up the idea of
construction which has generated controversy in the past two weeks.
The deputy mayor of Kirtipur Municipality Panna Ratna Bajracharya said that
the protests would not affect the municipality's decision. He did not
release the technical details and estimated budget of the building.
Meanwhile, the officers of Local Development Ministry said that the
municipality should not take up construction work on public land. "Specially
cultural properties like ponds are the local heritage. The municipalities
should conserve instead of destroying them," he said.
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al&folder=aCXatK&Name=City&dtSiteDate=20031109
Kirtipur, November 8
Dozens of ponds around the medieval hillock of Kirtipur, around 8 km south
west of Kathmandu, are being encroached by government and local
institutions.
Strategically, Kirtipur is one of the well-designed settlements of the Malla
period. The hillock was surrounded by walls and there was a trench which
also served as a canal for irrigation. The trench later turned into ponds.
But due to rapid urbanisation, these ponds have been encroached. As a
result, hardly any of them have water and most of them have already been
turned into private buildings, campuses, libraries and health posts.
"We used to see fish in these ponds some 15 years ago and the water was also
used for farming. But God knows, what has happened to our town, nobody is
interested in its conservation," said Krishna Lal Maharjan, a farmer,
pointing towards a grassy patch of land near a swimming pool.
Local Nikhashi Pukhoo was turned into Shahid Campus, Bhni Pukhoo became
Ilaka Police Office, and one Palye Pukhoo has been turned into a Health
Clinic. Another Palye Pukhoo is on its way of being turned into a
multi-purpose building, under a controversial project of the Kirtipur
Municipality.
According to Shukra Sagar Shrestha of the Department of Archaeology, the
ponds one can find today used to serve the town as a security trench. "These
ponds are the evidence of urban planning of the medieval civilisation," he
said, adding that if the ponds cannot be revived then they should be
utilised as parks so that excavation projects can also be taken up.
The Palye Pukhoo of Ward No 4 on which the Kirtipur Municipality has decided
to construct a multi-purpose building, is an ancient one, which has a
special cultural purpose of offering lotus flowers to the Buddhist temple of
Chilanchwo.
Gyan Ratna Bajracharya, a member of Chilanchwo Bhagwan Guthi said the trust
for the Chilanchwo had 60 ropanis of land, out of which 56 ropanis had been
acquired by the Tribhuwan University and the remaining four ropanis is being
targeted by the municipality.
"We had been offering lotus flowers to Chilanchwo for ages. But we later
stopped this practice as the government withdrew our facilities. Later on,
some social organisations started keeping fish in the pond, which also
disappeared," he said. He has been fighting alone to save the ponds. The
Guthi Sansthan has stated that the ponds have historic value and hence
should be conserved. However, the municipality has not give up the idea of
construction which has generated controversy in the past two weeks.
The deputy mayor of Kirtipur Municipality Panna Ratna Bajracharya said that
the protests would not affect the municipality's decision. He did not
release the technical details and estimated budget of the building.
Meanwhile, the officers of Local Development Ministry said that the
municipality should not take up construction work on public land. "Specially
cultural properties like ponds are the local heritage. The municipalities
should conserve instead of destroying them," he said.
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al&folder=aCXatK&Name=City&dtSiteDate=20031109
Monday, October 27, 2003
Government nod for Nepal Era, finally
Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, October 26
The government today finally recognised the Nepal Era as the national calendar.
The movement started 24 years ago by the Nepalbhasa Mankaa Khalaa (NMK) to recognise the era was initiated by a Nepali, Sankhadhar Sakhwaa, the legend goes. The Nepal era follows the lunar system, by which most of Nepal's festivals are determined.
"The Nepal Era has got national recognition now, there is no doubt," Minister for Information and Communication Kamal Thapa said today, adding the Nepal Era should be used widely in public and ways to use it practically should be discussed.
Thapa was addressing a programme to launch a new postage stamp with the portrait of Sakhwaa who was recognised as the National Luminary by the government on November 18, 1999.
According to the legend, written in Bhasa Cronicle, Sakhwaa initiated the Nepal Era after he got citizens of Kathmandu out of their debts. That was possible as he got a huge treasure during the reign of King Raghav Dev. He had seen some porters bringing sacks of sand from the Bishnumati river on an auspicious day as per the king's order. Sakhwaa thought of it as extraordinary and bought the sand himself. On the next day, on October 20, 879 AD, the sand turned into gold powder with which he could let people be free of their debts and he, then, initiated the era.
Minister Thapa said all Nepali citizens are indebted to Sakhwaa, adding the contributions of "this great person" should not be confined to a small territory or any one community, but should be considered as national heritage.
Naresh Bir Shakya, secretary
of NMK, said though they have been raising the issue of recognising the Nepal Era by the state for the past 24 years, previous governments never acted. "I think it is a great achievement of the NMK movement. Now, people will be inspired to use the Nepal Era in public, too," he added.
In 1980, the NMK had started the movement to demand not only recognition from the state but also exchange New Year greetings. The movement also worked as a platform to protest against the Panchayati System before 1990, but later it turned into a cultural festival.
Nepal Era was the official calendar for over a thousand years in the history of the Kathmandu Valley and today it serves historians for study of historical documents all of which have dates from the ninth to the 19th century according to the Nepal Era.
YOU CAN ALSO FIND THIS NEWS IN :
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Kathmandu, October 26
The government today finally recognised the Nepal Era as the national calendar.
The movement started 24 years ago by the Nepalbhasa Mankaa Khalaa (NMK) to recognise the era was initiated by a Nepali, Sankhadhar Sakhwaa, the legend goes. The Nepal era follows the lunar system, by which most of Nepal's festivals are determined.
"The Nepal Era has got national recognition now, there is no doubt," Minister for Information and Communication Kamal Thapa said today, adding the Nepal Era should be used widely in public and ways to use it practically should be discussed.
Thapa was addressing a programme to launch a new postage stamp with the portrait of Sakhwaa who was recognised as the National Luminary by the government on November 18, 1999.
According to the legend, written in Bhasa Cronicle, Sakhwaa initiated the Nepal Era after he got citizens of Kathmandu out of their debts. That was possible as he got a huge treasure during the reign of King Raghav Dev. He had seen some porters bringing sacks of sand from the Bishnumati river on an auspicious day as per the king's order. Sakhwaa thought of it as extraordinary and bought the sand himself. On the next day, on October 20, 879 AD, the sand turned into gold powder with which he could let people be free of their debts and he, then, initiated the era.
Minister Thapa said all Nepali citizens are indebted to Sakhwaa, adding the contributions of "this great person" should not be confined to a small territory or any one community, but should be considered as national heritage.
Naresh Bir Shakya, secretary
of NMK, said though they have been raising the issue of recognising the Nepal Era by the state for the past 24 years, previous governments never acted. "I think it is a great achievement of the NMK movement. Now, people will be inspired to use the Nepal Era in public, too," he added.
In 1980, the NMK had started the movement to demand not only recognition from the state but also exchange New Year greetings. The movement also worked as a platform to protest against the Panchayati System before 1990, but later it turned into a cultural festival.
Nepal Era was the official calendar for over a thousand years in the history of the Kathmandu Valley and today it serves historians for study of historical documents all of which have dates from the ninth to the 19th century according to the Nepal Era.
YOU CAN ALSO FIND THIS NEWS IN :
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullstory.asp?filename=
aFanata0reqzqca9Ua0a9a.axamal&folder=aHaoamW&Name=Home&dtSiteDate=20031027
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Stolen ancient idol on its way back
Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, October 22[2003
The 400-year-old masterpiece from Patan, which was stolen 19 months ago
and was about to be sold to a museum in Austria, is to be returned to
Nepal, thanks to some Buddhist sympathisers and scholars of Austria.
The 1.2-metre tall gilded head of Dipankar Buddha was stolen on February
16, 2002 from its caretaker's house at Chibah Nani in Nag Bahal. The
trust members reported the theft to the
District Police Office but in vain. The idol was discovered later when a
German art dealer, Peter Hardt, tried to sell it to Dr Schicklgruber,
the curator for South Asian art of the Ethnographic Museum in Vienna, at
a price of $200,000 (Rs 16 million) in May 2002. When it was identified
as a stolen object by scholars of University of Vienna, with the help of
the Buddhist community of Lalitpur, the matter was reported to the
Interpol and the case taken to the court, which has now ordered to
return the image to Nepal.
"A series of lucky incidents led to the idol's discovery," Dr Alexander
v Rosatt, who had been involved in rescuing the stolen idol, told The
Himalayan Times today. He hoped that this particular incident would set
an example and it would make the smuggling of ancient art objects more
difficult in the future.
A special function is being organised on Friday in Kathmandu to hand
over the idol to the rightful owners. As Nepal does not have separate
Austrian ambassador to Nepal, the Austrian ambassador to India, Jutta
Setfan Bastl, is coming here with her credentials to hand over the idol
to the trust members through officials of Ministry of Culture, after
receiving credentials from King Gyanendra on the same day.
The idol would be flown free of cost courtesy Austrian Airlines and the
additional insurance and handling expenses will be met by local trust
members. Nepali government has not spent anything for the grand return.
It is the third instance when a stolen ancient idol is being returned to
Nepal, largely due to the efforts of the destination countries.
A local heritage lover said before the stolen object ended up with a
western art dealer, it was burgled by locals, sold by Nepali middlemen
and exported with the connivance of Nepali government officials.
According to him, it was officially exported with the proper
documentation of the Department of Archaeology.
"Unfortunately the western art dealer preferred to keep mum and the
Nepalis, including the government officials, involved in the smuggling
have escaped the net," said another expert on cultural heritage.
[The Himalayan Times (Kathmandu), October 23, 2003]
Kathmandu, October 22[2003
The 400-year-old masterpiece from Patan, which was stolen 19 months ago
and was about to be sold to a museum in Austria, is to be returned to
Nepal, thanks to some Buddhist sympathisers and scholars of Austria.
The 1.2-metre tall gilded head of Dipankar Buddha was stolen on February
16, 2002 from its caretaker's house at Chibah Nani in Nag Bahal. The
trust members reported the theft to the
District Police Office but in vain. The idol was discovered later when a
German art dealer, Peter Hardt, tried to sell it to Dr Schicklgruber,
the curator for South Asian art of the Ethnographic Museum in Vienna, at
a price of $200,000 (Rs 16 million) in May 2002. When it was identified
as a stolen object by scholars of University of Vienna, with the help of
the Buddhist community of Lalitpur, the matter was reported to the
Interpol and the case taken to the court, which has now ordered to
return the image to Nepal.
"A series of lucky incidents led to the idol's discovery," Dr Alexander
v Rosatt, who had been involved in rescuing the stolen idol, told The
Himalayan Times today. He hoped that this particular incident would set
an example and it would make the smuggling of ancient art objects more
difficult in the future.
A special function is being organised on Friday in Kathmandu to hand
over the idol to the rightful owners. As Nepal does not have separate
Austrian ambassador to Nepal, the Austrian ambassador to India, Jutta
Setfan Bastl, is coming here with her credentials to hand over the idol
to the trust members through officials of Ministry of Culture, after
receiving credentials from King Gyanendra on the same day.
The idol would be flown free of cost courtesy Austrian Airlines and the
additional insurance and handling expenses will be met by local trust
members. Nepali government has not spent anything for the grand return.
It is the third instance when a stolen ancient idol is being returned to
Nepal, largely due to the efforts of the destination countries.
A local heritage lover said before the stolen object ended up with a
western art dealer, it was burgled by locals, sold by Nepali middlemen
and exported with the connivance of Nepali government officials.
According to him, it was officially exported with the proper
documentation of the Department of Archaeology.
"Unfortunately the western art dealer preferred to keep mum and the
Nepalis, including the government officials, involved in the smuggling
have escaped the net," said another expert on cultural heritage.
[The Himalayan Times (Kathmandu), October 23, 2003]
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Lakhe culture in jeopardy
Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, September 13[2003]:
The tradition of dance of the red-haired `demon' Lakhe, a popular
emblem advertised for attracting tourists to Nepal, now faces a
crisis of existence as the government hardly shows any interest in
conserving the age-old cultural heritage.
The Lakhe is taken around Kathmandu streets during the eight-day
Indrajatra that ends on Sunday from Lakhenani in Mazipat. The Newar
families of Ranjitkars, the traditional dyers, have kept the
tradition of Lakhe alive, though hardly any of them are now involved
with dyeing.
According to historians, the tradition began as early as in the
seventh century, though opinions vary about the exact date. A popular
legend has it that a man-eating demon fell in love with a local
farmer girl and married her on the condition that he would protect
the city and stop eating human flesh. The dance is to honour the
Lakhe's keeping of its pledge.
Today, people worship the masked dancer as a God and offer coins.
However, the rich culture is on the verge of extinction as the
government's annual contribution of Rs 7,000 to a trust meant to keep
the tradition alive is insufficient to carry out the rituals even for
a day. The trust has to manage lunch for 20 persons and dinner for
around a hundred guests each day, resulting, obviously, in financial
crunch.
"Problems? The arrival of Indrajatra itself is a problem for us,"
Binod Ranjit, the chief of Sri Lakhe Aju Guthi, the organising trust,
said. He joined the trust as a three-year-old boy, playing the role
of Jhyalincha, the naughty teaser of the demon. And after dancing as
a Lakhe for almost a decade, he is now head of the management team.
However, for livelihood, he has to work as an electrician and sell
wares on the streets at Sundhara in the evenings.
The trust does not have any money to pay the dancers and other
volunteers, who contribute their time and energy. Still, to keep the
tradition of Lakhe alive, the trust members shell out money from
their own pockets to accrue around Rs 50,000 every year. "But how
long can it go on like this? With the changing times, one day you
might hear that the Lakhe could not come out on the streets for that
year because of lack of funds," Ranjit said.
With the government showing no interest in providing security for the
Lakhe dance troupe, they often have to face gangsters and looters on
the streets, particularly at night. Ram Ranjit, a volunteer, said
while the tradition of Lakhe itself faces extinction, a large number
of `fake' Lakhe dancers are earning moolah in hotels and other
cultural programmes by exploiting the tradition.
[Kathmandu, 24, September, 2003]
Kathmandu, September 13[2003]:
The tradition of dance of the red-haired `demon' Lakhe, a popular
emblem advertised for attracting tourists to Nepal, now faces a
crisis of existence as the government hardly shows any interest in
conserving the age-old cultural heritage.
The Lakhe is taken around Kathmandu streets during the eight-day
Indrajatra that ends on Sunday from Lakhenani in Mazipat. The Newar
families of Ranjitkars, the traditional dyers, have kept the
tradition of Lakhe alive, though hardly any of them are now involved
with dyeing.
According to historians, the tradition began as early as in the
seventh century, though opinions vary about the exact date. A popular
legend has it that a man-eating demon fell in love with a local
farmer girl and married her on the condition that he would protect
the city and stop eating human flesh. The dance is to honour the
Lakhe's keeping of its pledge.
Today, people worship the masked dancer as a God and offer coins.
However, the rich culture is on the verge of extinction as the
government's annual contribution of Rs 7,000 to a trust meant to keep
the tradition alive is insufficient to carry out the rituals even for
a day. The trust has to manage lunch for 20 persons and dinner for
around a hundred guests each day, resulting, obviously, in financial
crunch.
"Problems? The arrival of Indrajatra itself is a problem for us,"
Binod Ranjit, the chief of Sri Lakhe Aju Guthi, the organising trust,
said. He joined the trust as a three-year-old boy, playing the role
of Jhyalincha, the naughty teaser of the demon. And after dancing as
a Lakhe for almost a decade, he is now head of the management team.
However, for livelihood, he has to work as an electrician and sell
wares on the streets at Sundhara in the evenings.
The trust does not have any money to pay the dancers and other
volunteers, who contribute their time and energy. Still, to keep the
tradition of Lakhe alive, the trust members shell out money from
their own pockets to accrue around Rs 50,000 every year. "But how
long can it go on like this? With the changing times, one day you
might hear that the Lakhe could not come out on the streets for that
year because of lack of funds," Ranjit said.
With the government showing no interest in providing security for the
Lakhe dance troupe, they often have to face gangsters and looters on
the streets, particularly at night. Ram Ranjit, a volunteer, said
while the tradition of Lakhe itself faces extinction, a large number
of `fake' Lakhe dancers are earning moolah in hotels and other
cultural programmes by exploiting the tradition.
[Kathmandu, 24, September, 2003]
Sunday, May 11, 2003
Lessons Learnt
When the Yetkha Bahal
was chosen for conservation by the UNESC and LVPT, little did the conservations
know of the challenges that lay ahead.
Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu is beautiful not just because of the seven
monument zones that have been recognized by the government as well as United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). But besides
these too there are innumerable temples, stupas, monasteries and other
heritages that are equally elegant and have cultural significance.
A notable example is Yetkha Bahal. Located at the core of
old Kathmandu, is about a five minute-walk from the Hanumandhoka Durbar Square.
If you walk from Maju Dewal of Hanumandhoka to Naradevi, a small lane on your
left will take you to a open quadrangle.
The courtyard
it is big quadrangle – bigger than a football ground – with
a giant while Buddhist stupa at the centre. Around 80 residential buildings,
sporadically reconstructed, surround the brick-paved square. Originally, such
quadrangles are meant to be shrines or monasteries. There must have been a
temple like construction, called Dyo-chhen, and the rest of the surrounding
two-floor buildings used to be classrooms, meditation halls or dormitory for
the celibate monks.
There are around three dozen such monasteries, categorized
as 'Bahals' or Bahils', in Kathmandu alone but none of them today has monks
studying Buddhism. By 18th century, the Bajracharyas and Shakyas,
"the masters of thunderbolt" and "venerable ones", who are
said to be the rightful residents, forgot the essence of what they were. They got rid of monkhood and so, their
titles, these days, have become mere surnames. They not only started claiming
the shrine as their own property, but also have dismantled the fabric of monastery
and replaced them with new constructions, throwing all the elaborate pieces
away.
100-year-old-picture shows that a homogeneous row of
two-story buildings, all with slopped, tied roofs, stood there at Yetkha Bahal.
But most of the buildings today are no more than 40 feet tall – all made of
concrete with contrasting colours and designs.
The Dyo-chhen
Just opposite the entrance, across the stupa, there lies an
old three-storied building – Dyo-chhen, or the "home of the god".
There is an idol of Akshyabhya Buddha on the ground floor and the upper floor
contains a secret chamber where only the initiated Bajracharya priests can
worship. Only a few are aware today that
it is the only reminder of the original feature of the courtyard. This is a
piece of architecture that has few comparisons in the whole Kathmandu Valley.
"It is unique from every angle. You can say that it is
a jewel of the Newar civilization that flourished in the Kathmandu Valley from
the fifth century," says Dr. Rohit Ranjitkar, an architect and expert of
the valley monuments, Kathmandu Valley Conservation Trust (KVPT).
It's "torana" and struts are something you cannot
find elsewhere in the valley. Experts claim that parts of the original building
could be seven to eight hundred years old. The undated "torana" has a
motif similar to those of cave art of India. Similarly, the struts with images
of Yakshinis are also equally antique. Only in Itumbahal, Okubahal and the
temple of Indreshwor (Panauti) possess such struts. The gloomy sanctum of the
ground floor contains a small and ordinary looking idol, recently installed
after the original one was stolen decades back.
The Dyo-chhen originally belonged to a guthi (trust) of the
Tamrakars, the traditional coppersmiths. It was intact till 1968, as shows a
picture taken around that time. In around 1980, the guthi members, instead of
carrying on the legacy, hired on Bajracharya (priest) who performed daily
rituals at the shrine daily and in return, got to live in the temple. Time
passed, and the priest was found with an crafted land ownership certificate.
Still, he never took pain to conserve the monument. So much so, they did not
repair the shrine when the five-faced window fell to the ground in 1985. And
the dilapidated condition did not bother the Tamrakars either.
Conservation
After over four years, the restoration of Yetkha Bahal
Dyo-chhen has been completed. It was a project jointly carried out by the KVPT,
an NGO working in the restoration sector for the past one decade, and the UNESCO.
According to the project officials, the venture cost around
2.7 million for restoration. For this the Sumitomo Foundation provided $ 23,000
while KVPT collected a fun of Rs. 12,500 from various sources. The project began
in April 2002 though the paperwork and preparation began as early as 1998.
Challenges
It is a success story, if we look at it superficially. But
one wonders that the 'guthi' members not only refused to help but also kept
hindering the process. The officials from UNESCO and KVPT selected the
Dyo-chhen looking at the beauty and antiquity of the monument. But they were
unaware of the problems that lay behind the beautifully carved doors. Before
the project ended, the technicians expressed: "It was a mistake. A bad
choice, indeed."
The trust members did not disclose the ownership problem earlier,
but as everything was ready, the fake owner refused to have the monument resorted.
Finally, the project had to decide that it would buy back the monument for the
restoration's sake. Still, the guthi members provided only less than half of
the total amount to buy building for themselves, while KVPT and Katmandu
Metropolitan City jointly provided the rest of the amount.
The owner just turned their back on the project and after it
was completed some weeks ago, the owners went to the project office and
demanded modern electric fittings be provided and the walls be painted, etc,
which are against the norms of conservation. In addition, some even asked that
a party be organized for the guthi members and the neighbours, and refused to
take the key of the moment until their demands were fulfilled.
This is a ridiculous incident in the history of foreign
assistance for conservation. Due to similar attitude of Nepali owners, either
private or the government, donors have shows little interest in providing
financial assistance to us.
Undoubtedly, the sole responsibility of restoring the
monument falls on the shoulders of the locals who are proud of their heritage.
It the government is found indifferent in this regard, the locals should come
forward as most of them belong to well-to-do families.
There are hundreds of monuments awaiting conservation but
there is little hope from the owners that they would conserve their legacy. Is
the Yetkha Bahal conservation project putting a full stop on future
possibilities of foreign donation for conservation programmes in collaboration
with the local owners?
Monday, November 11, 2002
Timely construction of overhead bridges always a dream
By Razen Manandhar
KATHMANDU, Nov 10 [2002]: What could be a better example of the pace of the capital’s development than an overhead bridge that was supposed to have been built in two months but has not been completed after a whole year? Considering that five other overhead bridges, which were to be constructed in the meantime, are nowhere in sight, the whole project appears doomed.
Following a grand religious launching in November 22 last year, the constructing company, Innovative Concept Nepal (ICN), had promised that the three-million-rupee-bridge close to the Bhadrakali temple, would be completed in two months. The bridge still requires the final touches before being opened for public use.
Two years ago ICN won the lucrative contract for building six overhead bridges with the stipulation that their revenue would be from leasing commercial space and shutters. It was required to pay Rs 120,000 annually to KMC, apart from bearing the cost of their construction.
A flower-seller at the nearby Bhadrakali temple said that the uncompleted construction has become an eyesore for the public and the government offices around it. "The construction works disturbed the flow of traffic for the whole year as workers stored construction materials along the road due to lack of open space around the site. It caused quite a few traffic accidents beneath the bridge during construction," said he.
Pedestrians remain confused at not being allowed to use an almost complete bridge especially when the vehicle drivers do not control their speed there, seeing the bridge across the road.
"I see the bridge there but it is yet to be used. I don’t know whether I should climb on the stairs or cross the road, defying the speeding vehicles," said Kul Man Maharjan, an elderly pedestrian. He said that the KMC talks too much but works at a snail’s pace.
Though five other bridges were to be built during the interim period, at Ratnapark, Tripureshwor, Chabahil, Balaju and City Bus park in two phases, there are no signs of any construction at any of these sites. However, Director General of ICN, Paras Mani Baral said that the overhead bridge at Bhadrakali would be open to the public shortly.
"I believe we will be able to open the bridge in a week. There will be an inaugural function and we are hopeful that we will be able to lay foundation stones for the other bridges on that date," he said. Baral admitted that the construction of the bridge was "quite slow" blaming lack of working space at the site for delay.
Officials at the KMC maintain that they repeatedly urged and even warned the private company to finish the construction, but they could see no progress. "We really had a bad time with the ICN people. We repeatedly requested them to speed up the work but the result was never satisfactory," said Jyoti Bhushan Pradhan, former Chief of Public Works Department of KMC.
The agreement between the KMC and the ICN was made as early as in November 2000. The ICN also agreed to increase the "royalty" to KMC by five percent per year.
[Kathmandu, Monday November 11, 2002 Kartik 25, 2059.]
http://www.nepalnews.com/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2002/nov/nov11/local1.htm
KATHMANDU, Nov 10 [2002]: What could be a better example of the pace of the capital’s development than an overhead bridge that was supposed to have been built in two months but has not been completed after a whole year? Considering that five other overhead bridges, which were to be constructed in the meantime, are nowhere in sight, the whole project appears doomed.
Following a grand religious launching in November 22 last year, the constructing company, Innovative Concept Nepal (ICN), had promised that the three-million-rupee-bridge close to the Bhadrakali temple, would be completed in two months. The bridge still requires the final touches before being opened for public use.
Two years ago ICN won the lucrative contract for building six overhead bridges with the stipulation that their revenue would be from leasing commercial space and shutters. It was required to pay Rs 120,000 annually to KMC, apart from bearing the cost of their construction.
A flower-seller at the nearby Bhadrakali temple said that the uncompleted construction has become an eyesore for the public and the government offices around it. "The construction works disturbed the flow of traffic for the whole year as workers stored construction materials along the road due to lack of open space around the site. It caused quite a few traffic accidents beneath the bridge during construction," said he.
Pedestrians remain confused at not being allowed to use an almost complete bridge especially when the vehicle drivers do not control their speed there, seeing the bridge across the road.
"I see the bridge there but it is yet to be used. I don’t know whether I should climb on the stairs or cross the road, defying the speeding vehicles," said Kul Man Maharjan, an elderly pedestrian. He said that the KMC talks too much but works at a snail’s pace.
Though five other bridges were to be built during the interim period, at Ratnapark, Tripureshwor, Chabahil, Balaju and City Bus park in two phases, there are no signs of any construction at any of these sites. However, Director General of ICN, Paras Mani Baral said that the overhead bridge at Bhadrakali would be open to the public shortly.
"I believe we will be able to open the bridge in a week. There will be an inaugural function and we are hopeful that we will be able to lay foundation stones for the other bridges on that date," he said. Baral admitted that the construction of the bridge was "quite slow" blaming lack of working space at the site for delay.
Officials at the KMC maintain that they repeatedly urged and even warned the private company to finish the construction, but they could see no progress. "We really had a bad time with the ICN people. We repeatedly requested them to speed up the work but the result was never satisfactory," said Jyoti Bhushan Pradhan, former Chief of Public Works Department of KMC.
The agreement between the KMC and the ICN was made as early as in November 2000. The ICN also agreed to increase the "royalty" to KMC by five percent per year.
[Kathmandu, Monday November 11, 2002 Kartik 25, 2059.]
http://www.nepalnews.com/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2002/nov/nov11/local1.htm
Sunday, October 20, 2002
This Kumari needs not follow strict rules
By Razen Manandhar
BHAKTAPUR, Oct 19:Rukmani Devi Shakya, in her early 40s, gives the love and honour to her five-year old daughter Sajani Shakya that must be much more than any mother in the whole world can give.
For her as well as the most people of Bhaktapur, the little girl is a Living Goddess, a Kumari. This has been a tradition in Bhaktapur since the 14th century along with similar traditions in the other ancient Newar cities of Kathmandu and Lalitpur.
The Goddess is about to finish the fifteen-day-long special puja she receives during the festival of Dashain. She resides at her building at Prasannashil Mahavihar for the fifteen days of the Dashain and observes all ceremonial rites from here. For the rest of the year, she is free to go to her parents.
Even her mother calls her Kumari Maju, using the honourable title meaning ‘Mother Kumari’. She communicates with her daughter in the most respectful and honorific form of the language and waits patiently to fulfil any task the Kumari desires.
Mother Shakya, the hereditary caretaker, Nakin of Ekanta Kumari of Bhaktapur, said that she has been honoured with the opportunity to serve the Goddess, especially as her own daughter was chosen to be the present Living Goddess since the last three years.
"I feel special, a pride to see my daughter on the holy throne. I have taken care of two other Kumaris previously and my personal experience has been that the family from where the Kumari is chosen enjoys prosperity and success in their lives," said she. She or any other female member from her family has to take the Kumari to a special daily worship.
According to Narendra Prasad Joshi, the chief priest of Taleju temple of Bhaktapur, the priests take the Goddess to the Mahavihar on Sunday or Thursday, before the first day of the Dashain, to prepare her for the ceremonial Dashain puja. Everyday she is brought to a courtyard of Chaturbramha Mahabihar, beside the Royal Palace, and offered puja in ceremonial settings.
"On the ninth day, she is taken to the temple of Taleju Bhawani inside the royal palace where she is worshipped with much fanfare, in a one hour ceremony," he said.
After the annual puja, the Kumari is taken to a special seat at the temple of Bramhayani, where the pilgrims offer puja to the child goddess. For the rest of four days, she remains at her residence, giving tika to pilgrims.
However, this Kumari is not the only one worshipped in this cultural city. There are altogether 15 such Living Goddesses in Bhaktapur alone.
"There are nine Gana Kumaris, who represent the tantric structure of the ancient city of Bhatkapur; and three more, Bhairav, Ganesh and Kumar," said historian Dr Purushotam Lochan Shrestha.
The eleven Kumaris are chosen from different parts of the city. They first receive worships in the Dashain festival. Then come three others - from Wane Laykoo, Chasukhel and Sakotha Bahaa. The Ekanta Kumari or the prime Kumari of Bhaktapur makes the final entry in the holy courtyard.
Unlike the Royal Kumari of Hanumandhoka in Kathmandu, the Ekanta Kumari of Bhaktapur need not follow the strict rules during her tenure as the Living Goddess. She enjoys most of her days in her parent’s house and goes to a private school everyday. Regardless of minor physical injuries, which is strongly restricted in Kathmandu, they change the Goddess when she reaches 11 years.
The priest, Joshi said that there might have been similar restrictions but, as the government showed no interest to provide facilities to this aspect of Bhaktapur’s heritage, the locals also became indifferent to the strictures.
"So much so, the Guthi Sansthan has already sold the land in the name of Kumari and now, instead of rice grains, it gives the interest of the cash deposited at a bank," he added.
The Kumari of Bhaktapur receives Rs 450 per month which after retirement becomes a hundred rupees monthly from the government.
[Kathmandu, Sunday October 20, 2002 Kartik 03, 2059. ]
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2002/oct/oct20/index.htm#5
BHAKTAPUR, Oct 19:Rukmani Devi Shakya, in her early 40s, gives the love and honour to her five-year old daughter Sajani Shakya that must be much more than any mother in the whole world can give.
For her as well as the most people of Bhaktapur, the little girl is a Living Goddess, a Kumari. This has been a tradition in Bhaktapur since the 14th century along with similar traditions in the other ancient Newar cities of Kathmandu and Lalitpur.
The Goddess is about to finish the fifteen-day-long special puja she receives during the festival of Dashain. She resides at her building at Prasannashil Mahavihar for the fifteen days of the Dashain and observes all ceremonial rites from here. For the rest of the year, she is free to go to her parents.
Even her mother calls her Kumari Maju, using the honourable title meaning ‘Mother Kumari’. She communicates with her daughter in the most respectful and honorific form of the language and waits patiently to fulfil any task the Kumari desires.
Mother Shakya, the hereditary caretaker, Nakin of Ekanta Kumari of Bhaktapur, said that she has been honoured with the opportunity to serve the Goddess, especially as her own daughter was chosen to be the present Living Goddess since the last three years.
"I feel special, a pride to see my daughter on the holy throne. I have taken care of two other Kumaris previously and my personal experience has been that the family from where the Kumari is chosen enjoys prosperity and success in their lives," said she. She or any other female member from her family has to take the Kumari to a special daily worship.
According to Narendra Prasad Joshi, the chief priest of Taleju temple of Bhaktapur, the priests take the Goddess to the Mahavihar on Sunday or Thursday, before the first day of the Dashain, to prepare her for the ceremonial Dashain puja. Everyday she is brought to a courtyard of Chaturbramha Mahabihar, beside the Royal Palace, and offered puja in ceremonial settings.
"On the ninth day, she is taken to the temple of Taleju Bhawani inside the royal palace where she is worshipped with much fanfare, in a one hour ceremony," he said.
After the annual puja, the Kumari is taken to a special seat at the temple of Bramhayani, where the pilgrims offer puja to the child goddess. For the rest of four days, she remains at her residence, giving tika to pilgrims.
However, this Kumari is not the only one worshipped in this cultural city. There are altogether 15 such Living Goddesses in Bhaktapur alone.
"There are nine Gana Kumaris, who represent the tantric structure of the ancient city of Bhatkapur; and three more, Bhairav, Ganesh and Kumar," said historian Dr Purushotam Lochan Shrestha.
The eleven Kumaris are chosen from different parts of the city. They first receive worships in the Dashain festival. Then come three others - from Wane Laykoo, Chasukhel and Sakotha Bahaa. The Ekanta Kumari or the prime Kumari of Bhaktapur makes the final entry in the holy courtyard.
Unlike the Royal Kumari of Hanumandhoka in Kathmandu, the Ekanta Kumari of Bhaktapur need not follow the strict rules during her tenure as the Living Goddess. She enjoys most of her days in her parent’s house and goes to a private school everyday. Regardless of minor physical injuries, which is strongly restricted in Kathmandu, they change the Goddess when she reaches 11 years.
The priest, Joshi said that there might have been similar restrictions but, as the government showed no interest to provide facilities to this aspect of Bhaktapur’s heritage, the locals also became indifferent to the strictures.
"So much so, the Guthi Sansthan has already sold the land in the name of Kumari and now, instead of rice grains, it gives the interest of the cash deposited at a bank," he added.
The Kumari of Bhaktapur receives Rs 450 per month which after retirement becomes a hundred rupees monthly from the government.
[Kathmandu, Sunday October 20, 2002 Kartik 03, 2059. ]
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2002/oct/oct20/index.htm#5
A multi-dimensional personality: Lain Singh Bangdel
By Razen Manandhar
Rarely does God give both a brush and a pen to one person. But here, he also gave zeal and mission to one man. He is none other than Lain Singh Bangdel who passed away last week on the very auspicious day of Vijaya Dashami.
He was born in Darjeeling, India in 1924 in a lower-middle class family. After spending his school days at Government High School of Darjeeling, a District Board Scholarship took him to Government College of Arts and Crafts and from where he was graduated in 1945. But instead of returning home, he stayed in Kolkota and tried his luck there. He worked for several advertising agencies, was even sacked for being "incompetent". More than art teachers, he was trained by struggles and failures that also encouraged him to set a goal of his own.
His firm ambition to become an artist inspired him to set off on a one-month-long voyage to London without a single companion and then he moved to France, his ultimate destination in 1952. Since he had no funding, a mountain of difficulties stood on his way. He lived in the outskirts, in chilly rooms and he had to walk around the city to sell his early paintings in the streets. For almost two decades, he lived truly as a struggling "artist" in Paris and London, where he learned much more than the techniques of making strokes on empty canvasses.
The dice was cast in 1961, when artist Bangdel had an opportunity to be introduced to His Late Majesty King Mahendra. The Panchayat system was quite new, and King Mahendra was in search of personalities, who could show Modern Nepal to the world from different angles. The four-year old Royal Nepal Academy needed an artist to showcase Nepal’s art. Though Nepal had been a treasure of art and architecture for millennia, and contemporary art had entered Nepal much earlier than Bangdel was born, he was granted membership of the Academy for being an artist by the King. Luck had it that his working place became Nepal, the country his ancestors had left generations ago.
In the Panchayat period, being a king-nominated member of the Academy was advantageous. His well-maintained relation with the royal family as well as his expertise made him Vice Chancellor in 1974 and again the first non-royal chancellor in 1979, and worked as the head of the Academy till 1989. He was fortunate to remain in the state-backed organisation of the scholars during almost whole of the Panchayat period. He capitalised his power and expertise to enhance his career. This period was also the most productive days of his life - a series of painting exhibitions and book publications, followed by dozens of awards. Most of his books were published from the Academy, whereas some were came out from abroad.
Jadadish Samsher Rana and Genendra Bahadur Amatya had come up with abstract works here when Bangdel exhibited his semi-abstract paintings at Saraswati Sadan, but his were more polished and had a European outlook. Making a position in Nepal’s art arena, where most of the artists were submissive, shy and unexposed to the western world, was not difficult for him. And he became a spokesperson of the art activities of Nepal for at least three decades.
Bringing Nepal Association of Fine Arts under the Academy’s umbrella (it is still a controversial issue amongst some artists) and establishment of Nepal Art Council were Bangdel’s another contributions. The Council was opened as a gallery to exhibit the replicas of Western art, but it was later turned into a kind of art institution, with a building of its own and regular government funding.
Bangdel’s ability to understand the need of the time distinguished him from other artists. So the follower of monarchy did not mind making portraits of BP Koirala and Ganeshman Singh after the 1990’s Popular Movement. Beside his God gifted talent, he had power, blessing from the royals and talent of expression to retain the position he had in the city of art. Nevertheless, the "deified" artist was reluctant to teach art in public. Instead of teaching, he formed a group of half a dozen confident young artists who followed his ism of painting. A group of artists, better known as New Artists’ Circle, are following his path. Most of them were awarded in an art competition organised by the Nepal Art Council some three years ago.
Bangdel was born to be an artist but his contribution to Nepali literature is not less remarkable. He also made his room there as a humanitarian novelist, a freak travelogue writer and an incisive biographer. He had published ‘Bishwa Katha Sangraha’ before he left for London. His stay in London, France and Spain helped him in his literary pursuit. Students of literature today remember him for his books, mainly ‘Spain ko Samjhana’, ‘Muluk Bahira’, ‘Maitighar’, ‘Langadako Sathi’, ‘Bishwa Ka Chha Mahan Kalakar’ and ‘Rembrandt’.
Similarly, Bangdel had a deep knowledge of Nepal’s stone sculpture. He might never have imagined that the small Kathmandu Valley is rich in ancient sculptures, some dating as early as the first century BC. He, with his experience and tireless research, sought similarity between the early sculptures of the valley and the Kushan-period sculpture of Northern India. His diligent study and interpretation paved a new way for studying Nepal’s cultural heritage. His research produced Prachin Nepali Murtikalako Itihas (1982), Ancient Sculptures of Nepal (1982, India) Stolen Images of Nepal (1989) and Inventory of Stone Sulptures of the Kathmandu Valley (1995) are some of his books. Among others, his "Stolen Images of Nepal" is still a matchless gem for Nepali authors as it contains pictures of hundreds of idols that have been stolen, as well as detached pedestals. In the course of research, he had taken thousands of pictures of stone sculptures from courtyards and shrines of the valley. The treasure of photographs, yet to come out, is sure to make a history in the future.
Despite all this, he was noted for his isolation from the Nepali artists’ circle. He was accused of misusing his power, being undemocratic to juniors and favouring only his beloved ones. Some even raise questions over the pictures of the stolen idols. Nonetheless, his contributions to Nepali art, heritage and literature will be remembered forever, and it will take time to fill the vacuum left by Bangdel’s demise.
[Kathmandu, Sunday October 20, 2002 Kartik 03, 2059.]
Rarely does God give both a brush and a pen to one person. But here, he also gave zeal and mission to one man. He is none other than Lain Singh Bangdel who passed away last week on the very auspicious day of Vijaya Dashami.
He was born in Darjeeling, India in 1924 in a lower-middle class family. After spending his school days at Government High School of Darjeeling, a District Board Scholarship took him to Government College of Arts and Crafts and from where he was graduated in 1945. But instead of returning home, he stayed in Kolkota and tried his luck there. He worked for several advertising agencies, was even sacked for being "incompetent". More than art teachers, he was trained by struggles and failures that also encouraged him to set a goal of his own.
His firm ambition to become an artist inspired him to set off on a one-month-long voyage to London without a single companion and then he moved to France, his ultimate destination in 1952. Since he had no funding, a mountain of difficulties stood on his way. He lived in the outskirts, in chilly rooms and he had to walk around the city to sell his early paintings in the streets. For almost two decades, he lived truly as a struggling "artist" in Paris and London, where he learned much more than the techniques of making strokes on empty canvasses.
The dice was cast in 1961, when artist Bangdel had an opportunity to be introduced to His Late Majesty King Mahendra. The Panchayat system was quite new, and King Mahendra was in search of personalities, who could show Modern Nepal to the world from different angles. The four-year old Royal Nepal Academy needed an artist to showcase Nepal’s art. Though Nepal had been a treasure of art and architecture for millennia, and contemporary art had entered Nepal much earlier than Bangdel was born, he was granted membership of the Academy for being an artist by the King. Luck had it that his working place became Nepal, the country his ancestors had left generations ago.
In the Panchayat period, being a king-nominated member of the Academy was advantageous. His well-maintained relation with the royal family as well as his expertise made him Vice Chancellor in 1974 and again the first non-royal chancellor in 1979, and worked as the head of the Academy till 1989. He was fortunate to remain in the state-backed organisation of the scholars during almost whole of the Panchayat period. He capitalised his power and expertise to enhance his career. This period was also the most productive days of his life - a series of painting exhibitions and book publications, followed by dozens of awards. Most of his books were published from the Academy, whereas some were came out from abroad.
Jadadish Samsher Rana and Genendra Bahadur Amatya had come up with abstract works here when Bangdel exhibited his semi-abstract paintings at Saraswati Sadan, but his were more polished and had a European outlook. Making a position in Nepal’s art arena, where most of the artists were submissive, shy and unexposed to the western world, was not difficult for him. And he became a spokesperson of the art activities of Nepal for at least three decades.
Bringing Nepal Association of Fine Arts under the Academy’s umbrella (it is still a controversial issue amongst some artists) and establishment of Nepal Art Council were Bangdel’s another contributions. The Council was opened as a gallery to exhibit the replicas of Western art, but it was later turned into a kind of art institution, with a building of its own and regular government funding.
Bangdel’s ability to understand the need of the time distinguished him from other artists. So the follower of monarchy did not mind making portraits of BP Koirala and Ganeshman Singh after the 1990’s Popular Movement. Beside his God gifted talent, he had power, blessing from the royals and talent of expression to retain the position he had in the city of art. Nevertheless, the "deified" artist was reluctant to teach art in public. Instead of teaching, he formed a group of half a dozen confident young artists who followed his ism of painting. A group of artists, better known as New Artists’ Circle, are following his path. Most of them were awarded in an art competition organised by the Nepal Art Council some three years ago.
Bangdel was born to be an artist but his contribution to Nepali literature is not less remarkable. He also made his room there as a humanitarian novelist, a freak travelogue writer and an incisive biographer. He had published ‘Bishwa Katha Sangraha’ before he left for London. His stay in London, France and Spain helped him in his literary pursuit. Students of literature today remember him for his books, mainly ‘Spain ko Samjhana’, ‘Muluk Bahira’, ‘Maitighar’, ‘Langadako Sathi’, ‘Bishwa Ka Chha Mahan Kalakar’ and ‘Rembrandt’.
Similarly, Bangdel had a deep knowledge of Nepal’s stone sculpture. He might never have imagined that the small Kathmandu Valley is rich in ancient sculptures, some dating as early as the first century BC. He, with his experience and tireless research, sought similarity between the early sculptures of the valley and the Kushan-period sculpture of Northern India. His diligent study and interpretation paved a new way for studying Nepal’s cultural heritage. His research produced Prachin Nepali Murtikalako Itihas (1982), Ancient Sculptures of Nepal (1982, India) Stolen Images of Nepal (1989) and Inventory of Stone Sulptures of the Kathmandu Valley (1995) are some of his books. Among others, his "Stolen Images of Nepal" is still a matchless gem for Nepali authors as it contains pictures of hundreds of idols that have been stolen, as well as detached pedestals. In the course of research, he had taken thousands of pictures of stone sculptures from courtyards and shrines of the valley. The treasure of photographs, yet to come out, is sure to make a history in the future.
Despite all this, he was noted for his isolation from the Nepali artists’ circle. He was accused of misusing his power, being undemocratic to juniors and favouring only his beloved ones. Some even raise questions over the pictures of the stolen idols. Nonetheless, his contributions to Nepali art, heritage and literature will be remembered forever, and it will take time to fill the vacuum left by Bangdel’s demise.
[Kathmandu, Sunday October 20, 2002 Kartik 03, 2059.]
Wednesday, October 02, 2002
Election in a glass-case
By RAZEN MANANDHAR
Though the govern ment failed to bring back the stolen (or exported) idol of Dipankar Buddha from Austria, the authorities have lately found a curio item unclaimed, at the backyard of Shahid Manch.
The maker of the abstract sculpture, entitled "Election" is anonymous but he said to have been very popular among the public in past 11 years. The art critics have not yet analysed whether the poor people really love it or the exhibitors wanted to impose this show on the people’s back. The advertisers have made such an impression in the world that it was the people’s wish and not the organisers’ vested interest that guide this poor country to organise the extravagant show in every three or four years.
To be very frank, there was nothing to gain by watching this abstract sculpture for the public. But still, a handful of exhibitors, who earn money by showing of the sculpture often lure the visitors by explaining the beauty of artworks, curves, texture and composition. Their explanation of the curio sculpture reminds me of the political leaders who pretend to watch modern art and to understand it too at such exhibitions.
What could compel them to exhibit the mystic sculpture now and then if not the profit they gain? Though it was constitutional to open the display once in five years at Bahadur Bhawan, they have the practice of opening it in every other year.
A new exhibition of the same mesmerising sculpture is going to be held soon. It was said that this exhibition will benefit all the parties and the public, they have not come up with preparations from their sides. This clearly shows that they are not expecting any such exhibition.
But as a matter of fact the people will gain nothing only by watching it. And this time, the exhibition will be held amid strict security. The authority said that the exhibition would be marked by tight security, so much so that the exhibition will be there but the security will take out the breath of each visitor before s/he could watch it for the last time.
The authority has not yet made proper arrangement for the show to take place, but they are cocksure that they could hold it. They have not even consulted our Hydrology department whether it will rain or snow on that day.
The entertainers are also still not sure whether they should go to villages and lure the uneducated, poor and dim-witted people to the stage. Even going there is not the end. They will have to explain about the specialty of the show this time.
You will never know, the organisers do not want to bring the sculpture to the show. They are afraid that the right to hold another show might be snatched away. To keep their right tight, they have already laid off 205 guards who were working from Singha Durbar. Similarly, they have also deputed their pets instead of 4,000 representatives in local posts around the museum.
But things are not gonna be better anyway. If going there will be more boring than watching Nepal Television, I think the audience will choose the worse than the worst. It’s their right too.
What is interesting about this show is that the louder the authority start confirming the possibility of the election, the more suspicious the possibility of holding this show becomes. They have been repeating the same thing so many times that even the audience have forgotten what exactly will take place.
[Kathmandu, Wednesday October 02, 2002 Ashwin 16, 2059.]
Though the govern ment failed to bring back the stolen (or exported) idol of Dipankar Buddha from Austria, the authorities have lately found a curio item unclaimed, at the backyard of Shahid Manch.
The maker of the abstract sculpture, entitled "Election" is anonymous but he said to have been very popular among the public in past 11 years. The art critics have not yet analysed whether the poor people really love it or the exhibitors wanted to impose this show on the people’s back. The advertisers have made such an impression in the world that it was the people’s wish and not the organisers’ vested interest that guide this poor country to organise the extravagant show in every three or four years.
To be very frank, there was nothing to gain by watching this abstract sculpture for the public. But still, a handful of exhibitors, who earn money by showing of the sculpture often lure the visitors by explaining the beauty of artworks, curves, texture and composition. Their explanation of the curio sculpture reminds me of the political leaders who pretend to watch modern art and to understand it too at such exhibitions.
What could compel them to exhibit the mystic sculpture now and then if not the profit they gain? Though it was constitutional to open the display once in five years at Bahadur Bhawan, they have the practice of opening it in every other year.
A new exhibition of the same mesmerising sculpture is going to be held soon. It was said that this exhibition will benefit all the parties and the public, they have not come up with preparations from their sides. This clearly shows that they are not expecting any such exhibition.
But as a matter of fact the people will gain nothing only by watching it. And this time, the exhibition will be held amid strict security. The authority said that the exhibition would be marked by tight security, so much so that the exhibition will be there but the security will take out the breath of each visitor before s/he could watch it for the last time.
The authority has not yet made proper arrangement for the show to take place, but they are cocksure that they could hold it. They have not even consulted our Hydrology department whether it will rain or snow on that day.
The entertainers are also still not sure whether they should go to villages and lure the uneducated, poor and dim-witted people to the stage. Even going there is not the end. They will have to explain about the specialty of the show this time.
You will never know, the organisers do not want to bring the sculpture to the show. They are afraid that the right to hold another show might be snatched away. To keep their right tight, they have already laid off 205 guards who were working from Singha Durbar. Similarly, they have also deputed their pets instead of 4,000 representatives in local posts around the museum.
But things are not gonna be better anyway. If going there will be more boring than watching Nepal Television, I think the audience will choose the worse than the worst. It’s their right too.
What is interesting about this show is that the louder the authority start confirming the possibility of the election, the more suspicious the possibility of holding this show becomes. They have been repeating the same thing so many times that even the audience have forgotten what exactly will take place.
[Kathmandu, Wednesday October 02, 2002 Ashwin 16, 2059.]
Friday, September 27, 2002
Swayambhu demolition turns into a ministerial farce
By Razen Manandhar
KATHMANDU, Sept 26
The plan of Minister Bal Bahadur K.C. to dismantle several illegal houses at Swayambhu was foiled today as another minister dramatically entered the scene and intervened, taking the squatters’ side.
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Bal Bahadur K.C. came to the Big Buddha Statue Park, constructed by Khangsar Buddhists from Manang district, this afternoon and convinced the Buddhists at 1:00 p.m. that the shed and other concrete buildings made at the park’s periphery must be dismantled to follow the master plan of the religious, cultural site.
"There is a master plan to promote this ancient site, also inscribed in the World Heritage List. To save the whole Kathmandu, each construction here must be in Nepali traditional style and no cement should be used," the minister said.
He strictly directed Department of Archaeology (DOA) officials to follow the guidelines of the master plan and added that the concerned authorities would make the people aware of the master plan.
But after the minister left, a group of half a dozen Manangi Buddhist protested when around 50 policemen, city policemen and other labourers tried to dismantle the small iron-made shed that is used as a teashop.
They neither let the security break their shed nor gave the key. And the security, too, did not use any force against their protest though half a dozen of them had guns in their hands. Rather, the Manangis forced DOA officials to talk to one or another minister on a mobile phone.
Then the Manangis invited Minister for Labour and Transportation Palten Gurung, over the mobile phone. The unconcerned minister Gurung arrived at the scene at 2:35 p.m. and he suddenly took the side of the squatters and said no dismantling would take place there.
The in-charge of World Heritage Section of Department of Archaeology Chandra Prasad Tripathi explained him that the master plan does not allow any cement construction and even the Big Buddha Statue was made illegally. "We had notified the concerned Managis several times about the plan to dismantle the sheds, made illegally on the public land that was allocated for greenery but they just ignored us and the minister came here to carry on the dismantling."
But Minister Gurung straightaway refused to listen to anything. "If you try to dismantle even a small shed here, it may take communal shape and anything can happen here. You must try to understand the community feeling," he told Tripathi, raising his finger.
Earlier, secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Riddi Pradhan said that the area should have been made a green jungle according to the master plan but the area has been encroached several times by people from different districts.
The government accepted a master plan on conservation of Swayambhu zone, ‘Swaymbhu 2000’, in 1989, which envisioned that the World Heritage monument would be free of encroachments by the year 2000. But, as the locals claim, the number of concrete Tibetan style gumbas are growing in number and huge concrete walls are being made against the spirit of the master plan.
The master plan suggests restriction of any new construction and ensures retaining of the traditional character of the hill with the art and architecture of the Kathmandu Valley. It also proposes a strict control of construction of any so-called Mane-Gumbas around the hill.
A member of Swayambhu Area Management Federation, Mahendra Buddhacharya said that most of the illegal constructions in the Swayambhu area are being built with support from political leaders and it is quite difficult to touch them, though DOA now and then pretends to dismantle them.
"We have been watching this drama for the last several years. We know, the ministers come here only to protect the squatters and there is nobody in the government to really save this holy site from further encroachments," he said.
27/09/2002
KATHMANDU, Sept 26
The plan of Minister Bal Bahadur K.C. to dismantle several illegal houses at Swayambhu was foiled today as another minister dramatically entered the scene and intervened, taking the squatters’ side.
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Bal Bahadur K.C. came to the Big Buddha Statue Park, constructed by Khangsar Buddhists from Manang district, this afternoon and convinced the Buddhists at 1:00 p.m. that the shed and other concrete buildings made at the park’s periphery must be dismantled to follow the master plan of the religious, cultural site.
"There is a master plan to promote this ancient site, also inscribed in the World Heritage List. To save the whole Kathmandu, each construction here must be in Nepali traditional style and no cement should be used," the minister said.
He strictly directed Department of Archaeology (DOA) officials to follow the guidelines of the master plan and added that the concerned authorities would make the people aware of the master plan.
But after the minister left, a group of half a dozen Manangi Buddhist protested when around 50 policemen, city policemen and other labourers tried to dismantle the small iron-made shed that is used as a teashop.
They neither let the security break their shed nor gave the key. And the security, too, did not use any force against their protest though half a dozen of them had guns in their hands. Rather, the Manangis forced DOA officials to talk to one or another minister on a mobile phone.
Then the Manangis invited Minister for Labour and Transportation Palten Gurung, over the mobile phone. The unconcerned minister Gurung arrived at the scene at 2:35 p.m. and he suddenly took the side of the squatters and said no dismantling would take place there.
The in-charge of World Heritage Section of Department of Archaeology Chandra Prasad Tripathi explained him that the master plan does not allow any cement construction and even the Big Buddha Statue was made illegally. "We had notified the concerned Managis several times about the plan to dismantle the sheds, made illegally on the public land that was allocated for greenery but they just ignored us and the minister came here to carry on the dismantling."
But Minister Gurung straightaway refused to listen to anything. "If you try to dismantle even a small shed here, it may take communal shape and anything can happen here. You must try to understand the community feeling," he told Tripathi, raising his finger.
Earlier, secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Riddi Pradhan said that the area should have been made a green jungle according to the master plan but the area has been encroached several times by people from different districts.
The government accepted a master plan on conservation of Swayambhu zone, ‘Swaymbhu 2000’, in 1989, which envisioned that the World Heritage monument would be free of encroachments by the year 2000. But, as the locals claim, the number of concrete Tibetan style gumbas are growing in number and huge concrete walls are being made against the spirit of the master plan.
The master plan suggests restriction of any new construction and ensures retaining of the traditional character of the hill with the art and architecture of the Kathmandu Valley. It also proposes a strict control of construction of any so-called Mane-Gumbas around the hill.
A member of Swayambhu Area Management Federation, Mahendra Buddhacharya said that most of the illegal constructions in the Swayambhu area are being built with support from political leaders and it is quite difficult to touch them, though DOA now and then pretends to dismantle them.
"We have been watching this drama for the last several years. We know, the ministers come here only to protect the squatters and there is nobody in the government to really save this holy site from further encroachments," he said.
27/09/2002
http://sajha.com/archives/openthread.cfm?threadid=7244
Thursday, September 12, 2002
US $ 41,000 for two seminars
By Razen Manandhar
KATHMANDU, Sept 11[2002]:Nepali authorities should be able to do better things with foreign aid. However, they prefer to blow-up well-intentioned foreign-funded money in typically Nepali ways. Organising seminars, a la Nepal, has come to the open as one more proof of the ingenuity of Nepalis in ‘blowing up’ money, if the following example is any proof.
Nepal is to receive as much as Rs 3,222,190 or 41,000 US dollars to organise two seminars, from the UNESCO central office for the coming year, as per requests made by Nepali authorities, sources revealed to The Kathmandu Post today.
A seminar titled "A Sub-regional Seminar of Government Regulation of Privatisation process in Education in South Asia", 183162 01NEP, will give the authorities 25,000 US dollars, while another seminar on "Women Empowerment, Partnership Nepal, Lalitpur", 183162 03NEP, is going to cost 16,000 US dollars.
"Rather than blowing up the foreign aid in vague seminars, Nepal could have utilised that money for a hundred other more fruitful issues," said a source refusing to be identified.
UNESCO Central Office has formally approved two requests made by Nepal National Commission for UNESCO under the Participation Programme for the biennium 2002-2003.
However, a letter written by Ahmed Sayyad, Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Co-operation of UNESCO, sent on September 2 to Khagendra Basnyat, the Secretary General of Nepal National Commission for UNESCO, states that no new financial contribution for the 2002-2003 biennium will be paid until the applicant has submitted all the financial reports, together with all supporting documents necessary, in respect of contributions for which payments were effected prior to 31 December 2000.
Moreover, the letter also warns the Nepali authorities that it has to keep all supporting documents (receipts, contracts, invoices, and so on) in respect of the use made, for this financial contribution for a period of five years after the end of the biennium concerned (2008) and to provide them to UNESCO when it or its Auditor so requests "failing which unsupported amounts will be reimbursed to UNESCO".
"The way we have been sending reports of the expenditure has not been satisfactory to UNESCO headquarters. This is quite a small amount we have so far taken from UNESCO but it is going to be quite tough for us, " the source said.
[Kathmandu, Thursday September 12, 2002 Bhadra 27, 2059.]
KATHMANDU, Sept 11[2002]:Nepali authorities should be able to do better things with foreign aid. However, they prefer to blow-up well-intentioned foreign-funded money in typically Nepali ways. Organising seminars, a la Nepal, has come to the open as one more proof of the ingenuity of Nepalis in ‘blowing up’ money, if the following example is any proof.
Nepal is to receive as much as Rs 3,222,190 or 41,000 US dollars to organise two seminars, from the UNESCO central office for the coming year, as per requests made by Nepali authorities, sources revealed to The Kathmandu Post today.
A seminar titled "A Sub-regional Seminar of Government Regulation of Privatisation process in Education in South Asia", 183162 01NEP, will give the authorities 25,000 US dollars, while another seminar on "Women Empowerment, Partnership Nepal, Lalitpur", 183162 03NEP, is going to cost 16,000 US dollars.
"Rather than blowing up the foreign aid in vague seminars, Nepal could have utilised that money for a hundred other more fruitful issues," said a source refusing to be identified.
UNESCO Central Office has formally approved two requests made by Nepal National Commission for UNESCO under the Participation Programme for the biennium 2002-2003.
However, a letter written by Ahmed Sayyad, Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Co-operation of UNESCO, sent on September 2 to Khagendra Basnyat, the Secretary General of Nepal National Commission for UNESCO, states that no new financial contribution for the 2002-2003 biennium will be paid until the applicant has submitted all the financial reports, together with all supporting documents necessary, in respect of contributions for which payments were effected prior to 31 December 2000.
Moreover, the letter also warns the Nepali authorities that it has to keep all supporting documents (receipts, contracts, invoices, and so on) in respect of the use made, for this financial contribution for a period of five years after the end of the biennium concerned (2008) and to provide them to UNESCO when it or its Auditor so requests "failing which unsupported amounts will be reimbursed to UNESCO".
"The way we have been sending reports of the expenditure has not been satisfactory to UNESCO headquarters. This is quite a small amount we have so far taken from UNESCO but it is going to be quite tough for us, " the source said.
[Kathmandu, Thursday September 12, 2002 Bhadra 27, 2059.]
Wednesday, September 11, 2002
Poor seek identity among rich Kathmanduites
Razen Manandhar
No wonder, Kathmanduites are rich. They have (or used to have) fertile lands and skilled hands to fill their greenery. This treasure not only made their houses beautiful but they also constructed hundreds of temples and stupas in the small valley. But a new type of rich people here have over-shadowed any hereditary millionaire.
People in the capital have not yet recovered from the shock they got after hearing that a junior clerk in the Revenue Department can earn over 7 kg of gold. At least some have proved that earning money is not difficult in the capital. If you happen to sit in one of the "lucky seats" of the "lucky departments", you can set an example by saving as much in a year as others may not be able to earn in a decade.
People like the 22 national heroes have given Kathmandu an image comparable to Las Vegas in the past decade or two. They have proven that this is only a city of "rich" people (unfortunately, their image are now lost, luck has it, what can we do?).
Well, we would have to consult an astronomist before buying vegetables with the government salary, but the government officers are buying building after building that their grandfathers never saw even in their dreams. When they first enter the city, they didn’t have money to pay off room rent. But those who finally win the lottery of having a job at those targeted positions, change their lifestyle in a year or so. They come to the city of dreams and turn their dreams into a reality within a wink of time. Do they bring a magic rod from their village houses?
It was not only those 22-type of servants who made this city a paradise by extravagant demands. There are political leaders who lead the poor Nepali praja to an abyss and they themselves jump directly into Pulchowk quarters.
Everybody knows, today’s pot-bellied leaders, used to depend upon "New Road ko Bhauju’s" mercy for lunches and dinners. They used to share even razor blades and walk in the streets flapping their Hawai Chappal. I have not heard the God of Forest offered any of them a gold axe for their sincerity (I’m referring to a story I read in my schooldays). The leaders in power are paid scantily and others who just wait outside the Singha Durbar only receive "try again coupons". And, most of our politicians are professional politicians. That is, they have no other "profession" than doing politics. How can this uncertain profession make Bill Gates with Pajeros out of Chappal-chhap activists within a year they hold power?
By any means, those sincere servants and sincere leaders of the sincere government have established an unwritten principle that this Kathmandu is really rich. Regardless of the per capita income, their purchasing power rocketed overnight and the city-dwellers have become so affluent that their hands never compromised with Nepali products or Indian economic goods. They
started fancying the most expensive, luxurious items. The ordinary Kathmanduites are astonished — where does the money come from?
It would be all right if only the unnaturally rich people did not cast an impact on the general public. But they also have made a general concept that being a khardar is buying a car and being a subba is buying a bungalow in a VIP residential area. That means wives of sincere, hard-working and intelligent staff think their husbands foolish and eunuchs. Living in the same city is sharing a same standard but the two types of people can never compete.
The fact of the matter is that the people, living in this city, are not only those who rush to the newspaper stand every morning just to see whether the CIAA has published their names. Quite a lot of people living here need not be afraid of what they have earned — they eat what they sincerely earned and do not have to say that his son’s property is not his. Moreover, quite a few people here go to the bed without buying dinner.
Along with urbanisation, the number of urban poor is also increasing. According to a non-government organisation, working for the squatters and urban poor, Lumanti, there are over 15,000 people living in some 60 such settlements, mostly by the river banks, who live far below the poverty line. They are such a group of people, whom the local government neither discards or evicts as illegal, nor provides any facilities that other city-dwellers take for granted.
On one hand, in the city, which has to bear the burden of immigrants under this or that excuse every year — either unemployment, or Maoist terrorism, landslide or floods— this extra pressure of squatters cannot be tolerable. As a geographic unit and a bureaucratic circle to provide basic needs to the residents, the population of Kathmandu Valley must have a limit. On the other, most of the pathetic residents in temporary huts along the river need not be really homeless. Instances are that even those people who own concrete buildings capture the huts, just to squat upon public land and snatch bits of government facilities.
Nevertheless, one has to admit that there is no comparison between the 22 government staff and those people in slums. Most of them have or had their land in the villages and possibly living decent lives too, but it is those 22-type of servants have allured them here. Or they are the ones who could not include them in that herd of CIAA targets. Be it unfulfilled or shattered, they do have dreams. In the condition of not helping them increase their population, will anybody stand up and say that they also deserve at least some attention?
[Kathmandu, Wednesday September 11, 2002 Bhadra 26, 2059.]
No wonder, Kathmanduites are rich. They have (or used to have) fertile lands and skilled hands to fill their greenery. This treasure not only made their houses beautiful but they also constructed hundreds of temples and stupas in the small valley. But a new type of rich people here have over-shadowed any hereditary millionaire.
People in the capital have not yet recovered from the shock they got after hearing that a junior clerk in the Revenue Department can earn over 7 kg of gold. At least some have proved that earning money is not difficult in the capital. If you happen to sit in one of the "lucky seats" of the "lucky departments", you can set an example by saving as much in a year as others may not be able to earn in a decade.
People like the 22 national heroes have given Kathmandu an image comparable to Las Vegas in the past decade or two. They have proven that this is only a city of "rich" people (unfortunately, their image are now lost, luck has it, what can we do?).
Well, we would have to consult an astronomist before buying vegetables with the government salary, but the government officers are buying building after building that their grandfathers never saw even in their dreams. When they first enter the city, they didn’t have money to pay off room rent. But those who finally win the lottery of having a job at those targeted positions, change their lifestyle in a year or so. They come to the city of dreams and turn their dreams into a reality within a wink of time. Do they bring a magic rod from their village houses?
It was not only those 22-type of servants who made this city a paradise by extravagant demands. There are political leaders who lead the poor Nepali praja to an abyss and they themselves jump directly into Pulchowk quarters.
Everybody knows, today’s pot-bellied leaders, used to depend upon "New Road ko Bhauju’s" mercy for lunches and dinners. They used to share even razor blades and walk in the streets flapping their Hawai Chappal. I have not heard the God of Forest offered any of them a gold axe for their sincerity (I’m referring to a story I read in my schooldays). The leaders in power are paid scantily and others who just wait outside the Singha Durbar only receive "try again coupons". And, most of our politicians are professional politicians. That is, they have no other "profession" than doing politics. How can this uncertain profession make Bill Gates with Pajeros out of Chappal-chhap activists within a year they hold power?
By any means, those sincere servants and sincere leaders of the sincere government have established an unwritten principle that this Kathmandu is really rich. Regardless of the per capita income, their purchasing power rocketed overnight and the city-dwellers have become so affluent that their hands never compromised with Nepali products or Indian economic goods. They
started fancying the most expensive, luxurious items. The ordinary Kathmanduites are astonished — where does the money come from?
It would be all right if only the unnaturally rich people did not cast an impact on the general public. But they also have made a general concept that being a khardar is buying a car and being a subba is buying a bungalow in a VIP residential area. That means wives of sincere, hard-working and intelligent staff think their husbands foolish and eunuchs. Living in the same city is sharing a same standard but the two types of people can never compete.
The fact of the matter is that the people, living in this city, are not only those who rush to the newspaper stand every morning just to see whether the CIAA has published their names. Quite a lot of people living here need not be afraid of what they have earned — they eat what they sincerely earned and do not have to say that his son’s property is not his. Moreover, quite a few people here go to the bed without buying dinner.
Along with urbanisation, the number of urban poor is also increasing. According to a non-government organisation, working for the squatters and urban poor, Lumanti, there are over 15,000 people living in some 60 such settlements, mostly by the river banks, who live far below the poverty line. They are such a group of people, whom the local government neither discards or evicts as illegal, nor provides any facilities that other city-dwellers take for granted.
On one hand, in the city, which has to bear the burden of immigrants under this or that excuse every year — either unemployment, or Maoist terrorism, landslide or floods— this extra pressure of squatters cannot be tolerable. As a geographic unit and a bureaucratic circle to provide basic needs to the residents, the population of Kathmandu Valley must have a limit. On the other, most of the pathetic residents in temporary huts along the river need not be really homeless. Instances are that even those people who own concrete buildings capture the huts, just to squat upon public land and snatch bits of government facilities.
Nevertheless, one has to admit that there is no comparison between the 22 government staff and those people in slums. Most of them have or had their land in the villages and possibly living decent lives too, but it is those 22-type of servants have allured them here. Or they are the ones who could not include them in that herd of CIAA targets. Be it unfulfilled or shattered, they do have dreams. In the condition of not helping them increase their population, will anybody stand up and say that they also deserve at least some attention?
[Kathmandu, Wednesday September 11, 2002 Bhadra 26, 2059.]
Monday, September 09, 2002
Shrine of Risheshwor, will it come out of government’s clutches?
By Razen Manandhar
KATHMANDU, Sept 8:It is not only the public who encroach on open space in the capital. Even government bodies can break the law, by squatting on religious land. The famous Risheshwor temple, located at the heart of the capital has been a possession of Nepal Transportation Corporation (NTC) for the last three decades.
Moreover, NTC even tried to sell-off the 37 ropanis of public land to distribute salaries to its employees.
Every year the shrine is visited by thousands of Hindus on Rishi Panchami, the fifth day of bright fortnight of late August or early September (next Wednesday this year). Unfortunately, the shrine is in the compound of NTC, a terminated government body these days.
Balbhadra Bhatta, a priest of the shrine said, "This happens every year. Thousands of women visit here on the day of Rishi Panchami, but the shrine lies in the government body’s premises. It is shame, the government does not even leave ‘God’s land’ free."
The holy area lies in Teku and to visit the shrine people have to walk through the now abandoned NTC garden, down a corridor of an empty office building and then into the ground where the shrine is cramped between ugly compound walls.
Some security persons live behind the compound and the whole area is littered with junk, left by the government.
The 63 years old priest said that the shrine used to be surrounded by jungle until the city expanded to surround it. "Meantime, it dramatically went into the possession of a government body and it has become difficult for us to practice daily rituals too," he added.
"This holy area must be free from control of any government body or any other. Rather one must take steps to construct a temple over it. As you are seeing I cannot even sit properly when I come to worship the deity every morning," he told The Kathmandu Post.
Bhatta said that he has heard the government wants to sell-off the commercially valuable land. The government has no provision to pay for the three priests, who depend solely on what the pilgrims offer at the temple.
Since NTC is not functioning, the area is full of unmanaged vegetation. Just before the annual festival, a local authority cleans up the area and prepares the shrine. Then it goes back to ruin for the rest of the year.
Surprisingly, officials at the Department of Archaeology, the only government body to conserve monuments of religious and cultural significance, has not taken any step to free it, neither have they any plans to conserve it, taking its religious and cultural value into account.
An officer at DOA said, "I have not even heard about the shrine of Risheshwor. Where is it, anyway?" Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has tried repeatedly to free this shrine from the clutches of the government body.
Niranjan Shrestha, past ward no. 8 chairman of KMC, said that KMC and NTC had a long battle over the Risheshwor issue some five years ago.
"It must be by 1998 that NTC finally agree to spare at least the shrine and provide a way to reach the area. But it demanded KMC should pay for all the construction it needs. This was beyond our possibility and the issue cooled down without bearing any fruit," he said.
Shrestha added that the area must be used for public purposes or at least should be easily accessible to the pilgrims throughout the year.
[Kathmandu, Monday September 09, 2002 Bhadra 24, 2059.]
KATHMANDU, Sept 8:It is not only the public who encroach on open space in the capital. Even government bodies can break the law, by squatting on religious land. The famous Risheshwor temple, located at the heart of the capital has been a possession of Nepal Transportation Corporation (NTC) for the last three decades.
Moreover, NTC even tried to sell-off the 37 ropanis of public land to distribute salaries to its employees.
Every year the shrine is visited by thousands of Hindus on Rishi Panchami, the fifth day of bright fortnight of late August or early September (next Wednesday this year). Unfortunately, the shrine is in the compound of NTC, a terminated government body these days.
Balbhadra Bhatta, a priest of the shrine said, "This happens every year. Thousands of women visit here on the day of Rishi Panchami, but the shrine lies in the government body’s premises. It is shame, the government does not even leave ‘God’s land’ free."
The holy area lies in Teku and to visit the shrine people have to walk through the now abandoned NTC garden, down a corridor of an empty office building and then into the ground where the shrine is cramped between ugly compound walls.
Some security persons live behind the compound and the whole area is littered with junk, left by the government.
The 63 years old priest said that the shrine used to be surrounded by jungle until the city expanded to surround it. "Meantime, it dramatically went into the possession of a government body and it has become difficult for us to practice daily rituals too," he added.
"This holy area must be free from control of any government body or any other. Rather one must take steps to construct a temple over it. As you are seeing I cannot even sit properly when I come to worship the deity every morning," he told The Kathmandu Post.
Bhatta said that he has heard the government wants to sell-off the commercially valuable land. The government has no provision to pay for the three priests, who depend solely on what the pilgrims offer at the temple.
Since NTC is not functioning, the area is full of unmanaged vegetation. Just before the annual festival, a local authority cleans up the area and prepares the shrine. Then it goes back to ruin for the rest of the year.
Surprisingly, officials at the Department of Archaeology, the only government body to conserve monuments of religious and cultural significance, has not taken any step to free it, neither have they any plans to conserve it, taking its religious and cultural value into account.
An officer at DOA said, "I have not even heard about the shrine of Risheshwor. Where is it, anyway?" Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has tried repeatedly to free this shrine from the clutches of the government body.
Niranjan Shrestha, past ward no. 8 chairman of KMC, said that KMC and NTC had a long battle over the Risheshwor issue some five years ago.
"It must be by 1998 that NTC finally agree to spare at least the shrine and provide a way to reach the area. But it demanded KMC should pay for all the construction it needs. This was beyond our possibility and the issue cooled down without bearing any fruit," he said.
Shrestha added that the area must be used for public purposes or at least should be easily accessible to the pilgrims throughout the year.
[Kathmandu, Monday September 09, 2002 Bhadra 24, 2059.]
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
Wanna buy a ready-made house?
Razen Manandhar
To dream of buying a house in the capital is perhaps "a duty" of all the citizens who come here at least for once on whatever purpose. In a country where decentralisation is only a minister’s pastime and all the decision-makers are stuck to it; it is not a crime either. When people realise that buying a house in the capital is not easy with regular income, some dig out "source-force" to get a job at the Department of Customs and others try their luck in Wai Wai Noodles.
While all sorts of industry are licking the ground, one unprecedented type of business is shining here. In a year, around two dozen companies have come up with dreamy schemes to sell ready-made houses and apartments in the suburbs of the valley. And, there is no government or municipality in the "urbanisation" campaign but private business houses.
According to available sources, there are at least 30 such companies who have already either taken their plans to the floor or table-working to face the market. That has become almost mushrooming in the periphery of the valley.
Ansal Chaudhary Developers, Sunrise Homes, CE Engineering, are some of major investors in this field and others are ICL property, Civil Co-operative, Oriental Housing, Sangril-la Villa, Comfort Housing, S Investment and so on. The Ansal Chaudhary Developers alone has planned to spread their merchandise in 85 ropanis of land. That means, in total, there will be more 1,200 families with permanent residences in the capital, either with independent houses or with apartments. In the history of housing, this is of course a groundbreaking event. They do deserve encouragement.
Still, there are things each citizen should think about before leaping. The business of real-estate itself has an infamous history. This type of business emerges when people can’t find any suitable place for investment. Buying a piece of land instead of investing the money in an industry or running an individual business has been our "culture". We don’t believe that investment pays. The housing companies or the banks supporting them have lots of money and they know that one after another industries are falling into the pit of bankruptcy. So they chose this "risk-free" business: They say, there may or may not be profit but there is little risk of losing your investment.
This is the reason real-estate business came on the rise after the 1990 democracy. People had money but they needed safe landing of the capital. The developers as well as the clients are in search of a glamorous means for financial mobility. Thus housing and land development is the apt business when nothing progresses or the state is in confusion.
Most of the developers has taken this new business as a part-time or supplementary to their major corporate organisations. Most are related with construction business. Some have industry of building materials or just imports them or own banks. And they admit that they are just experimenting on the business. They might have money enough to practice "learning by doing" but the clients may not and their life and money should not be guinea pigs to the big houses industrialists.
Despite the laws and regulations concerning building construction, what goes on at the Map Section of KMC is not a secret. The laws hardly reach implementation stage. Therefore KMC openly admits that one in three houses are built against the regulations, how can we be assured that all the built house have indeed followed the regulations inch by inch? KMC has just come up with a grand building by-laws and its implementation is still far way. In this situation, how can one expect that the houses in the showcases are really "legal (in practice too)"?
The ready-made houses are being built in the capital’s suburb or in the surrounding villages, where there is no system of map approval, quality inspection. Such areas are more or less virgin to urban development and need a long term vision to develop so that they may not be more "New Baneshwor" areas.
The developers will bring only physical facility but the quality of a building cannot be visible in Photoshop-aided diagrams and pictures. To make a "house", what is more important than washable distemper is the right place to dispose human waste. The main road, the drinking water, drainage, telephone, electricity etc are still the part of the state facilities and a house cannot be a piece of heaven but a inseparable part of the urban infrastructure.
This is a capital where a campus wall falls and a passerby dies on the spot but the builder or owner of the wall is not punished. In such condition, who will be responsible if the houses turn fake, low quality some half a decade later? Will the developers be present after one decade and be ready to respond the house/flat owners’ complains? Who will take the guarantee of future of the buildings? State?
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2002/jul/jul17/local.htm
To dream of buying a house in the capital is perhaps "a duty" of all the citizens who come here at least for once on whatever purpose. In a country where decentralisation is only a minister’s pastime and all the decision-makers are stuck to it; it is not a crime either. When people realise that buying a house in the capital is not easy with regular income, some dig out "source-force" to get a job at the Department of Customs and others try their luck in Wai Wai Noodles.
While all sorts of industry are licking the ground, one unprecedented type of business is shining here. In a year, around two dozen companies have come up with dreamy schemes to sell ready-made houses and apartments in the suburbs of the valley. And, there is no government or municipality in the "urbanisation" campaign but private business houses.
According to available sources, there are at least 30 such companies who have already either taken their plans to the floor or table-working to face the market. That has become almost mushrooming in the periphery of the valley.
Ansal Chaudhary Developers, Sunrise Homes, CE Engineering, are some of major investors in this field and others are ICL property, Civil Co-operative, Oriental Housing, Sangril-la Villa, Comfort Housing, S Investment and so on. The Ansal Chaudhary Developers alone has planned to spread their merchandise in 85 ropanis of land. That means, in total, there will be more 1,200 families with permanent residences in the capital, either with independent houses or with apartments. In the history of housing, this is of course a groundbreaking event. They do deserve encouragement.
Still, there are things each citizen should think about before leaping. The business of real-estate itself has an infamous history. This type of business emerges when people can’t find any suitable place for investment. Buying a piece of land instead of investing the money in an industry or running an individual business has been our "culture". We don’t believe that investment pays. The housing companies or the banks supporting them have lots of money and they know that one after another industries are falling into the pit of bankruptcy. So they chose this "risk-free" business: They say, there may or may not be profit but there is little risk of losing your investment.
This is the reason real-estate business came on the rise after the 1990 democracy. People had money but they needed safe landing of the capital. The developers as well as the clients are in search of a glamorous means for financial mobility. Thus housing and land development is the apt business when nothing progresses or the state is in confusion.
Most of the developers has taken this new business as a part-time or supplementary to their major corporate organisations. Most are related with construction business. Some have industry of building materials or just imports them or own banks. And they admit that they are just experimenting on the business. They might have money enough to practice "learning by doing" but the clients may not and their life and money should not be guinea pigs to the big houses industrialists.
Despite the laws and regulations concerning building construction, what goes on at the Map Section of KMC is not a secret. The laws hardly reach implementation stage. Therefore KMC openly admits that one in three houses are built against the regulations, how can we be assured that all the built house have indeed followed the regulations inch by inch? KMC has just come up with a grand building by-laws and its implementation is still far way. In this situation, how can one expect that the houses in the showcases are really "legal (in practice too)"?
The ready-made houses are being built in the capital’s suburb or in the surrounding villages, where there is no system of map approval, quality inspection. Such areas are more or less virgin to urban development and need a long term vision to develop so that they may not be more "New Baneshwor" areas.
The developers will bring only physical facility but the quality of a building cannot be visible in Photoshop-aided diagrams and pictures. To make a "house", what is more important than washable distemper is the right place to dispose human waste. The main road, the drinking water, drainage, telephone, electricity etc are still the part of the state facilities and a house cannot be a piece of heaven but a inseparable part of the urban infrastructure.
This is a capital where a campus wall falls and a passerby dies on the spot but the builder or owner of the wall is not punished. In such condition, who will be responsible if the houses turn fake, low quality some half a decade later? Will the developers be present after one decade and be ready to respond the house/flat owners’ complains? Who will take the guarantee of future of the buildings? State?
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2002/jul/jul17/local.htm
Sunday, July 07, 2002
Nyatapola Temple
Heritage tour
By Razen Manandhar
We must be proud that our forefathers have left lots of things for us to wonder. Among them, the grand temple behind the Durbar Square of Bhaktapur is one. They we so much skilled that they could construct about 100 feet high temples, with no other materials than mud, bricks, wood and a bit of stones. The Nyatapola temple (known as five-storey pagoda to others) is standing upright today. The temple is going to celebrate its 300th birthday soon next week.
King Bhupatindra Malla had the temple of Nyatapola constructed in Nepal Era 822 (in 1702 AD), which lies at Tomarhi tole of Bhaktapur. Some say that there had been a simple five-storey temple there and the king only made it grand, in the course of competition among the several states of today’s Kathmandu Valley to decorate their states with the biggest structures. Today, this pagoda stands as the biggest temple of the valley.
The temple is made on brick and stone plinths made on 22.5 X 22.5 metre square. On fifth plinth, there stands the elegant temple with five roofs made one on another. surrounded by fife arches on each side. A long straight stone series of steps takes you to the top, which is also a suited view point to get a panoramic picture of Bhaktapur. One can see giant pairs of warriors, elephants, lions, griffins and tantric deities on either side of the steps.
None of the wooden pegs, beams, supporting structures in the temple are placed without adding a taste of art on them. The ends of the beams spread on the ceiling are given head-figures of legendary animals and skeletons. The doors are so delicately carved that one can find images of gods, guards or animals on every inch And so are the decorative windows on either sides. They are not randomly put but the artists were following an unwritten tradition of which deity should occupy which space of the temple.
Simlarly, there are similar windows on other floors too. The roofs are made of wood beams with local tiles on them and supporting struts. The struts are, like in other pagodas, the major attractions of the temple. There are in total colourful 108 struts with images of deities and 529 wind-bells under the five roofs. The gold-plated pinnacle of the temple is said to be of almost 100 kg. One can hardly imagine how the people of Bhaktapur brought it up to 100 feet without any crane.
Historians say it took only six months to complete the whole temple, it is an example of mideaval construction management. They have found out that 1.1 million bricks and 100,000 tiles were used to construct the temple. Eight kilns were set around the site and thousands people from all areas of the Bhaktapur state were invited to contribute in the making of the matchless temple. Even the kings of surrounding states visited the site to observe the construction process. A 48-day long worshipping took place when the temple was consecrated. The king was so happy that threw a dinner to over 2,000 people and he presented a golden crown to the first priest who consecrated the temple on that occasion.
The main deity inside the temple has been kept secret. They believe that the mystic deity is very powerful and anybody’s entrance to the temple who is not strong to see the deity might even die. Only a edified priest can enter the temple once a year.
Quoting the priest historian Dr Purushottam Locan Shrestha said : The temple houses Goddess Siddhi Laxmi — a union of Chandi Bhadrakai, Pratyangira and Siddhi Laxmi — the supreme savior of the city of Bhaktapur. She has nine heads, 16 arms. She is sitting on Rudra who himself has made Betal his mattress. The goddess is flanked by Mahakal Bhairav and Smashan Bhairav on both sides. The whole image is made on one single piece of stone.
Religious importance aside, the temple has been a mystery to the present engineers. They say that the secret behind the strength of the temple is the perfect combination among the foundation, plinth and the temple structure. Even when the valley was hit with over 8 rector scale earthquake and hundreds of temples collapsed completely, the Nyatapola Temple lost only its top floor. It was renovated several times, Late King Mahendra did in 1962 and Bhaktapr Municipality in 2000.
The heritage is standing today with pride, as a challenge to the modern technology and people’s lukewarm attraction to the beauty of the past. Howsoever, the 300-year old legacy is not safe. Many of the idols on the fist floors have stolen. The paintings were damaged. The sculpture of the warrior was damaged by a vehicle. The local government at least must do something to stop the vehicles plying in front of the temple.
[Kathmandu, Sunday, july 07, 2002 Ashadh 23, 2059.]
By Razen Manandhar
We must be proud that our forefathers have left lots of things for us to wonder. Among them, the grand temple behind the Durbar Square of Bhaktapur is one. They we so much skilled that they could construct about 100 feet high temples, with no other materials than mud, bricks, wood and a bit of stones. The Nyatapola temple (known as five-storey pagoda to others) is standing upright today. The temple is going to celebrate its 300th birthday soon next week.
King Bhupatindra Malla had the temple of Nyatapola constructed in Nepal Era 822 (in 1702 AD), which lies at Tomarhi tole of Bhaktapur. Some say that there had been a simple five-storey temple there and the king only made it grand, in the course of competition among the several states of today’s Kathmandu Valley to decorate their states with the biggest structures. Today, this pagoda stands as the biggest temple of the valley.
The temple is made on brick and stone plinths made on 22.5 X 22.5 metre square. On fifth plinth, there stands the elegant temple with five roofs made one on another. surrounded by fife arches on each side. A long straight stone series of steps takes you to the top, which is also a suited view point to get a panoramic picture of Bhaktapur. One can see giant pairs of warriors, elephants, lions, griffins and tantric deities on either side of the steps.
None of the wooden pegs, beams, supporting structures in the temple are placed without adding a taste of art on them. The ends of the beams spread on the ceiling are given head-figures of legendary animals and skeletons. The doors are so delicately carved that one can find images of gods, guards or animals on every inch And so are the decorative windows on either sides. They are not randomly put but the artists were following an unwritten tradition of which deity should occupy which space of the temple.
Simlarly, there are similar windows on other floors too. The roofs are made of wood beams with local tiles on them and supporting struts. The struts are, like in other pagodas, the major attractions of the temple. There are in total colourful 108 struts with images of deities and 529 wind-bells under the five roofs. The gold-plated pinnacle of the temple is said to be of almost 100 kg. One can hardly imagine how the people of Bhaktapur brought it up to 100 feet without any crane.
Historians say it took only six months to complete the whole temple, it is an example of mideaval construction management. They have found out that 1.1 million bricks and 100,000 tiles were used to construct the temple. Eight kilns were set around the site and thousands people from all areas of the Bhaktapur state were invited to contribute in the making of the matchless temple. Even the kings of surrounding states visited the site to observe the construction process. A 48-day long worshipping took place when the temple was consecrated. The king was so happy that threw a dinner to over 2,000 people and he presented a golden crown to the first priest who consecrated the temple on that occasion.
The main deity inside the temple has been kept secret. They believe that the mystic deity is very powerful and anybody’s entrance to the temple who is not strong to see the deity might even die. Only a edified priest can enter the temple once a year.
Quoting the priest historian Dr Purushottam Locan Shrestha said : The temple houses Goddess Siddhi Laxmi — a union of Chandi Bhadrakai, Pratyangira and Siddhi Laxmi — the supreme savior of the city of Bhaktapur. She has nine heads, 16 arms. She is sitting on Rudra who himself has made Betal his mattress. The goddess is flanked by Mahakal Bhairav and Smashan Bhairav on both sides. The whole image is made on one single piece of stone.
Religious importance aside, the temple has been a mystery to the present engineers. They say that the secret behind the strength of the temple is the perfect combination among the foundation, plinth and the temple structure. Even when the valley was hit with over 8 rector scale earthquake and hundreds of temples collapsed completely, the Nyatapola Temple lost only its top floor. It was renovated several times, Late King Mahendra did in 1962 and Bhaktapr Municipality in 2000.
The heritage is standing today with pride, as a challenge to the modern technology and people’s lukewarm attraction to the beauty of the past. Howsoever, the 300-year old legacy is not safe. Many of the idols on the fist floors have stolen. The paintings were damaged. The sculpture of the warrior was damaged by a vehicle. The local government at least must do something to stop the vehicles plying in front of the temple.
[Kathmandu, Sunday, july 07, 2002 Ashadh 23, 2059.]
Friday, June 14, 2002
Electric vehicles in bureaucratic tangle
By Razen Manandhar
KATHMANDU, June 13:Despite the government’s populist slogan to promote electric vehicles, five electric cars, a new alternative to polluted Kathmandu, have been collecting dust in the backyard of the Customs Office at Birgunj for the last three months.
"The five electric cars that we imported from the Indian city of Bangalore on 18 March so as to provide an alternative mode of transport in Kathmandu, are lying uselessly," said Anup Singh Suwal, the manager of Eco-Visions Pvt. Ltd. today. He added that Eco-Visions has invested millions of rupees and it is spending over Rs 50,000 per month on rent and other office accessories.
Suwal said that the Birgunj Customs Office was not sure whether it was necessary for battery-operated vehicles to produce Conformity of Production (COP) and has kept the company waiting for months. "And then the customs office was confused whether ‘electric vehicle’ and ‘battery-operated’ vehicles are same or not. They have been asking for regular 130 per cent of customs duty whereas Article 13.9 of Financial Act (2058 B.S.) provisions vehicles operated with electricity would only be levied 10 percent of customs," he said.
Sensing the stalemate, the US Embassy wrote to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in mid-April to provide the electric cars the same value-added tax exemptions that the government has been giving to the SAFA tempos. SAFA tempos enjoy tax exemptions and they have to pay customs duty of only one percent.
Not only the customs duty, the importer is facing other problems as well. The concerned file is moving between the Department of Customs (DoC) and Ministry of Finance ( MoF) for the past two months. He alleged that the government officers are putting forward one after another problems for some "mysterious reasons".
While the Director of DoC Bodhnath Niraula said that the files have been forwarded to Revenue Division of MoF, Suresh Kumar Regmi, a section officer of MoF said that the issue is under consideration in the DOC and has not yet arrived at his table. And in this "game of passing the buck" the vehicles are in the danger of being damaged in the open yard in Birgunj.
Puran Rai, the general manager of Lotus Energy Pvt Ltd, a sister organisation that distributes alternative and renewable energy equipment in the country, said that this blocking of the electric vehicles was totally against the government’s policy about promoting electrical vehicles in the capital.
"It’s just injustice. The company ventured to import the cars as per the laws and who is to redress if the government officers themselves do not obey the laws," said he.
An environmentalist campaigning for electrical vehicles said, requesting anonymity, that there is a big racket to discourage introduction of electrical vehicle. "Some vested interests are deliberately working hard foil the attempt to introduce and promote the alternative means of transportation with zero emission. They might be doing this at the behest of the sales dealers of the conventional petrol-powered cars," he said.
He added that the officers would clear the files if their demands were met. But the importers of Reva are not ready to pay a single penny to them as bribes. So the company is being made to suffer.
[Kathmandu, Friday June 14, 2002 Jestha 31, 2059.]
KATHMANDU, June 13:Despite the government’s populist slogan to promote electric vehicles, five electric cars, a new alternative to polluted Kathmandu, have been collecting dust in the backyard of the Customs Office at Birgunj for the last three months.
"The five electric cars that we imported from the Indian city of Bangalore on 18 March so as to provide an alternative mode of transport in Kathmandu, are lying uselessly," said Anup Singh Suwal, the manager of Eco-Visions Pvt. Ltd. today. He added that Eco-Visions has invested millions of rupees and it is spending over Rs 50,000 per month on rent and other office accessories.
Suwal said that the Birgunj Customs Office was not sure whether it was necessary for battery-operated vehicles to produce Conformity of Production (COP) and has kept the company waiting for months. "And then the customs office was confused whether ‘electric vehicle’ and ‘battery-operated’ vehicles are same or not. They have been asking for regular 130 per cent of customs duty whereas Article 13.9 of Financial Act (2058 B.S.) provisions vehicles operated with electricity would only be levied 10 percent of customs," he said.
Sensing the stalemate, the US Embassy wrote to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in mid-April to provide the electric cars the same value-added tax exemptions that the government has been giving to the SAFA tempos. SAFA tempos enjoy tax exemptions and they have to pay customs duty of only one percent.
Not only the customs duty, the importer is facing other problems as well. The concerned file is moving between the Department of Customs (DoC) and Ministry of Finance ( MoF) for the past two months. He alleged that the government officers are putting forward one after another problems for some "mysterious reasons".
While the Director of DoC Bodhnath Niraula said that the files have been forwarded to Revenue Division of MoF, Suresh Kumar Regmi, a section officer of MoF said that the issue is under consideration in the DOC and has not yet arrived at his table. And in this "game of passing the buck" the vehicles are in the danger of being damaged in the open yard in Birgunj.
Puran Rai, the general manager of Lotus Energy Pvt Ltd, a sister organisation that distributes alternative and renewable energy equipment in the country, said that this blocking of the electric vehicles was totally against the government’s policy about promoting electrical vehicles in the capital.
"It’s just injustice. The company ventured to import the cars as per the laws and who is to redress if the government officers themselves do not obey the laws," said he.
An environmentalist campaigning for electrical vehicles said, requesting anonymity, that there is a big racket to discourage introduction of electrical vehicle. "Some vested interests are deliberately working hard foil the attempt to introduce and promote the alternative means of transportation with zero emission. They might be doing this at the behest of the sales dealers of the conventional petrol-powered cars," he said.
He added that the officers would clear the files if their demands were met. But the importers of Reva are not ready to pay a single penny to them as bribes. So the company is being made to suffer.
[Kathmandu, Friday June 14, 2002 Jestha 31, 2059.]
Electric vehicles in bureaucratic tangle
By Razen Manandhar
KATHMANDU, June 13:Despite the government’s populist slogan to promote electric vehicles, five electric cars, a new alternative to polluted Kathmandu, have been collecting dust in the backyard of the Customs Office at Birgunj for the last three months.
"The five electric cars that we imported from the Indian city of Bangalore on 18 March so as to provide an alternative mode of transport in Kathmandu, are lying uselessly," said Anup Singh Suwal, the manager of Eco-Visions Pvt. Ltd. today. He added that Eco-Visions has invested millions of rupees and it is spending over Rs 50,000 per month on rent and other office accessories.
Suwal said that the Birgunj Customs Office was not sure whether it was necessary for battery-operated vehicles to produce Conformity of Production (COP) and has kept the company waiting for months. "And then the customs office was confused whether ‘electric vehicle’ and ‘battery-operated’ vehicles are same or not. They have been asking for regular 130 per cent of customs duty whereas Article 13.9 of Financial Act (2058 B.S.) provisions vehicles operated with electricity would only be levied 10 percent of customs," he said.
Sensing the stalemate, the US Embassy wrote to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in mid-April to provide the electric cars the same value-added tax exemptions that the government has been giving to the SAFA tempos. SAFA tempos enjoy tax exemptions and they have to pay customs duty of only one percent.
Not only the customs duty, the importer is facing other problems as well. The concerned file is moving between the Department of Customs (DoC) and Ministry of Finance ( MoF) for the past two months. He alleged that the government officers are putting forward one after another problems for some "mysterious reasons".
While the Director of DoC Bodhnath Niraula said that the files have been forwarded to Revenue Division of MoF, Suresh Kumar Regmi, a section officer of MoF said that the issue is under consideration in the DOC and has not yet arrived at his table. And in this "game of passing the buck" the vehicles are in the danger of being damaged in the open yard in Birgunj.
Puran Rai, the general manager of Lotus Energy Pvt Ltd, a sister organisation that distributes alternative and renewable energy equipment in the country, said that this blocking of the electric vehicles was totally against the government’s policy about promoting electrical vehicles in the capital.
"It’s just injustice. The company ventured to import the cars as per the laws and who is to redress if the government officers themselves do not obey the laws," said he.
An environmentalist campaigning for electrical vehicles said, requesting anonymity, that there is a big racket to discourage introduction of electrical vehicle. "Some vested interests are deliberately working hard foil the attempt to introduce and promote the alternative means of transportation with zero emission. They might be doing this at the behest of the sales dealers of the conventional petrol-powered cars," he said.
He added that the officers would clear the files if their demands were met. But the importers of Reva are not ready to pay a single penny to them as bribes. So the company is being made to suffer.
[Kathmandu, Friday June 14, 2002 Jestha 31, 2059.]
KATHMANDU, June 13:Despite the government’s populist slogan to promote electric vehicles, five electric cars, a new alternative to polluted Kathmandu, have been collecting dust in the backyard of the Customs Office at Birgunj for the last three months.
"The five electric cars that we imported from the Indian city of Bangalore on 18 March so as to provide an alternative mode of transport in Kathmandu, are lying uselessly," said Anup Singh Suwal, the manager of Eco-Visions Pvt. Ltd. today. He added that Eco-Visions has invested millions of rupees and it is spending over Rs 50,000 per month on rent and other office accessories.
Suwal said that the Birgunj Customs Office was not sure whether it was necessary for battery-operated vehicles to produce Conformity of Production (COP) and has kept the company waiting for months. "And then the customs office was confused whether ‘electric vehicle’ and ‘battery-operated’ vehicles are same or not. They have been asking for regular 130 per cent of customs duty whereas Article 13.9 of Financial Act (2058 B.S.) provisions vehicles operated with electricity would only be levied 10 percent of customs," he said.
Sensing the stalemate, the US Embassy wrote to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in mid-April to provide the electric cars the same value-added tax exemptions that the government has been giving to the SAFA tempos. SAFA tempos enjoy tax exemptions and they have to pay customs duty of only one percent.
Not only the customs duty, the importer is facing other problems as well. The concerned file is moving between the Department of Customs (DoC) and Ministry of Finance ( MoF) for the past two months. He alleged that the government officers are putting forward one after another problems for some "mysterious reasons".
While the Director of DoC Bodhnath Niraula said that the files have been forwarded to Revenue Division of MoF, Suresh Kumar Regmi, a section officer of MoF said that the issue is under consideration in the DOC and has not yet arrived at his table. And in this "game of passing the buck" the vehicles are in the danger of being damaged in the open yard in Birgunj.
Puran Rai, the general manager of Lotus Energy Pvt Ltd, a sister organisation that distributes alternative and renewable energy equipment in the country, said that this blocking of the electric vehicles was totally against the government’s policy about promoting electrical vehicles in the capital.
"It’s just injustice. The company ventured to import the cars as per the laws and who is to redress if the government officers themselves do not obey the laws," said he.
An environmentalist campaigning for electrical vehicles said, requesting anonymity, that there is a big racket to discourage introduction of electrical vehicle. "Some vested interests are deliberately working hard foil the attempt to introduce and promote the alternative means of transportation with zero emission. They might be doing this at the behest of the sales dealers of the conventional petrol-powered cars," he said.
He added that the officers would clear the files if their demands were met. But the importers of Reva are not ready to pay a single penny to them as bribes. So the company is being made to suffer.
[Kathmandu, Friday June 14, 2002 Jestha 31, 2059.]
Sunday, June 09, 2002
Te Bahal
Heritage Tour
By Razen Manandhar
While walking through New Road, a few would think that there is a millennium-old courtyard behind the towering business complexes. One would be surprised to find a big open space with temples inside, between New Road and Dharahara that might be as old as 1,522 years old.
This ancient Buddhist area is believed to have been built in courtyards that once belonged to two (or three) Buddhist monasteries. The quadrangle - approximately 40 metre wide and 60 metre long - is surrounded by residential buildings. It proudly houses over a score of ancient monuments, installed at different periods of history. The locals believe that there was a Tirtha Vihar some 2,200 years ago and its name was twisted later into Te Bahal. The oldest evidence found there is a stone inscription, used as a pedistal for Mahakal’s image, dating back to 480 AD. Some of the monuments in the Bahal are as follows:
Ganesh temple: It is a small temple at the eastern entrance to the courtyard, closely related with the cultural life of the local residents. People of Khichapokhari, Bhotebahal, New Road and Nhuchhe Galli visit there during festivals.
Sankata: At the south-west corner of the courtyard is a two-storey temple of mysterious God Sankata or Padmantaka, worshipped by both Buddhists and Hindus. It is said to have been brought from Assam state of Kamarup or Kamakshya along with Red Macchindranath by King Narendra Dev in the 7th century AD. The temple also contains an idol of Red Machhindranath.
Tedo Vihar, Tet Vihar, Tirtha Vihar, Triratna Vihar, Rajkirti Vihar or Prachandavira Mahavihar: This three-storey monastery-building is the main shrine of the Bahal, facing east. It has a torana, donated to the Vihara in 1700 AD.
Bandhudatta Vihar or Mugaa Dyo: This ancient temple remains to be a small one-story temple, containing a Kwapa-Dyo - the Akshobhya - stands opposite to Tedo Vihar. It is said to have been built by King Narendra Deva for his tantric Acharya Bandhudatta, who helped him bring Machhindranath to the valley. It was renovated in 1826 AD. The alternative names of the two Vihars are often confusing in various sources.
Nasaa-Dyo: This abstract deity of Nasaa Dyo is worshipped for learning traditional drums. Farmers offer sacrifices to the Dyo during such occasions. A concrete structure has covered the shrine recently.
Bhadrakali Dyo-chhen: The "God’s residence" of Bhadrkali or Chamunda, one among the eight Hindu Mother Goddesses, lies at the centre of the Bahal. It is not clear when and how this blood-seeking fierce Hindu Goddess happens to reside in the Buddhist courtyard.
In addition, there are several other chaityas and other idols, erected at different times inside the courtyard. And there used to be a small rest house (pati) behind the Sankata temple with a series of ancient idols. But now a concrete building stands there, which also shelters the local ward office and nobody knows where the idols have gone.
There is another large Stupa with four transcendent Buddhas around it behind the RNAC building. It is said to be built by King Narendra Dev too. Several other chaityas are found there, including an image of Akshobhya. The Akshobhya is said to have been the Kwapa-Dyo of Vandakirta Mahavihar, once stood on the Tundikhel until it was demolished.
It is said that Te Baha is a complete identity in itself. There were seven wells in the Bahal but hardly any of them is functioning well. Many of them also might have come under concrete buildings. There was also a Chhwasa, a corner said to be a place of protecting demon, which has been encroached upon.
Te Baha is obviously a very ancient Buddhist site that might be a powerful Buddhist resource centre during the Licchivi period but it converted into Hindu shrine as Hinduism got more priority during the Malla period.
Regardless of its ancient picture, the priceless monument of Te Bahal are being neglected by the locals as result of urbanisation. As the government has not set any guidline to protect this monument zone, modern houses are being built for commercial purposes. The tall residential buildings are dwarfing the monuments in the middle. The three-wheeler stand, next to the courtyard, is also affecting the religious atmpsphere and a huge building of RNAC and the commercial complext being built by Karmachari Sanchaya Kosh is disturbing the environment of Te Bahal.
There is no enough open space in the middle as the local youth clubs are adding one after another building or shed in the courtyard. They not only neglect their heritage but also let in heavy vehicles in the fragile Bahal. An easy business is going on: Any one can park their vehicles in the courtyard by paying a small amount of money. It invites more and more vehicular movements in the courtyard area.
[ Kathmandu, Sunday, June 09, 2002 Jestha 26, 2059.]
By Razen Manandhar
While walking through New Road, a few would think that there is a millennium-old courtyard behind the towering business complexes. One would be surprised to find a big open space with temples inside, between New Road and Dharahara that might be as old as 1,522 years old.
This ancient Buddhist area is believed to have been built in courtyards that once belonged to two (or three) Buddhist monasteries. The quadrangle - approximately 40 metre wide and 60 metre long - is surrounded by residential buildings. It proudly houses over a score of ancient monuments, installed at different periods of history. The locals believe that there was a Tirtha Vihar some 2,200 years ago and its name was twisted later into Te Bahal. The oldest evidence found there is a stone inscription, used as a pedistal for Mahakal’s image, dating back to 480 AD. Some of the monuments in the Bahal are as follows:
Ganesh temple: It is a small temple at the eastern entrance to the courtyard, closely related with the cultural life of the local residents. People of Khichapokhari, Bhotebahal, New Road and Nhuchhe Galli visit there during festivals.
Sankata: At the south-west corner of the courtyard is a two-storey temple of mysterious God Sankata or Padmantaka, worshipped by both Buddhists and Hindus. It is said to have been brought from Assam state of Kamarup or Kamakshya along with Red Macchindranath by King Narendra Dev in the 7th century AD. The temple also contains an idol of Red Machhindranath.
Tedo Vihar, Tet Vihar, Tirtha Vihar, Triratna Vihar, Rajkirti Vihar or Prachandavira Mahavihar: This three-storey monastery-building is the main shrine of the Bahal, facing east. It has a torana, donated to the Vihara in 1700 AD.
Bandhudatta Vihar or Mugaa Dyo: This ancient temple remains to be a small one-story temple, containing a Kwapa-Dyo - the Akshobhya - stands opposite to Tedo Vihar. It is said to have been built by King Narendra Deva for his tantric Acharya Bandhudatta, who helped him bring Machhindranath to the valley. It was renovated in 1826 AD. The alternative names of the two Vihars are often confusing in various sources.
Nasaa-Dyo: This abstract deity of Nasaa Dyo is worshipped for learning traditional drums. Farmers offer sacrifices to the Dyo during such occasions. A concrete structure has covered the shrine recently.
Bhadrakali Dyo-chhen: The "God’s residence" of Bhadrkali or Chamunda, one among the eight Hindu Mother Goddesses, lies at the centre of the Bahal. It is not clear when and how this blood-seeking fierce Hindu Goddess happens to reside in the Buddhist courtyard.
In addition, there are several other chaityas and other idols, erected at different times inside the courtyard. And there used to be a small rest house (pati) behind the Sankata temple with a series of ancient idols. But now a concrete building stands there, which also shelters the local ward office and nobody knows where the idols have gone.
There is another large Stupa with four transcendent Buddhas around it behind the RNAC building. It is said to be built by King Narendra Dev too. Several other chaityas are found there, including an image of Akshobhya. The Akshobhya is said to have been the Kwapa-Dyo of Vandakirta Mahavihar, once stood on the Tundikhel until it was demolished.
It is said that Te Baha is a complete identity in itself. There were seven wells in the Bahal but hardly any of them is functioning well. Many of them also might have come under concrete buildings. There was also a Chhwasa, a corner said to be a place of protecting demon, which has been encroached upon.
Te Baha is obviously a very ancient Buddhist site that might be a powerful Buddhist resource centre during the Licchivi period but it converted into Hindu shrine as Hinduism got more priority during the Malla period.
Regardless of its ancient picture, the priceless monument of Te Bahal are being neglected by the locals as result of urbanisation. As the government has not set any guidline to protect this monument zone, modern houses are being built for commercial purposes. The tall residential buildings are dwarfing the monuments in the middle. The three-wheeler stand, next to the courtyard, is also affecting the religious atmpsphere and a huge building of RNAC and the commercial complext being built by Karmachari Sanchaya Kosh is disturbing the environment of Te Bahal.
There is no enough open space in the middle as the local youth clubs are adding one after another building or shed in the courtyard. They not only neglect their heritage but also let in heavy vehicles in the fragile Bahal. An easy business is going on: Any one can park their vehicles in the courtyard by paying a small amount of money. It invites more and more vehicular movements in the courtyard area.
[ Kathmandu, Sunday, June 09, 2002 Jestha 26, 2059.]
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