W I T H O U T F E A R
Nepal’s largest selling English daily
Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj
Police stop motorists to check their passes, at Bhadrakali in Kathmandu on Thursday. With a spike in coronavirus cases, authorities in the Kathmandu valley have tightened lockdown measures.
Talks with India over Lipulekh unlikely in near
future given technical and political factors
While Covid-19 is the prime factor, analysts say it is in India’s interest to bide its time and hope the issue fizzles out again.
ANIL GIRI
KATHMANDU, MAY 14
Amid protests on the streets and calls
from the public as well as ruling and
opposition leaders, the KP Sharma Oli
government has reiterated its commit-
ment to holding talks with India to
settle the boundary row “soon”.
Experts and analysts, however, say
that there is little likelihood of talks
in the near future, given technical and
political factors, as well as the global
Covid-19 pandemic.
The Oli government has ratcheted
O R F A V O U R
up its rhetoric after coming under
immense pressure following India’s
inauguration of a road via Lipulekh,
a territory Nepal claims as its own,
linking it with Kailash-Mansarovar
in the Tibet Autonomous Region
of China.
The latest controversy comes six
months after India placed Kalapani,
which Nepal also claims as its own,
within Indian borders in a new
political map published in line with
New Delhi’s move of splitting up
Jammu and Kashmir in two federal
territories.
A ruling party leader himself
ruled out any prospects of
dialogue with India in the
near future.
“I don’t see talks between offi-
cials from the two sides in the
immediate future,” said Bishnu
Rijal, deputy chief of the ruling
Nepal Communist Party’s
International Department.
“The Indian side too has sug-
gested talks once the Covid-19
crisis is over.”
In the wake of the Kalapani
POST PHOTO: HEMANTA SHRESTHA
RSS
Armed Police Force personnel patrol the Mahakali riverbanks in Chharung, Darchula.
controversy, Nepal had proposed In a statement issued on Saturday,
talks at the foreign secretary level, as Nepal’s Foreign Ministry said it had
mandated by the leaders of both coun- twice sought dates for talks and that it
tries, but there was no response from is still awaiting a response.
New Delhi. >> Continued on page 5
Vol XXVIII No. 80 | 8 pages | Rs.5
Friday, May 15, 2020 | 02-02-2077
More individuals
seek Covid-19 tests
but ministry to focus
on health workers
As new cases continue to be identified, authorities are
expanding testing but prioritising those on the front lines,
including health care and security personnel.
ARJUN POUDEL
KATHMANDU, MAY 14
The identification of four new cases
of Covid-19 in Kathmandu Valley has
sparked terror among its residents,
with hundreds flocking to the Sukraraj
Tropical and Infectious Disease
Hospital in Teku for tests.
Over 700 people visited the Sukraraj
Hospital on Thursday alone for Covid-
19 tests, according to doctors. At times,
the crowd was so large that the hospi-
tal administration was unable to
maintain the physical distance
required to prevent the spread of the
coronavirus.
“The crowds have been very large
and we have limited space and human
resource,” said Dr Sagar Rajbhandari,
the hospital’s director.
“The number of people seeking
tests is rising every day.”
According to Rajbhandari, on
Wednesday, the hospital tested 570 people.
Those seeking tests are not just
locals, but those who entered
Kathmandu since the government
eased the lockdown on May 8. Since
then, thousands of people have come
into the Valley, at an estimated rate of
nearly 5,700 every day.
These people constitute a majority of
individuals seeking Covid-19 tests at the
hospital, according to Rajbhandari.
“People who entered the Valley dur-
ing the lockdown are seeking tests due
to pressure from their landlords,
neighbours and local authorities,” he
said. “Security personnel, govern-
ment officials who visited Covid-19
hotspots or those who were posted
there are also seeking tests.”
With the rise in the number of peo-
ple seeking tests, the Sukraraj
Hospital will be placing people into
red and green categories from Friday.
Those who have symptoms, have come
into contact with the infected people,
or came from hotspots will be in the
red category.
They will be able to provide speci-
mens for tests while those in the green
category, which includes those who do
not have a history of travelling to
Covid-19 hotspots or contact with the
infected, will be counselled but not
tested, according to Rajbhandari, who
said that those who’ve come from dis-
tricts like Dhading, Nuwakot,
Sindhupalchok where there are no
Covid-19 cases do not need to be tested.
Given the identification of new
cases in Kathmandu Valley and the
massive influx of people, the authori-
38.2O C 8.5O C
Bhairahawa Jomsom
POST PHOTO: ANISH REGMI
Health workers take a swab for Covid-19
test at the Kalimati market on Thursday.
ties are working on restricting public
movement, according to Mahendra
Prasad Shrestha, director general of
the Department of Health Services.
“The only options we have are to
perform more tests and restrict peo-
ple’s movement,” said Shreshta.
The Home Ministry, on Thursday,
restricted the movement of people
from district to district in light of the
increasing cases of Covid-19 across
the country. On Tuesday, 83 new infec-
tions were identified, the largest num-
ber of cases in a single day.
The Health Ministry has deployed
health workers to the Kalimati Fruits
and Vegetable Market to collect sam-
ples from over 300 people for polymer-
ase chain reaction tests and to per-
form 700 rapid diagnostic tests. The
market was chosen for testing as a
large number of trucks laden with
produce from India congregate there.
Covid-19 cases in India have continued
to rise and present a clear and present
danger to Nepal, according to the
authorities.
The ministry has also decided to
expand testing for health workers and
security personnel on the front lines,
as at least two nurses—one each in
Kapilvastu and Parsa—four police
personnel in Rupandehi and one in
Bhaktapur have been infected with
the coronavirus.
On Thursday, 38 individuals, includ-
ing doctors, nurses, and others, from
the Tribhuvan University Teaching
Hospital, were placed in quarantine
after coming into contact with a six-
year-old ENT patient from Kapilvastu
who was infected with Covid-19.
According to Dr Santa Kumar Das,
coordinator of the Covid-19 manage-
ment team at the hospital, among
those quarantined are doctors, nurses,
relatives of the patient and five
patients who were in the same ward.
>> Continued on page 5
C M Y K
 FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020 | 02

MEDLEY

Inside the Post Quote of the day

Talks with India over Lipulekh unlikely in near future
National given technical and political factors, Page 1
The government has announced to enforce the lockdown more strictly with the
rise in cases of coronavirus infections across the country, including in Kathmandu
Valley. Some experts, however, say the government’s decision will only add to the
“India will likely seek to defuse the current
problem faced by the citizens who have been observing stay-at-home orders for crisis through background channels, even
nearly two months now.
while seeking to delay discussion at the
Opinion foreign secretary level, hoping that the
The trilateral junction’s history is fraught with issues, especially as China and
India have not demarcated their border to date. But as a domestic political tool
issue will fizzle out again.”
shore up anti-Indian opposition, it has always been a magnificent tool.
Constantino Xavier, a fellow at the Brookings India think tank, on
the Lipulekh boundary dispute between Nepal and India.
Money
Nepal’s lucrative palm oil exports to India could hit a setback as the southern
neighbour has suspended all import licences besides imposing stringent trade
measures in a bid to check cheap imports and protect domestic industry, Indian
media reports said.
Most read online
World If Covid-19 cases continue to increase at current rate, Nepal’s
The European Union’s medicines agency suggested on Thursday that a vaccine health infrastructure could easily be overwhelmed
for the coronavirus could be ready in year, even as the World Health Organization As Covid-19 cases continue to rise at alarming rates—Tuesday alone saw 83 new
warned that the disease may never go away. infections—there are worries that Nepal’s poor health infrastructure could easi-
ly get overwhelmed, especially when patients start developing more serious
symptoms. On Wednesday, 26 more cases were reported, taking Nepal’s Covid-19
Culture & Arts tally to 243.
In January 2018, 47-year-old Sonam Lama pooled in all her savings of Rs 700,000
and added that to a loan of Rs 150,000 to buy a restaurant on sale in Boudha.
Authorities seal off two places in Bhaktapur and a hospital
premises in Lalitpur after Covid-19 confirmations
News Quiz
Authorities in Kathmandu Valley have made a series of decisions in a bid to
drastically limit the movement of people after three coronavirus cases were con-
firmed in the Valley on Tuesday. The decisions include sealing off the areas
where infected individuals were staying and revoking all existing travel passes.
POST PHOTO: DEEPAK KC
1. Construction crew have a. East-West Electric Railway A woman works at a construction site at Narayanhiti Palace Museum in Kathmandu.
returned to work in which b. Sikta Irrigation Project. Nepali workers’ hopes of returning to work dashed as South
transmission corridor project c. West Seti Hydropower Project
after a one-and-a-half months d. Babai Irrigation Project.
Korea demands ‘self-quarantine’ arrangements
Nepali migrant workers’ hopes of returning to work in South Korean have been
On this day in history
due to coronavirus outbreak?
a. Kaligandaki 5. Which city has built skyscrap- dashed after authorities there asked them to submit a clear self-quarantine plan
b. Bharatpur-Bardaghat ers and artificial archipelagos in view of the Covid-19 threat. Nearly 250 workers, who had been in Nepal dur-
c. Karnali on the promise of globalisation ing their work-break and could not return due to lockdown and suspension of
d. Mabu-Ilam is now threatened by coronavi- international flights, were set to leave for South Korea on Tuesday.
rus? Activists hurl chairs at PM over cow issue, Adhikari unhurt
2. Quarantine centres in which a. Beijing
province are empty despite the b. New Delhi KATHMANDU - Prime Minister Man Mohan Adhikari escaped unhurt Sunday
Workers return to construction projects as virus restrictions
local governments spending c. Dubai after a group of activists hurled plastic chairs at him during a local religious are relaxed
millions to set up the facilities? d. Moscow function. Construction crews have returned to work at two hydropower plants and the
a. Province 1 The premier was taking part as the chief guest in a programme organised by Kali Gandaki transmission corridor project after a one-and-a-half-month virus
b. Province 2 the Rastriya Asmita Samrachhan Parishad, an outfit of 51 religious organisa- break following the government’s announcement that development projects
c. Bagmati Province tions, to stress the need for preserving and consolidating the dignity of Nepal’s could recommence by maintaining safety standards and social distancing.
d. Gandaki Province national animal—cow.
But the programme turned unruly as soon as the PM began his speech.
3. According to the UN agency, The PM tried to complete his speech. But after an hour, when it seemed impos-
how many Nepali children are
estimated to die in six months?
sible, he decided to leave. Some activists then hurled chairs at him.
Corrections
a. 3,000 The Kathmandu Post
b. 4,000 REUTERS May 15, 1995 Our reporters and editors do their best to make sure our reporting is free from
c. 5,000 errors. But when we make mistakes that warrant correction, we will be transparent
d. 6,000 6. Who is the author of ‘Seto and clarify at the bottom of the specific article.
Dharti’? If you believe we have got something wrong and it requires correction, please
4. The long-standing dispute over a. Buddhisagar email us at kpost@kmg.com.np with “correction” in the subject line.
compensation of which nation- b. Subin Bhattarai Answers to News Quiz: 1(a), 2(d), 3(b), 4(a), 5(c), 6(d) For the most recent corrections, visit kathmandupost.com/corrections.
al pride project has been c. Krishna Dharabasi
resolved after five months? d. Amar Neupane

ARIES (March 21-April 19)
***
Foreign ideas can have a very constructive
impact on your life. Reach out and explore dif-
ferent cultures. Whether you simply listen to a
foreign music radio station or find an online
store that specialises in items from a different
part of the world, you need to do something to
broaden your ideas about culture.
HOROSCOPE
CANCER (June 22-July 22)
****
If you’re getting overwhelmed by the details of
a project you’re working on, have no fear! A big
burst of energy and positive thinking is coming
along to help you get back on track and feel
ready to run for the finish line. This change
in attitude will help you put your best foot
forward.
LIBRA (September 23-October 22)
****
Timing is everything when it comes to romance.
If you don’t have it in your life right now, try to
take a philosophical view of it. Maybe it’s just
not the right time. Your feelings might be hard
to shove aside in favor of this kind of attitude,
but it will help you avoid the blues. Love exists
in many other forms in your life right now.
CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19)
****
Let your idealistic side take more control over
your life and make the decisions you’re faced
with right now. It’s time that you tried harder to
see the best in everything and everyone, because
when you do, you’re better able to see the best in
yourself. Don’t be surprised if you get a lot more
attention today.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)
****
Don’t take any financial risks today. They aren’t
likely to pay off. There’s too much uncertainty
involved in a new venture, and you need to play
it safe. Personal relationships are getting too
entangled in your private financial business,
and you’d be wise to put some distance between
your friendships and your investments.
LEO (July 23-August 22)
****
If you’ve been feeling limited lately, you can’t be
blaming anyone or anything else for this. The
only person truly affecting your life—for better
or for worse—is you. On the bright side, if you
caused this, you can cure it. To get a motivating
burst of self-esteem, call up a friend or challenge
your partner to a board game.
SCORPIO (October 23-November 21)
***
Right now, you want to trust your instincts
about a new person on the social scene. After
all, they hardly ever steer you wrong. Just be
careful not to react right away. Before you jump
to any conclusions about this person, however,
wait until someone from outside your circle
confirms your hunch.
AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18)
****
Someone new could come on the scene to add
quite a jolt of electricity to your social network.
It looks like what you thought was going to be an
average day could turn out to be above average!
Welcome the new member to the group. Send a
signal to the universe that you’re ready to expe-
rience a new person in your life.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21)
****
If you want to be all you can be in life, you have
to start expressing yourself more! People can’t
know who you really are—and what you’re real-
ly capable of—until you do. Don’t be afraid to say
what you really feel or ask for what you really
want! You need to share your feelings and
desires with your partner or friends today.
VIRGO (August 23-September 22)
****
The time for you to play it cool is definitely over.
Right now, you need to be more daring. Act fast
if you want to nab that new opportunity, get to
the front of the line with that new cutie, or
make that change in your life. You’re finally
capable of getting some traction in a new situa-
tion. Show the universe that you’re ready.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21)
****
The people who have been teaching you are
loving the changes they’ve helped you make!
They’re very impressed by your accomplish-
ments and are going to be heaping praise on
you. Don’t be surprised if other people show
signs of jealousy. You’re getting into the good
graces of some very influential people.
PISCES (February 19-March 20)
****
The universe is finally giving you the green
light to proceed with your plans, even if doing
so requires you to skip past the authority fig-
ures in your life! Their ideas aren’t as valuable
to you right now as ideas from your peers, so
listen to them instead. Pay attention to the peo-
ple at your level.

CROSSWORD SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION

C M Y K
03 | FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020 SPONSORED CONTENT

C M Y K

OPINION
EDITORIAL
Warning bells
The concerned must plan now for further
shocks—the worst of the crisis is yet to come.
There is still much that is unknown of the novel coronavi-
rus. Let alone reports that it causes previously undocument-
ed chronic complications to internal organs like kidneys,
other than the deadly respiratory disease Covid-19, new
warnings from the World Health Organisation that the dis-
ease may become endemic, like HIV (except much more eas-
ily infectious), have suddenly extended the timeline to when
life can return to a semblance of normalcy. Experts’ predic-
tions of the world accepting a new normal seem to be prov-
ing truer. What is fact, however, is that lack of preparedness
will make the body count much higher.
It was back in early March when The Guardian sounded a
severe warning, coming from health experts, on the United
States’ lack of preparedness and capacity—especially in
rural areas and because of the lack of coordination—saying
the situation would overwhelm the country. Here, we are
talking about one of the most powerful and wealthy coun-
tries in the world. A mere two months later, the US has over
1.3 million confirmed cases and over 84,000 deaths; less than
245,000 have recovered.
If the exponential increase has occurred in countries like
the US, Italy, the UK, India and China, among many others,
there are no indications that it will miraculously not happen
in Nepal. There is no magic immunity—Nepalis have died in
other countries, due to this virus. Yet, despite multiple warn-
ings from the Post, besides others in the media, the govern-
ment has failed to scale up the healthcare capacity nation-
wide. It has failed to isolate, contain and trace the spread of
SARS-CoV-2, essentially reversing weeks of development in
staggering the increase in positive cases. Worse, it has even
let slide previous gains in immunisation, neonatal and ante-
natal care, and other health facilities available to the public
during normal times.
Now, in an alarming report, UNICEF has claimed that an
additional 670 children, on average, could lose their lives
every month in Nepal, should things remain as they are. The
report’s estimates come from research published in The
Lancet which attempts to estimate the indirect effects of
Covid-19, from ‘the potential disruption of health systems
and decreased access to food’, on maternal and child health.
Already over the past few months, the signs have tended to
point to this fact. The significant strides that Nepal had
made in combating maternal mortality had already begun to
slip. Even as the media exposed the ridiculous oversubscrip-
tion of unnecessary vehicle passes, expectant mothers have
been unable to visit healthcare facilities for crucial antena-
tal checkups that usually catch complications in time to save
mothers and babies. Similarly, many patients with other
complications, especially outside metropolitan areas, have
been unable to reach healthcare facilities due to lower access
to transportation during lockdown.
On the immunisation front, too, there have been major
slippages. An area previously announced as a measles-free
zone became the centre of a new outbreak of the disease so
deadly to children. The stock of vaccines that protect against
critical childhood diseases such as polio are also diminish-
ing, as global supply disruptions have threatened their avail-
ability in Nepal. Further, and tipping the scales precariously,
many migrant workers are expected to lose their jobs amidst
an uncertain global economy; they are expected to come
home to an economy that already had almost a million
unemployed. This situation is surely to put pressure on live-
lihood sustainability—severely hampering children.
The concerned agencies in Nepal should treat this as the
canary in the coal mine. When the impending crisis hits full-
scale, the government cannot be afforded the benefit of the
doubt, when it clearly has received plenty of warnings. The
federal government must coordinate with provincial and
local authorities to implement a comprehensive strategy.
Food, medication, healthcare capacity must all be appraised—
it must plan for further supply disruptions. The most vulner-
able must be locally identified, and the upcoming budget
must plan fiscal activities to mitigate the effect in critical
regions.
Have something to say?
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published before or what your expertise is on the topic you’re
interested in exploring.
What the Chinese
narrative on Mt Everest
tells us about shaping
international views.
AMISH RAJ MULMI
It’s been a tough week for Nepali nation-
alists. The wounds of the new Indian
political map hadn’t even healed when
Delhi announced it had built a road to
Lipu Lekh. Then the same day, a week-
old tweet by the official Chinese news
site CGTN saying Mt Everest/
Qomolangma/Sagarmatha was located
in Tibet Autonomous Region had our
nationalists furiously typing away.
CGTN hurriedly revised the tweet,
although it was technically not incor-
rect. Qomolangma’s peak itself is the
border—the world’s highest borderline.
So the northern half of the peak is
inside Tibet. But that did not deter inter-
net warriors who brought out an archi-
val photograph of BP Koirala with Mao
Zedong and Zhou Enlai and presented it
as a contrast to our modern politicians’
ineffectiveness. One holy man even went
back into religious scriptures to show
Lipu Lekh belonged to Nepal in mythical
times. But when our prime minister and
foreign minister both send separate mes-
sages on the issue, and when the opposi-
tion regards it as a stick to flog the gov-
ernment, even the scriptures won’t be
enough.
The Kalapani-Lipu Lekh issue is load-
ed with diplomatic complications, and
every time a dispute erupts, I return to
General Sam Cowan’s excellent analysis
of how Indian army check-posts came to
be in Kalapani, and Kantipur editor
Sudheer Sharma’s ground report after
the initial 2005 bilateral agreement
between India and China on Lipu Lekh.
The trilateral junction’s history is
fraught with issues, especially as China
and India have not demarcated their bor-
der to date. But as a domestic political
tool to shore up anti-Indian opposition, it
has always been a magnificent tool.
Nationalism is built on perceptions, and
the current perception of Indian expan-
sionism goes back to the founding of the
Nepali state itself.
The question of perceptions in inter-
national relations is one our northern
neighbour understands very well. The
term huayuquan—translated as ‘speak-
ing rights’ or ‘international speaking
rights’—’reflects Beijing’s aspirations
not only to have the right to speak on the
international stage but also to be lis-
tened to, to influence others’ perceptions
of China, and eventually to shape the
discourse and norms that underpin the
Nepalis knew all along that
the economy, based largely
on remittance, is
unsustainable.
MADHUKAR UPADHYA
STARTING POINT
The dynamic global economy, a seeming-
ly unstoppable force, came to a standstill
due to the great lockdown in early 2020.
The real impact of the lockdown may not
be known for a long time, but the year
2020 will undoubtedly be a watershed
year in changing our economic thinking.
The expected massive job losses among
migrant workers will likely have a
knock-on effect on low-income countries
like Nepal. Many of the migrant return-
ees may not go back to their previous
workplace. Jobs in the domestic labour
market have also been lost, though we
can hope they will resume within a few
months. However, the consequences will
reverberate for a long time to come. In
the short term, the government will
attempt to minimise the damage and
offer stimulus packages for a quick
revival of the economy. Unfortunately,
we need to go beyond the short-term. In
all disasters, the attention of the con-
cerned bodies in the early phases is quite
focused but quickly becomes nebulous,
leaving the victims on their own, often to
slip into deeper poverty. We cannot afford
to do so this time.
The understanding of the possible sce-
narios awaiting us in the medium and
long term may be found in two reports,
one published in 2008 and the other in
2019; both reports captured the essence
of many studies which outlined
problems we were already facing over
the decades and painted a rather worry-
ing picture of the days ahead, if appro-
priate steps are not taken. A report pub-
lished in 2008 attempted to understand
the role of ecosystem services in the
livelihoods of the poor in a rapidly
changing urban-rural context of devel-
oping countries and revealed that inten-
sifying processes of technological and
The art of being heard
international order’, suggests a report
on ‘China’s vision for a new world order’.
One example of how China achieves this
is rooted in the Everest/Qomolangma
issue.
Firstly, China argues the nomencla-
ture of the peak itself is a relic of west-
ern colonialism. It quotes a 1958 paper by
Lin Chao titled ‘The Discovery and Name
of Qomolangma’ to return to the Qing
dynasty’s surveys in Tibet in the 18th
century: ‘Those who discovered Mount
Qomolangma first were Tibetans living
in southern Tibet and they so named it.
And those who first recorded the peak on
a map using scientific methods were
Chinese surveyors Shengzhu,
Churbizanbo and Lanbenzhanba, who
conducted the survey in Tibet between
1715 and 1717’. The mapping of the peak,
according to China, precedes British
attempts by at least 130 years. ‘The
British approach to the name of
Qomolangma was to insist on calling it
Everest despite the fact that it had
already had a Tibetan name. This was
ridiculous’.
China’s claims on the peak were evi-
dent even during the border discussions
with Nepal in the 1960s. BP Koirala
recalls in his autobiography that when
he insisted the peak lay in Nepal fully,
Mao Zedong told him, ‘But you do not
even have a name for it in your language,
and you call it Mount Everest’. BP writes,
‘I remembered at that time, or someone
had reminded me, that it was known as
‘Sagarmatha’. Even though I was new to
Plans after the pandemic
economic globalisation in contemporary
times have drastically changed the
livelihood systems. On one hand, this
globalisation largely helped to reduce
poverty in many countries around the
world. On the other, the process had con-
sequences that not only increased pres-
sure on the ecosystems but shifted the
pattern of dependency on ecosystems
from the local to more global levels. The
degradation of the ecosystems from local
to global scale continued to undermine
ecosystems’ ability to provide critical
services.
Even as the degradation continued,
the issue didn’t get the level of attention
it required for the revival of the crucial
ecosystem services. Those who depended
on local resources for their livelihoods
and worked hard for their upkeep before
the shift in the dependency pattern, need
not do so anymore because with the
income from remittance they could
afford to buy food produced elsewhere in
the global market to feed their families,
better educate their children, and access
health services. This growth of remit-
tance also helped the service sector to
thrive, making it a key contributor to the
national GDP. Sadly, this growth was
taking place at the cost of local resourc-
es. For example, in our case, farms were
abandoned one after another, leaving a
vast area in the hills and Tarai fallow.
Import of food from the global market
continued to rise to an alarming level. To
ease the transportation of essential
that term, I replied, “You do not have a
name for the peak either. ‘Chomolongma’
is a Tibetan name”. Mao replied, “Tibet
is China.”’ In fact, the sharing of the
peak was one of the few instances during
the Nepal-China border talks where the
border was decided politically, and not
according to the watershed principles
followed elsewhere.
The Nepalicisation of Chomolungma
to Sagarmatha by Baburam Acharya
based on a ‘very dubious etymological
interpretation’ occurred in 1938. The
name ‘Everest’ remains a colonial relic;
George Everest was a British survey-
or-general in India between 1830-1843,
and when a Bengali mathematician
named Radhanath Sikdar calculated
Peak XV to be the highest in the world,
Everest’s successor Andrew Scott Waugh
named the peak after him in 1856.
China’s claims about the Qing survey-
ors could be correct, but remain unveri-
fied. The Qing survey claims resemble in
many ways another claim by Beijing:
that the 15th century Ming admiral
Zheng He ‘discovered’ America before
Columbus. An 18th century copy of a
1418 map, if real, ‘rewrites history, for it
shows that he circumnavigated the globe
and—most provocatively—that he dis-
covered America more than 70 years
before Columbus… The debate over the
veracity of this map is emblematic of the
current arguments over China’s role on
the world stage’.
That brings us to the modern day, and
the agreement between Nepal and China
SHUTTERSTOCK
goods including food, building roads,
which had extremely high environmen-
tal costs in the mountains, became a
development priority. Intensive land hus-
bandry, which is essential to maintain
productivity of the Himalayan land-
scape, gradually vanished in the absence
of caretakers.
A decade later, in 2019, the UN’s
Human Development Report 2019
revealed the deeply unsettling reality of
the rise of a new generation of inequali-
ties in the 21st century. The report put
this inequality in simple terms: ‘for all
our progress, something in our glo-
balised society is not working’. The
report further emphasised that climate
change, gender inequality, and violent
conflicts would continue to drive these
inequalities. An increasing number of
educated young people are stuck with no
ladder of choices to move up. In sum, the
report highlighted the fact that many
people in every country already had little
prospect for a better future.
Under these circumstances, the world
is faced with a pandemic of a scale not
seen in the last hundred years. Experts
view that Covid-19 is accelerating many
existing fissures in the international
system, which, by extension, is equally
true for national systems. The pandemic
has underscored how vulnerable our
overall economy truly is. We knew all
along that our economy, based largely on
remittance, is unsustainable, but never
realised that it would meet such a chaot-
FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020 | 04
SHUTTERSTOCK
during Xi Jinping’s visit that the two
countries will ‘jointly announce’ the
height of the peak—a development that
came even as Nepal’s Department of
Survey had begun its own measurements
of the peak, a process now said to be
complete. Nepali policymakers, however,
did not even consult with the Department
before the agreement. China, on the
other hand, has begun its own measure-
ments last month, even as it installed a
5G station at the base camp (a live stream
is now available on YouTube). China has
traditionally also differed on the height
of the peak. Nepal claims it as 8848m,
which is universally accepted; however, a
2005 Chinese survey claimed the height
to be 8844.43m.
I return to the question of perception
through these contradictions in Chinese
claims over nomenclature and ‘discov-
ery’, and in its insistence on a joint
announcement of the peak’s height. Both
are a signal China wants its position to
be known and accepted internationally;
‘Beijing believes that huayuquan has
been used by the West to dominate the
international system and the world
order’. This is a lesson for our national-
ists too; international relations is not a
simple game of protesting whenever one
is in the opposition. Diplomacy requires
strong negotiation and communication
skills and a clarity of vision, both of
which Nepal is short on. But as long as
the Nepali huayuquan is determined by
domestic partisan interests, few will lis-
ten to it.
ic fate, making the post-pandemic situa-
tion extremely uncertain.
With the buffer provided by the labour
market almost gone due to the great lock-
down, we are left with limited choices to
feed people, let alone revive the economy.
The pandemic has brought us to square
one. For some time, we are bound to face
a rise in poverty because people have
consumed what little savings they had
during the lockdown. Jobs won’t be
waiting immediately after the lockdown
is lifted.
For many, foreign employment was an
escape from grinding poverty, when agri-
culture failed to meet the rising needs
and aspirations driven largely by a glo-
balised economy. But the migrant return-
ees will have nothing to fall back on but
agriculture, the only economic sector
providing a breather at the moment,
despite its own inherent problems. While
a stronger agriculture base would’ve
helped, we are now forced to take it seri-
ously and improve the state of agricul-
ture in order to support livelihoods with
the outputs from ecosystem services
which, in the first place, require serious
restorations. Therefore, moving forward
in the post-pandemic world will require a
clear roadmap backed by commitment
and actions.
To begin, a quick but brutal review
must be done of all our past policies that
promised to improve the livelihoods of
the rural people but failed to even keep
farmers engaged. Considering the inter-
disciplinary nature of agriculture, our
institutions, from infrastructure to rural
development and from industry to envi-
ronmental protection, must be made
responsible to support agriculture
growth. For example, why build a road if
it does not help improve production or
increase income that can be measured?
We must make simple and less expen-
sive but extremely important grass-root
level activities, such as water and land
management, a core of the future
plan, without which agriculture is just
impractical. These grass-root level
activities require a massive nation-wide
campaign and not just a few time-bound
projects. Only then can we think of
ensuring ecological and social systems
to thrive under the impacts of climate
change, environmental degradation, and
the aftershock of the pandemic. Without
such fundamental reassessment of our
institutions, policies, and circumstances,
a truly grim future awaits us.
C M Y K
05 | FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020

NATIONAL

Gandaki at Covid-19 risk due to lax border security Experts say lockdown does
The province is seeing a steady flow of people from outside despite the nationwide lockdown in place.
GANDAKI PROVINCE BUREAU
POKHARA, MAY 14
Though its neighbouring provinces
are reporting a rise in Covid-19 cases,
Gandaki Province, which has so far
reported three cases, is yet to come up
with a concrete plan to strengthen
border security to prevent the possible
transmission of the virus. The prov-
ince is seeing a steady flow of incom-
ing traffic from outside despite the
nationwide lockdown in place.
According to the data available at
the provincial Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Law, around 4,500 people
entered Gandaki Province through
various border points in the past three
days alone.
With the increasing number of
Covid-19 cases in the country, the fed-
eral Ministry of Home Affairs on
Tuesday decided to scrap all inter-dis-
trict vehicle passes with effect from
Thursday. The Gandaki provincial
government, however, is yet to formu-
late concrete plans to effectively
implement the federal government’s
decision to beef up security along pro-
vincial borders.
“Discussions are being held on that
matter. Despite the lockdown, people
from outside are using goods carriers
to enter the province. We plan to use
separate vehicles to bring in goods
into the districts, barring entry of
vehicles from outside the province,”
said Minister for Internal Affairs and
Around 4,500 people are said to have entered the province in the past three days.
Law Hari Bahadur Chuman.
After Covid-19 cases skyrocketed in
neighbouring Province 5 and Bagmati
Province, Gandaki held a meeting of
the Corona Crisis Management Centre
in Pokhara on Wednesday to discuss
the necessary steps to prevent the
spread of the virus in the province.
According to Chuman, security per-
sonnel were deployed at all entry
points of the province from Wednesday.
“We are planning to conduct rapid
diagnostic tests on those people enter-
ing the province for emergency and
essential work,” he said.
POST PHOTO: AASH GURUNG
According to the Internal Affairs
and Law Ministry, as many as 74
trucks carrying food and vegetables,
three gas bullets, four tankers of
petroleum products, three milk tank-
ers and 42 jeeps used in bringing med-
icines and other essentials entered the
province on Wednesday through vari-
ous border points.
Authorities have made provisions
for incoming vehicles to be sprayed
with disinfectant and for testing the
body temperature of the vehicles’
crew and passengers, as almost all
these vehicles come from Tarai dis-
tricts that have reported a sharp
increase in the number of coronavi-
rus cases. However, Bindo Bindu
Sharma, chief at the Gandaki
Provincial Health Directorate, says
these measures are not enough to con-
trol the possible spread of coronavi-
rus in the province.
“Border security should be strength-
ened as Covid-19 cases are on the rise
in the neighbouring provinces. The
authorities should conduct mass test-
ing and keep the hospitals on stand-
by,” said Sharma.
Gandaki has conducted PCR tests
on a total of 767 people as of Thursday.
Three among them tested positive for
the disease while the results of 29 peo-
ple are yet to come. Two infected per-
sons from Baglung returned home fol-
lowing treatment while the other
infected man from Nawalparasi (East)
is receiving treatment.
Meanwhile, the district administra-
tion in Gorkha has deployed Nepal
Army personnel, along with a medical
team, in Majhuwa, a major entry point
to the district, from Thursday.
Superintendent of Police Om Adhikari
said all three security agencies—
Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed
Police Force—have been mobilised in
all the entry points of the district.
(Deepak Pariyar in Pokhara, Hariram
Uprety in Gorkha, Prakash Baral in
Baglung & Narayan Sharma in Nawa-
lparasi(East) contributed reporting.)
not offer long-term solution
ANUP OJHA
KATHMANDU, MAY 14
The government has announced to
enforce the lockdown more strictly
with the rise in cases of coronavirus
infections across the country, includ-
ing in Kathmandu Valley. Some
experts, however, say the govern-
ment’s decision will only add to the
problem faced by the citizens who
have been observing stay-at-home
orders for nearly two months now.
Eighty-four coronavirus cases were
confirmed across the country on
Tuesday, prompting the Home
Ministry to instruct the chief district
officers, local governments and secu-
rity agencies to get tougher with the
lockdown measures.
Dr Sameer Mani Dixit, director of
Research at Center for Molecular
Dynamics Nepal, says the latest deci-
sion of the government to further
tighten the restrictions on public
mobility does not offer any long-term
solution to the ongoing crisis.
“Local governments should lock
only those neighbourhoods where the
infection is seen, but other areas can
be opened with a series of precautions
in place,” Dixit told the Post.
The only solution to the current
problem, Dixit says, is running mass
tests, quarantining suspected patients
and sealing off only infected areas.
“The World Health Organization has
already announced that the virus is
here to stay, so we need to relax the
lockdown, restart our daily lives with
certain precautions like adhering to
social distancing and wearing masks,”
he said.
WHO Director General Tedros
Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his media
briefing on April 20 had said countries
must detect, test, isolate and care for
every case. In his briefing he had said
lockdown could help to take the heat
out of the country’s epidemic, but they
can’t end the new coronavirus alone.
While Nepal did buy time by enforc-
ing lockdown in the early days of the
pandemic, it failed to utilise this time
by ramping up tests like several other
countries did.
Health experts in the country have
already warned that the infection
rates could only go up in the days
ahead if the government fails to come
up with an effective plan of action
other than extending the lockdown.
Dr Mahesh Kumar Maskey, found-
ing chair of Nepal Public Health
Foundation and a public health expert,
says while the cases might be increas-
ing, we should not panic.
“More than keeping people in a
state of panic, the government and
health professionals should make peo-
ple comfortable by only locking the
infected areas,” he told the Post.
Just like France, England and Italy,
Maskey says Nepal, too, should relax
the lockdown so that the people could
resume their normal lives.

Talks with India over Lipulekh unlikely ...
>> Continued from page 1
Hours later, India’s Ministry of
External Affairs, in a statement of its
own, said that both sides are in the
process of scheduling Foreign
Secretary level talks, which will be
held once dates are finalised after the
Covid-19 pandemic has been dealt
with.
Oli, however, is under pressure
from political parties to hold talks
with India immediately, starting at the
very top prime ministerial level.
Rijal told the Post that pressure is
mounting on Oli to initiate talks with
Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi to address the domestic constitu-
ency’s demands and public anger that
is spilling onto the streets despite the
lockdown.
“A conversation between the two
prime ministers can at least set the
tone for future talks,” said Rijal.
Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali
told the International Relations
Committee of the federal parliament
on Monday that Nepal is ready to hold
talks at any level—foreign secretary
or prime minister.
Officials based in both New Delhi
and Kathmandu told the Post that they
are awaiting a reply to the diplomatic
note that Nepal has handed over to
India regarding Lipulekh.
Nepal’s Ambassador to India
Nilamber Acharya held a phone con-
versation with Bhagat Singh
Koshiyari, governor of the Indian
state of Maharashtra and coordinator
of the Eminent Persons’ Group from
the Indian side, to take stock of the
situation, according a Nepali official
based in Delhi who spoke on condition
of anonymity.
Acharya too was a member of the
Eminent Persons’ Group from the
Nepali side and he shares a good rela-
tionship with Koshiyari, who is con-
sidered to hold significant clout in the
Modi administration.
“But signals are not very encourag-
ing for immediate talks, especially at a
time when protests are taking place in
Kathmandu,” said the official.
“Acharya has already apprised Oli of
the latest from Delhi.”
Foreign policy watchers say talks
for such a sensitive issue require
extensive homework. According to
them, Kathmandu often makes a reac-
tive, not proactive, move which can
make it even more difficult to find an
amicable solution.
Constantino Xavier, a fellow at the
Brookings India think tank, said that
amid talks for diplomatic steps,
Kathmandu deploying security forces
to Darchula on the border had raised
eyebrows in India.
Nepal on Wednesday sent an Armed
Police Force troop to Darchula’s
Chharung, near Kalapani where
Indian Army troops have been sta-
tioned since 1962.
“Even if it is intended for domestic
signalling, [deployment] has naturally
raised eyebrows in India, especially in
the context of other border disputes
flaring up between Indian and Chinese
armies in recent days,” Xavier told the
Post over social media.
Parliamentarians in Nepal have
demanded that the Oli government
pursue the issue aggressively, even
suggesting that it move the
International Court of Justice. But
analysts describe such demands as
simply nationalistic rhetoric and an
outcome of a lack of understanding of
how such issues play out.
“I have heard that some parliamen-
tarians are demanding that Nepal
move the International Court of
Justice, but they seem to be unaware
of how cases proceed at the ICJ,” said
Sridhar Khatri, a professor of
International Relations at Tribhuvan
University.
According to Khatri, for the ICJ to
take up any boundary issue, both con-
flicting parties should agree to pres-
ent the case at The Hague.
“Taking up an issue with the ICJ is
a serious matter and such rants need
to stop,” he said. “Emotions and pos-
turing only aggravate the situation
More individuals seek
unnecessarily.”
Nepal and India share special rela-
tions as neighbours but they have long
Covid-19 tests ...
been dealing with a number of peren- >> Continued from page 1
nial irritants, boundary disputes one Authorities at the hospital have also sealed the neuro-
of them. surgery ward where the infected patient had been admit-
Boundary disputes in Kalapani, ted, according to the hospital’s executive director Dr
Limipiyadhura and Lipulekh are not Prem Krishna Khadga.
new, but they have remained unre- “We have completed contact tracing and have collected
solved for decades, largely due to samples of all people who came in close contact with the
Nepal’s failure to strongly raise the patient for a polymerase chain reaction test,” said
issue and India’s reluctance to recog- Khadga. “All those who came in contact with the infected
nise it as a problem, say analysts. patient will remain in quarantine for 14 days.”
India on Saturday, in a statement According to the authorities, health workers on the
issued in response to Nepal’s Foreign front lines need to be prioritised as any infection in them
Ministry statement, refused to could compromise the entire health care system.
acknowledge Nepal’s claim that “The risk of transmission will increase if health
Lipulekh is Nepali territory. On workers themselves get infected,” Dr Roshan Pokhrel,
Monday again, it did not acknowledge chief specialist at the Health Ministry, told the Post. “We
that Nepal’s Foreign Ministry had will test and quarantine all health workers involved in
issued a diplomatic note to Indian the treatment of Covid-19 patients.”
Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra.
In a tweet, the Indian embassy in
Kathmandu just said Kwatra met
Foreign Minister Gyawali and handed
over a copy of the statement issued on
Saturday by India’s Ministry of
External Affairs.
According to Xavier, the status quo
is unlikely to change with continued
Indian control over the disputed terri-
tory, but in the long term, there could
be space for informal negotiations
towards a cooperative solution that
satisfies both states.
“India will likely seek to defuse the
current crisis through background
channels, even while seeking to delay
discussion at the foreign secretary
level, hoping that the issue will fizzle
out again,” said Xavier. “This is no
longer sustainable, as in the past.
Kathmandu is likely now weighing
options of whether to further push
and politicise the issue at home, or
conversely engage India. This depends
on what Delhi is willing to offer, or
whether it refuses to blink at all. To
save face and conserve its already
fractioned support base, PM Oli will
likely insist on some political signal
and assurance, possibly from Prime
Minister Modi himself.”

Government of Nepal (GoN)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Department of Passports
Amendments made in the Bid Document No. 03/2076/77/dop-ifb
Published on 02 March 2020 for the Procurement of Security Printing,
Supply and Delivery, Installation, Testing and Commissioning of
Equipment and Personalization of eMRTDs
Contract Identification No: 03/2076/77/dop
Date of Publication of Amendment: 14 May 2020
Addendum No. 3
The Department of Passports, Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made the following amendments in the Bid Document No.
03/2076/77/dop-ifb published on 02 March 2020 for the Procurement of Security Printing, Supply and Delivery,
Installation, Testing and Commissioning of Equipment and Personalization of eMRTDs as follows:
S.
Page No. Article No. /Heading Existing Provision Amendments Made
No.
1. iv Notice for Invitation for A complete set of Bidding Documents …… A complete set of Bidding Documents
Clause 3 Bids…. fee of NRs. 20,000/- until 15 April 2020 …… fee of NRs. 20,000/- until 16 June
during office hours. 2020 during office hours.
2. iv Notice for Invitation for Electronic bids must be submitted …… . on Electronic bids must be submitted ……
Clause 5 Bids…. or before 12:00 hrs (NST) on 16 April . on or before 12:00 hrs (NST) on 17
2020. June 2020.
3. iv Notice for Invitation for The bids will be opened ………at 12:30 hrs The bids will be opened ………at
Clause 6 Bids…. (NST) on 16 April 2020 ……. 12:30 hrs (NST) on 17 June 2020 …….
4. 37 Section II The address and deadline for bid The address and deadline for bid
Bid Data Sheet submission is: submission is:
ITB 24.1 Deadline for Place: Department of Passports, Place: Department of Passports,
Submission of Bids Narayanhiti, Kathmandu, Nepal Narayanhiti, Kathmandu, Nepal
Date: 17 May 2020 Date: 17 June 2020
Time: 12:00 Hrs (NST) Time: 12:00 Hrs (NST)
5. 37 Section II The bid opening shall take place at: The bid opening shall take place at:
Bid Data Sheet Place: Department of Passports, Place: Department of Passports,
ITB 27.1 Narayanhiti, Kathmandu, Nepal Narayanhiti, Kathmandu, Nepal
Bid Opening Date: 17 May 2020 Date: 17 June 2020
Time: 12:30 Hrs (NST) Time: 12:30 Hrs (NST)
6. 38 Section II After opening .... .on 17 May 2020 at 12:30 After opening .... .on 17 June 2020 at
Bid Data Sheet hrs. 12:30 hrs.
ITB 27.1
Bid Opening (Clause 4)

C M Y K

MONEY
FOREX
US Dollar
Euro
Pound Sterling
Japanese Yen
Chinese Yuan
Qatari Riyal
Australian Dollar
Malaysian Ringit
Saudi Arab Riyal
Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank
BULLION PRICE PER TOLA
Fine Gold Rs 77,000
Silver Rs 720
SOURCE: FENEGOSIDA
GASOLINE WATCH
New Zealand
plans spending
spree to counter
virus job losses
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
in Wellington, New Zealand, on Thursday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WELLINGTON, MAY 14
New Zealand’s government plans to
borrow and spend vast amounts of
money as it tries to keep unemploy-
ment below 10 percent in the wake of
the coronavirus pandemic.
Finance Minister Grant Robertson
on Thursday unveiled a budget unlike
any in the nation’s history. Debt would
shoot up from just over 20 percent of
GDP to 54 percent by 2023, and thou-
sands of jobs created by putting peo-
ple to work building homes and
improving the environment.
Still, the increased spending will
not be enough to offset the economic
devastation caused by the pandemic.
Unemployment is expected to rise
from just over 4 percent to nearly 10
percent by June. And Robertson
acknowledged that tourism, which
had accounted for about 10 percent of
the economy, was not going to be the
same for many years to come.
“We face a global economic and
health crisis not seen since the Great
Depression,” Robertson said.
The budget was released on the
same day the nation lifted most of its
lockdown restrictions. Malls, retail
stores and restaurants all reopened,
and many people returned to their
workplaces. That reflected the coun-
try’s success to date in its attempts to
eliminate the virus. Health authori-
ties on Thursday reported zero new
infections for the third day in a row.
New Zealand has reported a total of
about 1,500 confirmed infections and
21 deaths.
Under the budget plan, the govern-
ment will spend 50 billion New
Zealand dollars ($30 billion) over four
years to help boost the economy.
The government had entered the
crisis running a surplus and with its
books in good shape compared to
many other countries. More than half
of all workers in New Zealand are
currently being subsidized by the gov-
ernment under a programme that was
quickly set up as the nation went into
a strict lockdown in March. The
budget would extend the scheme for
hard-hit businesses.
The plan also calls for 11,000 envi-
ronmental jobs to be created, some of
them temporary. People would be put
to work killing pests and restoring
wetlands. And up to 8,000 new homes
would be built, creating thousands of
construction jobs. Spending would
also be increased on everything from
health care and education to school
lunches and the postal service.
121.20
Nepal’s palm oil exports could suffer
as India suspends import licences
130.90
148.01
11.33
17.07
33.29
Shipments in the first eight months of the current fiscal year were valued at Rs 15.35 billion.
77.99 KRISHANA PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, MAY 14
27.94
Nepal’s lucrative palm oil exports to
32.27
India could hit a setback as the south-
ern neighbour has suspended all
import licences besides imposing
stringent trade measures in a bid to
check cheap imports and protect
domestic industry, Indian media
reports said.
“The Directorate General of
Foreign Trade of India has issued 39
licences to different firms. The
Department of Commerce has
reviewed its decision and has decided
to suspend all these licences,” the
directorate said in an office memoran-
dum dated May 11, according to
reports.
The new trade policy that came
through the Trade Notice issued on
April 13 said that applications for
import authorisation should be
accompanied by a pre-purchase agree-
ment and details of the import of
refined palm oil items for the past
three years.
The validity period of import
licences for refined palm oil has been
slashed to six months from the usual
18 months.
Applicants who do not utilise the
import authorisation will be disquali-
fied from getting any further licences
for these items in the future, and
Indian customs will be required to
diligently enforce the ‘rules of origin’
criteria for the import of these items
originating from Nepal and
Bangladesh.
Rules of origin determine where
goods originate, that is not where
they have been shipped from, but
where they have been produced or
manufactured.
The South Asian Free Trade Area
agreement, to which Nepal is a party,
stipulates that goods with preferential
origin are eligible to be imported
and re-exported with lower duty rates
or at zero rates if the requirements
are met.
For Nepali exports to India to be
eligible for tariff exemptions under
this treaty, imported goods need to
have at least a 30 percent value addi-
India’s foreign investment policy upsets All eyes on Detroit as
Xiaomi, Oppo’s consumer finance plans automakers ready slow,
AP/RSS
REUTERS
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, MAY 14
Tougher scrutiny of foreign invest-
ment in India has soured the plans of
China’s smartphone manufacturers
seeking to expand beyond selling
hardware for a bigger share of the
South Asian country’s competitive
financial services market.
Xiaomi and Oppo, with more than
100 million in combined smartphone
users in India, cannot directly lend to
consumers without a shadow banking
licence and have partnered with
Indian financial companies to provide
the funds for services offered on their
platforms.
Xiaomi in December launched its
online lending service MiCredit in
India, connecting users with Indian
lending firms to access small loans.
By the end of 2019, its platform had
disbursed loans worth $16.5 million.
Oppo introdued a similar financial
services model Oppo Kash in March.
The Chinese phone brands, howev-
er, are keen to establish their own
non-banking financial company
(NBFC) which will help improve mar-
gins by allowing them to directly sell
Farmers harvest maize in Barhadashi Rural Municipality, Jhapa.
A file photo shows a worker unloading palm oil fruits from a lorry inside a palm oil factory in
Salak Tinggi, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
tion. Nepali trade experts have been
saying that Nepali traders do not
meet the 30 percent value addition
requirement.
Palm oil has become Nepal’s top
export product although the country
does not produce a drop.
On January 8, India’s Directorate
General of Foreign Trade issued a
notification saying the foreign
trade policy had been amended from
‘free’ to ‘restricted’ for refined palm
oil trade.
Under the new rules, firms are
required to obtain an import licence
from the directorate.
Navaraj Dhakal, joint secretary at
the Ministry of Industry, Commerce
and Supplies, told the Post that they
were not fully aware of the new
arrangements.
“But we are in consultation with
our Indian counterpart.”
According to The Economic Times,
the licences were suspended to check
illegal cheap imports and to protect
domestic industry.
The firms holding the licences were
slated to import 455,301 tonnes of
refined palm oils including 293,000
tonnes from Nepal only.
REUTERS
Oppo smartphones are displayed in a shop
in Singapore.
financial products to their pool of
smartphone users, people familiar
with their plans said. “India is a very
important market...This (rule change)
will have a dampening effect,” said an
industry executive familiar with
Xiaomi’s consumer finance plans.
That is because India’s new foreign
direct investment (FDI) rules add
another layer in an approval process
already incumbered by red tape, a lack
of transparency and worries that
Chinese investors are encroaching
REUTERS
Many of the permits were issued to
companies located in eastern India,
especially in West Bengal and Bihar
states, the report said. “The import of
refined palm oils has been rising in
the last few months, affecting
domestic refiners and local jobs,”
states the report.
Indian media quoted Mumbai-based
Solvent Extractors Association of
India Executive Director BV Mehta as
saying that Indonesia and Malaysia
were major suppliers of palm oils. But
the shipments are routed through
Nepal and Bangladesh illegally at nil
import duty.
“The government has started
enquiring if rules of origin of the
product were flouted. It is a major
revenue loss to the government if
imports are allowed through such
routes,” he said, adding that the
Solvent Extractors Association had
made several representations to the
Commerce Ministry to check such
imports.
A World Bank report attributes
Nepal’s windfall in exports solely to
increased demand for non-crude palm
and soybean oil in India.
Tariff exemptions on Nepali
into Indian businesses. The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) has been cautious
about issuing such approvals after the
near collapse of one major lender in
2018, and it may now go even slower.
In April, the government said it
would monitor FDI from companies
based in neighbouring countries, in
what was widely seen as a move to
keep Chinese firms from taking stakes
in distressed local businesses amid
the coronavirus crisis. China has
called the rules “discriminatory”.
For Xiaomi and Oppo—both of
which sources say have been waiting
for around a year to get an NBFC
approval from the RBI—the policy
comes when India’s smartphone ship-
ments are likely to decline by 10 per-
cent this year due to the coronavi-
rus-led slowdown.
Xiaomi and Oppo did not respond to
a request for comment. Before tighter
scrutiny of foreign direct investment
was announced, would-be investors
only sought RBI approval for a shadow
banking licence.
Now, it will be a two-step process for
those from the neighbouring coun-
tries and approval will probably take
longer to obtain, industry sources say.
RSS
exports to India under the South
Asian Free Trade Area agreement
gave domestic traders an advantage.
Countries outside of South Asia
are slapped with tariffs of 54 percent
on palm oil and 45 percent on
soybean oil.
According to the Nepal Development
Update released by the World Bank in
December, Nepal capitalised on this
arbitrage opportunity and significant-
ly increased exports of the two prod-
ucts. “However, it might not be a sus-
tainable option in the long run,” the
report said.
Subodh Kumar Gupta, president of
the Association of Nepalese Rice, Oil
and Pulses Industry, said that
the inconsistent trade policy of the
Indian government had been hurting
Nepal.
“Halting imports time and again
has caused stress to Nepali businesses
that have injected billions of rupees
into the palm oil trade.”
Due to the good rate of return, some
factories with huge investments have
come into operation, said Gupta.
“Now investments worth billions are
at risk.”
According to him, the factories
were in the process of producing or
shipping huge amounts of processed
palm oil to India, but were prevented
from doing so due to the Covid-19
lockdown.
“These factories owe billions in
bank loans.” He said that 90 percent of
their output of processed palm oil was
exported to India.
The Indian government should have
given at least three months’ notice
instead of imposing the decision
immediately, he said. “The govern-
ment has conducted negotiations time
and again, and we hope that it will try
to find a way as quickly as possible,”
Gupta added.
According to a Nepal Rastra Bank
report, the country exported
refined palm oil valued at Rs15.35 bil-
lion in the first eight months of the
current fiscal year, a 244 percent jump
year-on-year.
During the same period, Nepal
imported crude palm oil worth Rs14.29
billion, up 133 percent year-on-year.
careful reopening of plants
A weld curtain hangs between two operators working on the underbody of a Dodge Grand
Caravan at FCA’s Windsor Assembly Plant to help maintain social distancing required to slow
the spread of coronavirus disease in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
REUTERS
DETROIT, MAY 14
The US factories that make Fords,
Chevys and Jeeps are coming back to
life this week as workers install new
safety equipment and wake up
machines ahead of the high-stakes
restart the Detroit automakers plan to
launch on Monday.
Ford Motor Co, General Motors Co
and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV all
plan to reopen North American facto-
ries on May 18. The reopening of the
US auto sector will be a closely
watched test of whether workers
across a range of industries can
return to factories in large numbers
without a resurgence of COVID-19
infections. How well the automakers
do will be significant for the US econo-
my, as nearly 1 million workers are
employed in the sector.
Executives at Ford and GM said
separately this week the companies
have not recorded any cases of COVID-
19 transmission in plants outside the
United States since adopting new safe-
ty protocols. Those procedures include
mandatory face masks, separation of
workers on assembly lines, frequent
cleaning of work areas and require-
ments that workers pass through tem-
perature monitors and report any
symptoms before entering a plant.
The Detroit Three have taken
unprecedented steps to share informa-
tion about coronavirus safety practic-
es and develop a common set of work-
place standards for their restarts,
working with the United Auto Workers
union, executives said.
“We thought it was critical that we
did it together,” Ford manufacturing
FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020 | 06
Brazil’s Gol values
Boeing’s 737 MAX
compensation at up
to $412 million
REUTERS
SAO PAULO, MAY 14
Brazil airline Gol Linhas Aereas
Inteligentes said on Wednesday it will
receive up to 2.4 billion reais ($412
million) from Boeing Co as compensa-
tion for the grounding of the 737 MAX
plane, in a mix of cash and credits.
The aircraft has not flown in more
than a year because of two deadly
crashes that forced regulators to scru-
tinize the safety of its design.
The timing of the payments has
become a lifeline for Gol, which, like
its peers worldwide, is reeling from
the coronavirus crisis.
But the disclosure also provides a
point of reference for what kind of
compensation other airlines will be
able to obtain.
According to Gol, it has already
received close to 500 million reais in
cash. In addition, it stands to receive
up to 1.9 billion reais in credits that
can be applied to new aircraft acquisi-
tions, used to reduce interest and
depreciation expenses.
That amount is the maximum
and is subject to certain undisclosed
conditions. Gol said it may receive less
than that.
Gol, Brazil’s largest airline, is one
of Boeing’s biggest customers and had
ordered more than 100 Boeing 737
MAX planes. Those orders have since
been reduced and Gol said it will not
make new aircraft payments to Boeing
for the next two years.
The company flies Boeing 737 planes
exclusively, reflecting the business
model of Southwest Airlines Co,
which has reached only a partial set-
tlement with Boeing and said it would
share $125 million with employees.
In a securities filing, Gol said the
coronavirus crisis caused an 80 per-
cent decrease in revenue in April to
138 million reais. April was the first
full month of travel restrictions
around the world due to the pandemic,
and Gol is one of the first airlines to
report its impact.
Gol shares, which are down 73 per-
cent so far this year, were little
changed in afternoon trading on the
Sao Paulo stock exchange.
REUTERS
and labour chief Gary Johnson told
Reuters. “We’ve never done this as
an industry.”
The Detroit automakers will restart
US plants without regular testing of
workers, because they do not have
access to sufficient testing capacity,
executives and UAW officials said.
They will test workers who report
COVID-19 symptoms or have fevers
discovered by temperature scanners
installed at factory entrances.
“We have to continue to push for
this testing,” United Auto Workers
union Vice President Cindy Estrada
told Reuters on Wednesday. “Unless
we have testing weekly to keep
sick people out of the plant there is
always a risk.”
Adopting new safety practices is
just part of the work the companies
must do to reopen after an extraordi-
nary shutdown that has lasted two
months. Along assembly lines, UAW
skilled trades workers at Fiat
Chrysler’s Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio,
worked during the shutdown to install
shields to separate workers who would
otherwise get too close.
At one point on the line, one worker
is supposed to install a windshield
washer fluid bottle while another
installs fuses. Now, those workers are
separated by an orange plastic sheet
that descends from a hanger installed
over the vehicle, said UAW Local 12
President Bruce Baumhower, whose
local represents about 6,000 hourly
workers.
“Our UAW skilled trades guys have
worked through this entire shutdown
developing those kinds of systems,
those kinds of brackets and tooling,”
he said.
C M Y K
07 | FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020
BRIEFING
Tracing apps must not be
used for surveillance: EU
BRUSSELS: Covid-19 contact-tracing
apps must only be used during the
pandemic and will need to be auto-
matically de-activated once the crisis
is over, EU justice commissioner
Didier Reynders said on Thursday in
a bid to allay concerns over state sur-
veillance. Countries are rushing to
develop mobile tracing apps, hoping
smartphone technology could help
bring about a reopening of borders
and economic activity without
unleashing a second wave of the pan-
demic. “Apps cannot be used for mass
surveillance. Individuals will keep
control on their data,” Reynders told
EU lawmakers in a plenary sitting, as
deputies reiterated concerns over
risks that these apps could pose to
privacy.
Malaysia to allow mass prayers
KUALA LUMPUR: Muslim-majority
Malaysia will ease a ban on mass
prayers in mosques, starting from
Friday and ahead of this month’s Eid
festival, the government said, as it
gradually relaxes curbs that have
helped rein in the coronavirus. The
news follows last week’s re-opening
of many businesses in Malaysia,
which has a tally of 6,819 infections
and 112 deaths. It comes ahead of the
Eid holiday that ends the fasting
month of Ramadan, and falls on May
24 this year. The capital, Kuala
Lumpur, is among Malaysia’s federal
territories which will allow prayers
by congregations limited to 30 or
fewer, said Zulkifli Mohamad
Al-Bakri, the religious affairs
minister.
Iran dismisses US threat to
trigger return of UN sanctions
TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister on
Thursday dismissed as “foolish
claims” US threats to trigger a return
of all United Nations sanctions if the
UN Security Council does not extend
an arms embargo on Tehran, state
media reported. The US special envoy
for Iran, Brian Hook, on Wednesday
publicly confirmed the strategy two
weeks after an official, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said that
Washington had notified Britain,
France and Germany of its plan. The
UN embargo is due to expire in
October under a 2015 Iran nuclear
deal that US President Donald Trump
quit in 2018. (AGENCIES)
Schoolchildren wait in line to use the toilet in a schoolyard in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Thursday. Authorities say 86 percent of preschools
and primary schools are reopening this week.
Obama emerges as central figure in 2020 presidential race
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, MAY 14
Nearly eight years after he was last on
the ballot, Barack Obama is emerging
as a central figure in the 2020 presi-
dential election.
Democrats are eagerly embracing
Obama as a political wingman for Joe
Biden, who spent two terms by his
side as vice president. Obama remains
the party’s most popular figure, par-
ticularly with black voters and young-
er Democrats, and Biden’s presiden-
tial campaign is planning for him to
have a highly visible role in the
months to come.
For President Donald Trump, that
means an opportunity to focus the
spotlight on one of his favourite polit-
ical foils. In recent days, Trump and
his allies have aggressively pushed
conspiracy theories about Obama
designed to fire up the president’s con-
servative base, taint Biden by associa-
tion and distract from the glut of grim
health and economic news from the
coronavirus pandemic.
European Union offers vaccine hope as
WHO warns coronavirus here to stay
The World Health Organization has cautioned that the virus may never be wiped out entirely.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
GENEVA, MAY 14
The European Union’s medicines
agency suggested on Thursday that a
vaccine for the coronavirus could be
ready in year, even as the World Health
Organization warned that the disease
may never go away.
World leaders past and present have
insisted that any eventual vaccines
and treatments should be made availa-
ble to everyone free of charge, with
the global death toll from the disease
nearing 300,000.
The pandemic has caused massive
social and economic upheaval across
the planet and while some nations
have begun easing punishing lock-
downs, fears of a second wave have
kept many businesses shuttered and
people confined to their homes.
Washington ratcheted up tensions
over the crisis by accusing China of
trying to steal research, and US
President Donald Trump upped the
rhetoric with a colourful phrase that
was likely to infuriate Beijing.
“We just made a great Trade Deal,
the ink was barely dry, and the World
was hit by the Plague from China. 100
Trade Deals wouldn’t make up the
difference—and all those innocent
lives lost!” Trump tweeted.
With the race to find a vaccine gath-
ering pace, the European Medicines
Agency said one could possibly be
ready in a year based on data from
trials under way.
Announcing the forecast at a video
news conference, Marco Cavaleri, the
EMA’s head of biological health
threats and vaccines strategy, stressed
that it was a “best-case scenario”.
“We know also that there may be
delays,” he said, voicing scepticism
over reports a vaccine could be ready
as early as September.
And world leaders were among 140
signatories to a letter published
Thursday saying any vaccine should
not be patented and that the science
should be shared among nations.
“Governments and international
partners must unite around a global
guarantee which ensures that, when a
safe and effective vaccine is devel-
oped, it is produced rapidly at scale
and made available for all people, in
all countries, free of charge,” it said.
“Partisans on both sides want to
make this about Obama,” said Ned
Price, who served as spokesperson for
Obama’s White House National
Security Council.
The renewed political focus on
Obama sets the stage for an election
about the nation’s future that will also
be about its past. As Biden looks to
Obama for personal validation, he’s
also running to restore some of the
former president’s legacy, which has
been systematically dismantled by
Trump. The current president is run-
ning in part to finish that job.
Yet Trump’s anti-Obama push also
frequently takes on a darker, more
conspiratorial tone that goes far
beyond differences in health care poli-
cy and America’s role in the world.
His current focus is on the actions
Obama, Biden and their national secu-
rity advisers took in the closing days
of their administration, as they
viewed intelligence reports about
Michael Flynn.
Flynn had a short-lived stint as
Trump’s national security adviser
A medical worker takes a swab from a resident for the coronavirus test during home visits in Wuhan, the epicentre of China’s coronavirus
outbreak in central China’s Hubei province, on Thursday.
A vaccine could allow countries to
fully reopen from shutdowns that have
battered economies and thrown mil-
lions of people out of work.
But the WHO cautioned on
Wednesday that the virus may never
be wiped out entirely.
“This virus may become just anoth-
er endemic virus in our communities
and this virus may never go away,”
said Michael Ryan, the global health
body’s emergencies director.
“HIV has not gone away—but we
have come to terms with the virus.”
The UN also warned that the out-
break risked a major mental health
crisis and called for urgent action to
address psychological suffering.
The prospect of the disease hanging
AP/RSS
before being fired for lying to Vice
President Mike Pence about his
interactions with Russia’s ambassa-
dor to the US.
Trump’s own administration
acknowledged on Wednesday that
Obama advisers followed proper pro-
cedures in privately “unmasking”
Flynn’s name, which was redacted in
the intelligence reports for privacy
reasons.
Flynn ultimately pleaded guilty to
lying to the FBI, though Trump’s
Justice Department moved last week
to drop the case against him.
Despite there being no evidence of
wrongdoing by Obama, Biden or other
administration officials, Trump is
eagerly pushing the notion of an
unspecified crime against the former
president, branding it “Obamagate.”
He’s being backed up by Republican
allies, including Iowa Sen. Chuck
Grassley who took to the Senate floor
this week to ask of the Flynn matter:
“What did Obama and Biden know,
and when did they know it?”
Trump’s zeal has sparked fears
around leaves governments facing a
delicate balancing act between sup-
pressing the pathogen and getting
economies up and running.
And with more gloomy forecasts
emerging from the US, Trump has
increasingly looked to pin the blame
on China, where the virus first
emerged in December. US security
agencies accused Chinese hackers of
attempting to steal intellectual prop-
erty related to treatments.
“China’s efforts to target these sec-
tors pose a significant threat to
our nation’s response to Covid-19,” the
FBI and the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency
(CISA) said, without giving evidence
to support the allegations.
Typhoon forces
risky evacuations in
virus-hit Philippines
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
MANILA, MAY 14
A powerful typhoon hit the central
Philippines Thursday, forcing a com-
plicated and risky evacuation for tens
of thousands of people, many of them
heading to cramped shelters without
proper safety gear to guard against
the coronavirus.
Typhoon Vongfong sheared roofs
from houses, uprooted coconut trees
and dumped heavy rain as it made
landfall on the island of Samar, send-
ing locals to emergency shelters.
Because of the twin threat of the
storm and the virus, evacuation cen-
tres in the central Philippines said
they will only accept half their capac-
ity and evacuees will have to wear
facemasks. Hundreds of thousands
live in coastal areas and flimsy homes
near where the storm blasted ashore,
and tens of millions more on the
storm’s forecast path that runs near
the capital Manila.
“We are trapped in a nightmare sit-
uation where we face the threat of the
among some former Obama and Biden
advisers about how far he may be will-
ing to go in using the levers of govern-
ment to push his case against them in
an election year. The Justice
Department is conducting an investi-
gation into the origins of the Russia
probe that ensnared Flynn and other
Trump associates.
Trump’s renewed focus on Obama
comes as Republicans grow increas-
ingly anxious that the rising coronavi-
rus death toll and cratering economy
will damage the president’s re-elec-
tion prospects in November. More
than 84,000 Americans have died from
the virus, and more than 30 million
have claimed unemployment.
Biden’s campaign drew a direct con-
nection between the president’s
attacks on Obama and the twin crises
battering his administration.
Trump’s emphasis on Obama also
comes as the former president begins
to emerge from a three-year period of
political restraint as he prepares to
embrace his role as leading surrogate
for Biden.
AP/RSS
Beijing reacted with fury to the
“smearing” and claimed China was
leading the world in Covid-19 vaccine
research and treatment so had no need
to conduct cyber espionage.
Trump has been pushing for a swift
resumption of economic activity in
the US, often against the advice of
health officials, as he tries to jump-
start the world’s largest economy
before a November election.
The United States is the country
hardest-hit by Covid-19, logging a total
of more than 84,000 deaths.
Top infectious diseases expert
Anthony Fauci has said reopening too
soon risks triggering uncontrollable
outbreaks, but Trump dismissed the
call for caution as “not acceptable”.
storm as well as Covid,” evacuee Mary
Ann Encinares said at a shelter, where
she and her children had fashioned
masks out of handkerchiefs and rub-
ber bands.
“We will be overwhelmed so we’re
expanding our evacuation to include
churches,” said Cedric Daep, disaster
chief in central Albay province.
Some towns had also converted
their evacuation centres into sites to
deal with coronavirus patients, forc-
ing them to consider using schools
shuttered by the pandemic.
“The problem there is how do you
address the issue of social distancing
inside the classrooms?,” asked Ben
Evardone, governor of the central
province Eastern Samar.
Vongfong is packing gusts up to 190
kilometres (120 miles) an hour as well
as drenching rains that could cause
flooding and landslides, the national
weather agency said.
Areas in the typhoon’s path are
under varying levels of virus quaran-
tine, yet many people are staying at
home to avoid infection.
In this November 9, 2016 photo, Vice President Joe Biden, left, looks upwards while listening
to President Barack Obama speak in the Rose Garden of the White House.
WORLD
Pakistan readies for
second battle against
crop-devouring
locusts
REUTERS
KARACHI, MAY 14
To many farmers in southeast
Pakistan, an impending locust attack
when summer crops of cotton, sugar-
cane and rice are being sown, and
fruit and vegetables are ready to be
picked is a much bigger problem than
the coronavirus pandemic.
“If the crops are eaten up by the
locusts, we will have a dire food secu-
rity issue on our hands,” said Zahid
Bhurgri, a farmer from Mirpur Khas
district in Sindh province.
“The price of flour and vegetables
will sky-rocket,” making staple foods
hard for some to afford, added
Bhurgri, who is also general secretary
of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture.
The United Nations’ Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) esti-
mates losses to agriculture from
locusts this year could be as
high as PKR 353 billion ($2.2 billion)
for winter crops like wheat and pota-
toes and about PKR 464 billion for
summer crops.
A May update from the FAO warned
it would be “imperative” to contain
and control the desert locust infesta-
tion in the midst of the additional
impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on
health, livelihoods, food security and
nutrition for Pakistan’s most poor and
vulnerable communities.
Last year, Pakistan
suffered its worst
attack of locusts
since 1993.
Last year, Pakistan suffered its
worst attack of locusts since 1993,
for which the country was largely
unprepared.
Farmers now have little confidence
the government will help them
fight a new wave of voracious insects
threatening their harvests—though
officials said extensive measures were
being taken.
“Neither the central, nor the pro-
vincial government is doing anything
about it,” said Bhurgri, who grows
vegetables, red chillies, cotton and
sugarcane on about 600 acres of land.
The locusts arrived in Pakistan
from Iran in June 2019, devouring
cotton, wheat and maize, among
other crops.
The invasion was initially expected
to subside by mid-November. But it
has persisted due to favourable weath-
er conditions for continued locust
breeding, linked to global warming,
according to FAO’s Pakistan office.
“Good vegetation due to plentiful
rain and a sandy soil provided a per-
fect setting for the insects to multiply,”
said Muhammad Tariq Khan, techni-
cal director at the Department of
Plant Protection in the Ministry of
National Food Security and Research.
In a recent letter to Prime Minister
Imran Khan, Sindh Chief Minister
Murad Ali Shah warned of a “massive
locust attack” expected on local farm-
land when swarms from Iran reach
his province in mid-May, which
could “prove more harmful” than last
year’s invasion.
FAO locust forecaster Keith
Cressman said locusts that had unusu-
ally stayed in parts of Punjab, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa and the Indus Valley
during the winter would now move
southeast to their summer breeding
areas in the Cholistan and Tharparkar
deserts from May to July.
Swarms breeding in Pakistan’s
deserts will likely be joined by others
from southern Iran in a few
weeks, with more likely to arrive from
the Horn of Africa around July,
experts predict.
The swarms are expected to be
much larger than in 2019, because
their numbers increase on average
20-fold with each generation.
AP/RSS
C M Y K

FOOD & TRAVEL
Covid-19 threatens the very survival of restaurants
Nepal’s restaurant industry is one of the worst hit by the pandemic, and it may become one of the last ones to recover.
TSERING NGODUP LAMA
KATHMANDU
I
n January 2018, 47-year-old Sonam
Lama pooled in all her savings of
Rs 700,000 and added that to a loan
of Rs 150,000 to buy a restaurant on
sale in Boudha. For Lama, the
investment was huge, but the small
eatery, Didiko Khajaghar, was located in
an area that saw a lot of footfall, and she
knew that if she worked hard enough
getting the returns on the investment
wouldn’t be very difficult.
Until January this year, a year into
operations, Lama worked seven days
a week, and her daily sales averaged
Rs 6,000. After paying the rent, utility
bills, and her three-member staff their
salaries, she made a monthly profit of
around Rs 35,000. She was well on her way
to recouping her initial investment, and
then Covid-19 happened. As the virus
spread rapidly across the globe and cases
started appearing in Nepal, the govern-
ment announced a nation-wide lockdown
on March 24.
The lockdown forced thousands of res-
taurants, from high-end to low-margin
ones, like the overnight, bringing the
restaurant industry to a grinding halt,
leaving business owners—and the thou-
sands of workers who depend on the
industry—deeply worried about the
future.
“The first time I heard about the viral
infection was in early February. It wasn’t
something that worried me, let alone pre-
dict how it would go on to impact my life,”
says Lama. By early March, the number
of people visiting her restaurant had less-
ened significantly. For restaurants like
Lama’s that have low profit margin and
rely on a lot of footfall, it was a huge blow.
The day before the lockdown, all three
of Lama’s staff asked to go on leave so
that they could return to their village and
be with their families. “I paid the staff
their full month’s salary and dropped
them to the bus stop. I remember telling
them that things should be normal in a
few weeks and that we could all resume
work. It has been more than 50 days now,”
says Lama.
For Bibhat Karki, who works as the
food and beverage director at some of the
high-end restaurants in Kathmandu—
like the Embassy Restaurant, in Lazimpat;
Oskar Bar and Grill, in Lazimpat;
Tamarind, in Jhamsikhel and Lazimpat;
and Zen Bistro and Cafe, in Bansbari—
Published and Printed by Kantipur Publications Pvt. Ltd., Central Business Park, Thapathali, Kathmandu, Nepal, P. B. No. 8559, Phone: 5135000, Fax: 977-1-5135057, e-mail: kpost@kmg.com.np, Regd. No. 32/049/050, Chairman & Managing Director: Kailash Sirohiya, Director: Swastika Sirohiya, Editor: Sanjeev Satgainya
There are 3,300 registered restaurants in the country. A majority of the more than 60,000 people working there have been rendered jobless.
the slowdown in business started early.
“After mid-February, we started seeing a
decrease in footfall at all our five restau-
rants. By the end of February, business
had reduced by 50 percent,” says Karki.
“And then the lockdown was announced
and we had to shut down all our five res-
taurants, leaving 200 of our employees
out of work.”
The restaurant industry is one of the
industries worst hit by Covid-19 across
the globe. According to Restaurant and
Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN), there
are 3,300 registered restaurants in the
country. “The industry directly employs
more than 60,000 people, the majority of
whom have been rendered jobless by the
lockdown,” says Araniko Rajbhandari,
president of REBAN.
One of those thousands is 28-year-old
Suman Sapkota, who has worked in the
restaurant industry for the past nine
years. Until March this year, he was a
service captain at a restaurant in Boudha.
A day before the government announced
the lockdown, Sapkota managed to return
to his village in Kavrepalanchok. “Even
Even after the
lockdown is lifted,
business will be
unsteady, say
restaurateurs.
though there was still a week left in the
month, the restaurant’s owner gave me
the full month salary,” says Sapkota.
But that was the last salary he has
received.
“I am glad I managed to return to my
village on time. Living in Kathmandu
without pay would have been extremely
challenging,” says Sapkota, who lives in a
one-room rented accommodation in
Gaurighat. “I don’t know when the lock-
down will be lifted, and even if it is, I
don’t know if I’ll still have a job waiting
for me. I hope I do.”
While the restaurants have had zero
PHOTO COURTESY: EMBASSY RESTAURANT AND BAR
revenue since the lockdown started,
Rajbhandari says, they still continue to
have operational costs. “Most restaurants
spend about 18 to 22 percent of their reve-
nue paying staff salaries, and despite the
lockdown, many restaurants are still con-
tinuing to pay their staff,” says
Rajbhandari.
For instance, according to Karki, the
five restaurants that he manages have
continued to pay the 200 employees that
work with the eateries. “But if the cur-
rent situation prolongs, I fear whether
we’ll be able to continue to do so,” says
Karki.
Another major concern, according to
Rajbhandari, for restaurateurs is rent.
“More than 90 percent of restaurants are
located on rented premises,” says
Rajbhandari, who says that he hasn’t
heard of incidents of landlords pestering
restaurateurs to pay rent for the past two
months. “They have shown solidarity
with restaurateurs, which is something
we all need to do during these trying
times.”
Lama says that she too hasn’t received
FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2020 | 08
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a call from her landlord to pay the rent,
yet. “But I will have to eventually pay
him, and for small businesses like us,
paying Rs 28,000 a month as rent when
there is not a single rupee coming in is a
big deal,” says Lama.
If the restaurant business is to survive
the lockdown, restaurateurs say that the
government must make it easier for res-
taurants to start takeaway or delivery
services. According to Rajbhandari, some
15 restaurants in Kathmandu have start-
ed online deliveries. “But because of a
lack of clarity regarding passes for vehi-
cles delivering food, those who are operat-
ing online services are dealing with many
challenges regarding travel timings,”
says Rajbhandari.
Oskar Bar and Grill, one of the restau-
rants Karki manages, is one of the hand-
ful of restaurants that have started tak-
ing online orders. “We have had to do so
so that we could at least cover some por-
tion of our expenses. We started the ser-
vice on May 10, and our daily turnover
has been around Rs 20,000, which is less
than 10 percent of the restaurant’s daily
turnover before Covid-19,” says Karki.
But if the industry is to pull through
the tough phase, the government will
have a very important role to play, say
restaurateurs. “By providing restaura-
teurs with working capital and a longer
payback period can go a long way in help-
ing the industry stay afloat,” says
Rajbhandari.
Such measures would be crucial even
after the lockdown is lifted and restau-
rants are allowed to resume work, as
many restaurateurs say that it won’t be
business as usual for them. “Until or
unless we have a vaccine or a cure, which
is highly unlikely in the near future, peo-
ple will hesitate to eat out. What we can
do from our part is have stringent safety
and cleanliness measures in place so that
those who do come to eat feel comfortable
doing so,” says Rajbhandari.
And to ensure public health safety, the
restaurant association is currently work-
ing with the Nepal Tourism Board and
creating standard operating procedures
for its member restaurants. “The road to
normalcy is going to be long but until
then what we can do is make sure we sur-
vive,” says Rajbhandari. “For the foresee-
able future, restaurants will have to con-
tent if they even manage to make 50 per-
cent of the revenue they had before
Covid-19. Right now, the focus has to be on
survival.”