One Road to Rule Them All
There is one main land route between Kathmandu and the rest of the world, the Prithvi Highway. follows a deep river valley, hanging on the canyon wall, with hundreds of blind turns. One one side? a cliff. On the other side? a precipice.
From UK Telegraph, stock photo. This gives an idea of the terrain. the road is hung on the side of the valley. Tourists wishing to see elephants and one-horned rhinos and tigers in Nepal, take a bus to Chitwan; all cargo to Kathmandu valley comes up this road.
It's 108 miles to Naubise, and further still to Narayangarh, where it meets the road from Birgunj, the city where most cargo enters Nepal. Here's a
30-second video. And another -
this is one I took in 2008 when I was stopped for six hours in a previous protest.
from Kantipur. the trucks go slow uphill. I was once in a six-hour traffic jam on this road, that looked pretty much the same.
There are other roads to Kathmandu, where the hairpin turns and difficulty are even more challenging. The first car to arrive in Kathmandu arrived in pieces in the 1930s, carried on the footpath that preceded the highway by teams of porters. It was a gift from Adolf Hitler to the King of Nepal.
This is the Tribhuvan Highway; but - similar to the one we're discussing. Do you get the picture?
In the ongoing drama of Nepal, the people near the lower end of the road have decided to prevent all traffic into Kathmandu - effectively laying siege to a city 108 miles away. Shortages of staples such as salt, have been reported. Oh, they've been at it since August, strictly speaking, but - now it's getting formalized.
The BBC did a Nepal segment on their series "World's Most Dangerous Roads" a while back. And yes, I myself have been in two accidents - one of which was a bus rollover. (Yes, it sucked.)
This is prelude. The stage is set. The actors enter the scene.....
For a guide to this new chapter of drama, jump below the fold.
When the new constitution was announced, Kathmandu celebrated. The Terai wore black. The banner reads "Black Holiday ("Kali Devash")
Right now, since the new constitution was "promulgated", the political parties in the Terai, the flat part of the country, are furious. Fifty per cent of the population lives there, it's where the industry in located (Biratnagar is the industrial city) and all supplies for Kathmandu enter Nepal via "dry ports" in this landlocked country. But they people are not proportionately represented in the government, which is firmly in the hands of Brahmin-caste men from "the hills." Before the constitution, there was intense negotiation as to how to fix this, and India got involved. In my previous blog, I described the specific points in the new constitution that are disputed.
A Long Queue at the Border Towns
Already, 4,000 trucks were reported to be waiting on the India side of just one port - Birgunj. This is duplicated on a smaller scale at just about every entry port. It's costing money to be idle, the drivers are being preyed upon, and such things as petrol are not getting to Kathmandu. ( all petrol and LP gas comes up with the other cargo. Jet fuel arrives via this route, to the only International Airport).
In Kathmandu, the initial euphoria of having the constitution was overtaken by the realization that supplies were not arriving, and there was a wave of chauvinism, blaming India for a blockade. In fact, the backlog of trucks is caused by the unwillingness of drivers to cross into Nepal and face angry mobs hurling petrol bombs - what we would call "Molotov cocktails."
Today, the parties of the Terai announced that they would escalate the blockade. I wrote a sort of travelogue to the Terai region ofNepal in my other blog.
Police personnel lining up in front of the demonstration staged by United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) cadres against the new constitution at the Indo-Nepal border near Birgunj, Parsa on Thursday, September 24, 2015 . Photo: Ram Sarraf/ THT
A Bridge
Here is a link to a video from AL Jazeera English showing previous protests in Birgunj. Americans will recognize the scene at the bridge in the video, showing Kathmandu-based leaders hanging in effigy.
In the photo above, the protesters have chosen a different bridge. The riot police are lining up in what is now a familiar drill to all. There are fifteen million people in Terai; the Nepal Army has 100,000 soldiers. Bear in mind that while this is happening, the earthquake relief in the hilly part of country is being neglected and 800,000 people are in "food insecurity." Winter is approaching. And for the "greenies" out there - when the hill people can't get cheap LP gas, they use their back up - wood - which contributes to deforestation the Himalayan watershed.
There are also concerns that the country may face acute fuel shortage due to lack of adequate storage facilities. According to Nepal Oil Corporation, import of LPG stood at only 19,000 tonnes in August, but the demand has been surging as the festive season nears. During normal times, the country consumes 21,000 tonnes of cooking gas in a month and that increases to 26,000 tonnes in winters due to power shortage. Nepal is reliant on Indian transporters to ferry cooking gas across the country. http://thehimalayantimes.com/...
They let 73 fuel tankers through yesterday. Not enough.
This strategy has been tried before, most notably by the Maoists several years ago. At that time, the farmers in Terai were not on board because crops were rotting in the fields.
UDMFcadres staging a demonstration at the Indo-Nepal border near Birgunj, Parsa on Thursday. Photo: Ram Sarraf/ THT (my comment: often the "cadre" is young men and boys throwing stones. In this photo, the leaders are shown. There seems to be unanimity in Terai about the need for this protest.)
Negotiations
Many parties, from the beginning, have told the leaders in Kathmandu that they need to negotiate with the people in the Terai. India received fierce nationalistic blowback for perceived interference ( which was partially denied - causing one wag on Twitter to tweet: "Believe Nothing Until it's Officially Denied" - an Orwellian rule if there ever was one. Nepalis have a fine sense of ironic humor).
One major leader, Baburam Bhatterai, a Marxist, made a public statement of support for the Madheshi cause. The newspaper article starts with:
In an exclusive interview to Hindustan Times, Bhattarai declared he too will join the movement of Madhesis, Tharus and other hill ethnic groups for justice and an amendment is necessary to address their concerns.
The Maoist leader slammed a section of his own party leadership - hinting at chairman Prachanda without naming him - for not standing strongly by the agenda of rights for the oppressed they had raised in the ‘People’s War’
Every Nepali politician is judged by the way they relate to India. I do not know enough to speculate as to how this specific statement will affect things. It's a crack in the solidarity of the "Big Four" who led this process. There was a cartoon published to show the Prime Ministers of India and Nepal during the constitution-drafting process:
Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, and Sushil Koirala, Nepal PM. This particular cartoonist is famous in Nepal.
Stay Tuned
It is highly likely that further dramatic news from Nepal, will come from the efforts to escalate the blockade. This is not going to be over in a short period of time. I seem to be beating the New York Times in sharing these events - when they cover it at all.
On a personal note, I am in USA, just got back from a year teaching critical care skills to nurses and doctors. I was based in Kathmandu but spent fifty percent of my time in the Terai. (It's where I was when the earthquake happened). I've written two books about Nepal, and the second oneserved as an exploration as to how such gentle wonderful people could have a civil war.