Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg thanked FaceBook users who donated fifteen million USD to Nepal earthquake. There's a video. I agree with him, it was a good thing. The International Medical Corps was the primary NGO that used the money, they are logistics specialists and they did a fine job.
We also learned that the Nepal Government has not spent one penny of the 4.8 billion USD pledged by various world governments after the quake.
We'll get back to that, later. I write these diaries because the international media seems to not be covering anything in Nepal. If Nepal were a US state, it would be bigger than every state other than California.....
Executive Summary:
Today is Day Thirteen of the petrol crisis in Nepal. If you haven't been paying any attention and need to get caught up, watch this video by Subina Shrestha, a journalist who reports for Al Jazeera English. If you go to the FaceBook video and then this one, you can compare and contrast the two visions of Nepal being presented. I think Mark Zuckerberg should meet Subina Shrestha.
For that matter, Mark Zuckerberg might enjoy reading this piece about post-earthquake tourism to Nepal. When you read it, remember it was written before the petrol crisis hit Kathmandu. Even the largest and most opulent tourist hotels are affected, and yesterday I relayed the report that they may need to shut down in a few days. Yesterday on Twitter there were reports that some departing tourists were seen walking the five mile route from their hotel to the airport. With their baggage.
Today, some limited petrol trucks and LP gas "bullets" are being allowed through the border, with police escort. In Birgunj, two transports were torched; that crossing ( the biggest of all) remains closed. Diplomatic talks between India and Nepal are continuing. The pundits of Kathmandu are gnashing their teeth over the fantasy of opening the Chiinese border and seeing oil flow into Nepal from the north as if by magic (something I debunked in a previous blog right here in DailyKOS). Talks between the UDMF (representing the people of the Terai) and the government in Kathmandu, have begun. And there is palace intrigue as to who will be the next Prime Minister of Nepal.
In the meantime......
July 2014 in Bharatpur Nepal on one of my "Road Trips" to Terai. When the teraain is mostly flat, a rickshaw makes a lot of sense. on my arrival I hired one for my baggage and another for myself. I can brag that I have commuted to work via rickshaw.
Rickshaws make most of acute fuel shortage
Oct 6, 2015- At a time when the country is reeling under acute shortage of petroleum products due to India’s unofficial trade embargo, business has never been so brisk for rickshaw drivers.
The rickshaw drivers have seen their business shoot up in recent times, specially after their stagnant days following the April 25 earthquake and its aftershocks.
According to the drivers, they have been making up to Rs4,000 a day ever since the petroleum fiasco grappled the nation. “I could possibly make more at this time. But since it requires heavy labour, I am not in the physical condition to work for long shifts,” said Bahadur Lama, 41, waiting for passengers in Sundhara. http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/...
Who would have guessed that there were 472 licensed rickshaw drivers in Kathmandu?
Interview: "The concerns of the Madhesi parties will be addressed"
The Kathmandu Post published a Q & A interview with the Finance Minister of Nepal, Ram Sharan Mahat, who gave a cogent summary of the political state of affairs.
.....Against this backdrop, Mukul Humagain and John Narayan Parajuli spoke to the Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat, also a senior Nepali Congress leader, about the ongoing negotiations with the Madhes-centric parties, the repercussion of the blockade on Nepal, the pending reconstruction work and the formation of the new government.
Well worth the reading.
widely published after the earthquake but unfortunately I do not know the name of the photographer. holding on to the familiar is a way to cope with stress. So is envisioning an alternate reality.
http://www.nepalitimes.com/...
Nearly six months after a deadly earthquake, political aftershocks have prevented the 3 million affected people from receiving through the government the $4.1 billion pledged by the international community for rebuilding their homes.
The government formed the National Reconstruction Authority two months after the 25 April earthquake, and then on 13 August appointed Govinda Raj Pokhrel as its CEO. But parliament failed to ratify the ordinance to set it up, so Pokhrel is heading an organization that doesn’t formally exist.
Policy wonks?
For those of you out there that wish to go into the exact legalese of the Nepal Constitution, be advised, the English-language version is 570+ pages.
https://drcnepal.files.wordpress.com/...
I should add, the website for the group that published this, was very vague as to who they are and how they are funded. Caveat Emptor. http://drcnepal.org/...
Equilibrium
The long summary is, today is a sort of strange equilibrium. The problems exist. The chattering class of Nepal is - chattering. Any additional day in which the riot police stay in their barracks and no protesters are killed, is progress. The serious talks are going on behind the scenes ( we are led to hope so anyway).
My photo. Figurines at The Golden Temple in Lalitpur. Largely undamaged; 400 years old. The donors to the construction get memorialized by these type of statue. Even though I focus on the gritty reality of Nepal in these blogs and in my books, it's still an amazing and beautiful place.....
3:52 PM PT: update: I see that the Community Spotlight.
Thanks!
It's a thrill. I've been bulldogging this situation for a few weeks now, if any newbies want to catch up, please feel free to look at past blogs!