Kathmandu
I wrote this when I got back from Nepal about a month ago, but I am just getting around to posting...
Written while listening to Bob Seger's "Kathmandu"
An example of how reconstruction has not started
It was an interesting time to be in Kathmandu.
The aftermath of the April 25 earthquake can be seen everywhere you look, in subtle and not so subtle ways. In addition to earthquake and aftershock damage, the blockade on the border with India, caused by protests (reportedly supported by India) is strangling the country. Nepal is struggling without the usual imports from India, particularly fuel and medication, and it is getting colder by the day.
Our Nepalese partner told us that the daily traffic resembles light weekend traffic and motor bikes, bicycles, and rickshaws have taken over the roads. There are long lines of cars parked outside gas stations that sit in line for days, waiting for word that the station actually had fuel. Military personnel are at the stations to protect the fuel and control the crowds. We are able to get around because our partner organization is an international NGO and during the crisis their official vehicles get fuel from the embassy's private pump. Embassies and organizations like the UN all have their own gas pumps within their compounds, usually in a locked metal cage for extra protection.
The fuel available to the public is imported from China and is carefully rationed out: 10 liters to cars and trucks, 5 liters to motorbikes. There is a day limit as well (you can only get fuel every 4 days, or something) but I can't remember the exact time timing.
Taxis charge at lease 5 times what they normally would due to extremely expensive fuel (between 450 - 550 rupees per liter). Right now, the Nepali Rupee is about 104 rupees to a dollar. Taxis are scarce and it was a challenge to find one anywhere in the city.
Motorbikes waiting in line for fuel
The food options were also quite limited. Restaurant menus have been limited to one or two pages, with fairly basic food (rice, daal, potatoes, eggs). There are two factors affecting the food availability: food is not getting imported and the food that is produced in Nepal cannot be transported between regions because fuel is too expensive.
Many of these challenges are a result of a dysfunctional government that does not have its act together. Nepal faces the incrementally slow development of a Reconstruction Authority, a government agency that was supposed to be put in place months ago to handle and coordinate all aspects of the reconstruction effort. The agency is meant to be an umbrella to coordinate all international donors and projects, but there is still no mechanism in place to handle the large donor pledges. The government voted on Thursday to put a different government commission in charge of the reconstruction coordination because the Nepalese people and the international donors are frustrated with the delayed reconstruction. While this was a step, there is no guarantee that the new agency will move forward any quicker.
Damage to the old royal palace
Nepal also continues to experience aftershocks. After the earthquake, our partner said that the aftershocks were coming every 1/2 hour, but they are much rarer now. There were two aftershocks that registered over 4.5 on the Richter scale during our visit. We didn't feel them (they did not last long), but it was widely discussed whenever we were waiting for a meeting. Everyone in the reception area discussed the most recent aftershocks like other places discuss unusual weather or bad traffic. The resilience of everyone we met amazed me. The situation in Nepal has not improved over the past months and people are still going about their everyday lives, stepping over the rubble that is still lying in the Kathmandu streets.
Due to the fuel crisis, we did not have the time, or fuel, to leave Kathmandu on this trip, but we heard stories of the devastation in the mountains from local NGOs. Sadly, the rebuilding effort is falling victim to political infighting as people struggle to heat their homes and provide meals for themselves.
In spite of all these challenges, I enjoyed the short time we had in Kathmandu. There are charming little streets and grand squares that I would have like to explore, and the local crafts are gorgeous. I would have liked to sit in a tea shop for an afternoon, or go biking around the city. The biking could have been difficult due to the air quality though... The smog was a bit oppressive.
A beautiful view of the
mountains as we flew out of Kathmandu
I know that we were surrounded by mountains, but I rarely saw even the foothills through the smog (Seen above, foothills I knew were there but saw this one time...)
But the flights in and out were spectacular.
The last indication of the dire fuel situation in Nepal came just as I left. The flight from KL to Kathmandu was about 4 hours 45 minutes, so I was a bit confused when the return flight was listed as 6 1/2 hours. As I checked in at the airport, there was a small notice board that said that plane would be stopping in Dhaka to refuel, due to the fuel crisis in Nepal. Many other desks had similar notices. We were lucky that planes were still pretty reliably flying in and out of Kathmandu, given the situation. The airlines have found workarounds and it didn't add too much time to our travel.
I cannot wait to go back and next time I may even get some sightseeing in next time...
For a look at how the blockade continues to affect Nepal, check out this
published in December