LIFT THE BURDEN

Enabling the Differently-Abled of Nepal

(Published in The Kathmandu Post, November 10, 2015)

                                                                                           Sandhya Regmi

sandhyaregmi2000@gmail.com         

Just imagine, for a second, when the ability to move your hands and legs freely - the most precious gift bestowed by nature on human body - gets robbed suddenly making you dependent on wheelchair or crutches, and in the worst case bed-ridden for the rest of your life. Can you still see the survival of your life’s colorful dreams? Now imagine what it takes for that wheel-chaired you to lead a dignified, fulfilling, and inspirational life.

Every year, thousands of spinal-cord-injured are compelled to face this in reality due to man-made accidents or natural disasters. A spinal-cord injury blocks communication between the brain and the rest of the body—partially or completely paralyzing the body’s whole host of muscular and nerve functions. The National Federation of Disabled, Nepal (NFDN) has thus categorized spinal injury as Disability Class ‘A’ among other disabilities as visually impaired, hearing & speech impaired, mobility impaired and mentally retarded.

A spinal-cord-injured needs much more than a wheel-chair. Physiotherapy treatment and medical stabilization for rehabilitation, psychological counseling for motivation, vocational training that helps find a job. Wheelchair-friendly public facilities, and our transformed mindset that treats the differently-abled not with pity, but embraces them in the society with love and respect.    

Challenges faced by them are enormous. Gayatri Dahal, an active member of NSCISA and social worker who is bound to wheel-chair since the past 30 years of her life, puts it this way- “We, the spinal injured, are like small babies because our daily life cannot run without a volunteer by our side, our legs are impaired, our bladder and bowel movement are not under our control. Especially due to this we are considered burden by our own family members, and it is not unnatural to have the suicidal thoughts as a last resort to all our problems. The spinal injured are highly vulnerable to urinary tract infection, and have high risk of dying from depression, inception and bed sores.”

So, where do we stand in addressing their basic needs?

To start with, we do have a Swiss-NGOs-funded Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Centre (SIRC) in Banepa’s Saanga, which was inaugurated in April 2002 by Sir Edmund Hillary. The Centre rehabilitates the patients by physical and emotional healings, conducts psychological counseling to boost their morale and resolve to rehabilitate, and provides vocational training needed to find job and to reintegrate and restructure their lives.

While the the physical rehabilitation’s importance is obvious, the role of counseling experts is vital in installing and driving forward the patients’ hope. A fellow spinal-injured is best positioned to lead others in the path of hope, because their peers’ life-examples and experiences have power to fuel and motivate them. Artificial-legged Thomas Whittaker climbed the Mt. Everest in 1998 and so did  Erik Weihemmayer in 2001 despite being blind.

In Nepal, a team of 9 such spinal injured wheel-chaired counselors have taken an initiative in that direction. In a desperate attempt to prove their enormous passion for life and sports, these  peer counselors have established Nepal Spinal Cord Injury Sports Association (NSCISA) in 2009 and started running a series of sport activities in collaboration with Danish Sports Organization for the Disabled. The Association became the first-of-its-kind organization to introduce wheelchair basketball, para swimming, and wheelchair cricket in Nepal.

In  2014, the Association’s activities went beyond the national boarder, when it participated in the international wheelchair basketball tournament in Bangladesh. This year, the Association  hosted in Kathmandu the first ever international wheelchair cricket series between Nepal and Pakistan.  

If we are to know more about the spinal-injured, nothing compares to meeting and associating  them in person. This is so, at least in my case. Three years ago, when I first visited the SIRC in Saanga, I found myself in a world that I had never known before. Despite themselves being victims of unfortunate accidents, struggles, and sufferings, the spinal injured had divine gifts to offer: their heart-winning smiles. I could see in their innocent eyes the love for and hope in life, despite the devastating new realities that they were compelled to face. I salute the spirit of  these extraordinary people.

In the days that followed, I made repeated visits to them. I started inviting them as special guests in my solo-painting exhibitions in Nepal Art Council Babarmahal, literary ceremonies, social gatherings, and even to play “Dheusi-Bhailo’ during Deepawali in my yard. In no time, my intimacy and love to them grew to such an extent that the spinal-injured became among my best friends.

That friendship proved crucial in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake when we joined hands in the pious mission for these earthquake victims. 

On 13th June 2015, we coordinated and organized the Earthquake-Refreshment Wheelchair Basketball Tournament to the wheel-chair bound with the aim to provide them physical and mental refreshment and also to raise awareness of sports among the disabled. The following day, we organized a refreshment programme to all the spinal-injured patients undergoing treatment in SIRC, where the patients had almost doubled following the two great quakes. We are thankful to German Nepal Friendship Association (GNFA) for sponsoring these events.

To assist in their emotional healing, we engaged them in creative art and counseling. Involving a group of artists, we organized an art therapy to the earthquake-traumatized differently-abled children in SOS Village in Jorpati and Disabled Rehabilitation Centre (DRC) in Gokarna. We counseled the spinal-injured victims from the earthquake in Jorpati’s Nepal Orthopedic Hospital.

   

As every human has the right to live, love, marry, and reproduce, there is no valid reason why the differently-abled should be deprived of these rights. There should be no hindrance in their path of love, marriage, and family building. It is high time we, as a society, provide them helping hands.

We have long way to go in developing disabled-friendly infrastructures: public toilets, hospitals, educational institutions, office buildings, recreational and entertainment facilities, historical monuments, temples and pagodas. Inauguration of Khagendra Disabled-Accessible Road in Jorpati on 8th September 2015 proves that we can do it.

Differently-abled can not only stand on their own, but also are capable of leading the entire society, if given the right opportunities. Stephan Hawking—one of the greatest scientists and physicists of the 21^st century—is a living legend, despite being physically-challenged and bound to wheel-chair. Jhamak Ghimire—born victim of cerebral palsy—has inspired the world through her literary writings.

Efforts at individual and organization levels have been and will remain crucial in rehabilitating and integrating the physically-challenged with the society. But the state must lead the effort by systematically studying the issue, formulating related policies, promulgating acts, and developing specialized institutes and public facilities for the differently-abled.

(The author is advisor to the Nepal Spinal Cord Injury Sports Association (NSCISA) and Spinal Cord Injury Network)

HUMAN HEALTH IMPACT OF AIR POLLUTION IN KATHMANDU VALLEY

Something In The Air
(Published in The Kathmandu Post, September 25, 2015)

                                                                                           Sandhya Regmi

sandhyaregmi2000@gmail.com         

Air pollution’s human-health impact can be detrimental and irreversible, whether the pollution is sourced to industrial accident or normal operation.

Obviously, industrial accidents can have devastating health effects. In what is considered as the world's worst industrial disaster, Bhopal’s methyl-isocyanate gas leakage in 1984 killed over 8000 and injured over 500,000. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s catastrophic  accident  in 1986 released radioactive particles into much of Europe’s atmosphere with eventual death toll of 4000 and radiation exposure to 586,000. Even the high-tech country’s residents are not immune. Fukushima nuclear disaster of Japan in 2011 took the lives of 1232 and is feared to cause cancer to thousands.  

The effects can be no less even if the industries purport to operate normally. Donora Pennsylvania’s 43% of the total population became ill and 20 died in 1948 due to excess of sulphurdioxide and particulate matter in the ambient air. In London, thick fog and temperature inversion killed 4000 in 1952. King's College reported that 9,500 Londoners had their lives shortened by air pollution in 2010, accounting for a fifth of all deaths in the city that year. The effect was deadlier where traffic was heaviest. In Sao Paulo, Brazil, air pollution killed 4,655 people in 2011, contributing to over twice as many deaths that year than both AIDS (874) and breast cancer (1,277) combined. Quite recently in September 8, 2015 an unseasonal suffocating sandstorm hit Lebanon leading to 5 deaths and 750 cases of asphyxiation (shortness of breath).

Throughout the world, hundreds of such incidents with alarming levels of air pollution are compromising human health. Almost a decade ago, WHO had estimated that annually about 3 million die prematurely due to air-pollution-induced health complications, out of which 30% die due to lung cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases; and out of these, 150,000 deaths reportedly occur in south Asia alone. In a new report, WHO estimates annual air-pollution related death at 7 million, comprising one in eight of total global deaths. This finding more than doubles previous estimates and confirms that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health disaster.

The susceptibility of lung cancer—the primary culprit tied with air pollution —is higher in non-smokers. Fine particles inhaled from polluted air injure the lungs through inflammation and damage DNA. A recent research by Harvard School of Public Health reveals that non-smokers living in highly air-polluted areas are roughly 20% more likely to die from lung cancer than people who live with cleaner air.

Alarming Scenario

The people of Kathmandu are no exception. Health impacts of air pollution depend mainly upon type and concentration of pollutant, exposure duration, and age and health condition of a person.

Probably in first comprehensive study of its kind, World Bank had published health impacts of PM10 (annual average concentration of particulates of size 10 micron or smaller) in Kathmandu. It estimated 84 excess mortality, about 19,000 cases of asthma, and hundreds of cases of bronchitis and other health-related disorders due to the air pollution.

Sickening Agents

Clean Energy Nepal had investigated the trend of air-pollution related diseases in the valley by analyzing data of in-patents admitted over the previous 10 years in Kathmandu’s 3 largest public hospitals, namely, Bir Hospital, Teaching Hospital, and Patan Hospital. The results indicated that, in average, number of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients nearly doubled over past decade, with an increase by about 30 to 50% in winter season, which is explained by the thermal inversion phenomenon in the cup shaped Kathmandu exacerbating the air pollution problems during winter.

Further, case studies on child labours and traffic police exposed to vehicular pollution, and on children and adults living in the vicinity of brick kilns indicated that large proportion of those individuals exposed to air pollution had remarkably high degree of air-pollution-related health disorders such as bronchitis, asthma and COPD. 

The pollutants believed to be dangerous to human health in KTM valley, apart from PM10, are namely sulphurdioxide, nitrogendioxide and carbonmonoxide —all emitted by vehicles and industries. Arguably, the vehicular emission is the biggest culprit, without the reduction of which the toxicity and the carcinogens in the ambient air of Kathmandu will ever increase. Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) are extremely dangerous to human health causing shortness of breath, wheezing, asthma attack and chest pain which can even lead to heart attack; and the worst thing is they react with the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in the presence of sunlight to produce tropospheric ozone the so-called ‘bad ozone’ which is the major ingredient of photochemical smog—one of the most dangerous air pollutants.

Breathworthy Kathmandu

None of 3.5 million Kathmanduties is immune to air-pollution-induced health hazards. With ever increasing numbers of vehicles and factories in the valley, the breathing exercise is getting only more hazardous.

Having diagnosed the cause, in theory, the underlying solution is simple. Ban all sub-standard vehicles, substandard fuels, and polluting factories in the valley. Promote environment-friendly mass transports with efficient engines that consume less fuel, or operate on electric or solar power. Plant more trees that absorb carbon emissions. Monitor the pollution level daily, to measure the progress. And if need be, implement air pollution control technologies—in which the harmful pollutants are converted to harmless or less objectionable forms—through mechanisms such as absorption, combustion, condensation and chemical treatment with the use of cyclones, electrostatic precipitators, filters and scrubbers.   

To make the valley breathworthy, all of us can and must contribute to that end. General public, industries, NGOs, INGOs, media, watchdogs, and the State. Obviously, those who are at higher hierarchy in the pyramid must be prepared to discharge proportionally heavier duties.

(The author is an Environmental Engineer with Specialization in Air Pollution from the National University of Singapore)  

A TRIBUTE TO THE ANCIENT SEERS

A Tribute To The Ancient Seers
(Published in The Rising Nepal Friday Supplement, September 25, 2015)

                                                                                           Sandhya Regmi

sandhyaregmi2000@gmail.com         

There would not be a matter of greater pride than to know that the greatest French Enlightenment author, critic, essayist, historian and one of the greatest thinkers and philosophers of Modern time Francois Voltaire making proclamation – “Everything has come down to us from the bank of the Ganga.”; “2500 years ago Pythagoras had gone to the Ganga from the Samos Island of Greece to learn geometry.”; “The Veda was the most precious gift for which the West has ever been indebted to the East.” 

           

These prideful statements appreciating Eastern civilization appear in a world-acclaimed book titled ‘Great Minds on India’ written by Shillong-based scholar and researcher Salil Gewali, and edited by Houston based eminent NASA scientist Dr AV Murali.

A freelance writer, journalist and editor since 1980, and a member of International Organization of Journalists, Salil Gewali has already authored 17 books including text books for the schools of Meghalaya. ‘Great Minds on India’ is the author’s unique research work of nearly two and a half decades. Globally acknowledged as one of its kind ever published, the book attempts to showcase how the world-renowned intellectual luminaries have thought about the ancient Eastern civilization and the fathomless classical literature. The book provides how the wisdom of Indian subcontinent inspired ‘the greatest of the great’ scientists, thinkers, writers, poets, such as Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg (co-founder of Quantum Physics), T. S. Eliot, Voltaire, Friedrich Hegel, Ralph Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Johann Goethe, HG Wells, Herman Hesse, Mark Twain, Bernard Shaw, Erwin Schrodinger (father of Quantum Mechanics), Heinrich Zimmer (Professor of Sanskrit at Heidelberg University), Sir William Jones (Translator of Sanskrit drama Shakuntala), and many more. The book, which has already been translated into 9 languages including Nepali, has earned worldwide appreciation.

We all know that what made Albert Einstein one of the wisest geniuses the world has ever seen is his ground-breaking ‘Theory of Relativity’. But how many of us are aware that this father of Modern Science had made a serious confession - “We owe a lot to the East, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.” Salil Gewali’s masterpiece holds out such proud revelations by world’s top intellectual giants and celebrated thinkers.

It was a great astonishment for me personally to know from this landmark book that one of my favorite poets T. S. Eliot was greatly inspired by our ancient Upanishads and Patanjali Sutra and he also learnt Sanskrit. A renowned USA scholar Dick Teresi writes in his masterpiece ‘Lost Discoveries’ -"Twenty-four centuries before Isaac Newton, the Hindu Scripture asserted that gravitation held the universe together. The Sanskrit speaking Aryans subscribed to the idea of a spherical earth in an era when the Greeks believed in a flat one.” The book  also illustrates how the father of Atomic Bomb, Julius Robert Oppenheimer got immersed into the treasure trove of oriental wisdom who had gone to the extent of proclaiming- "What we shall find in  Modern Physics  is an exemplification, an encouragement and  a refinement of old Eastern wisdom."

Salil, a die-hard lover of Eastern virtues, strongly felt then, these western scientists would not have applauded and approved of those ancient wisdom and knowledged of the East, had there not been any scientific validity and significance. He gradually got to know that scientists like Erwin Schrodinger, Neils Bohr, Julius Oppenheimer, David Bohm, Heisenberg, David Josephson, Werner Heisenberg had sufficiently got the ideas relative to Quantum Physics from Upanishads and Vedas. It dawned upon Mr Gewali that the ancient treatises had greatly emboldened those scientists to plunge deeper into the atom, moreover into the inner core of the Quantum Mechanics. All these consequently strengthened his conviction about the infallibility of ancient literary wisdom. While the East has specialized in understanding and transforming the Interior world, the West has excelled at investigating and manipulating the Exterior world.

And I myself being acquainted with S&T over the past 3 decades, little had I realized the wonders of Eastern philosophy and civilization, the immense knowledge and endless wisdom our Scriptures held for the scientific inventions and breakthroughs by ‘the wisest of the wise’ in the West. Reading this amazing book was like bathing in the holy Ganga the wisdom par excellence empowering myself with the supernatural power of the Bhagawata Geeta. I was shaken up emotionally and awakened to recognize my true identity and strength with an overwhelming feeling for eastern treasure of knowledge. As if it were an immense enlightenment in my life - I was entering into a spiritual immortal world of eternal wisdom leaving far far behind the superficial perishable materialistic world.

This fantastic book serves a beacon of great light even to the educated derelicts who seem to have lost faith in the ancient values and virtues. It offers ambrosia of divinity to cleanse our notorious ego. The readers get easily captivated and enchanted by the songs of Hinduism and the Hindu Scriptures sung in the book. Hinduism has been regarded as eternal religion embracing all others. The endearing eleventh President of India and eminent scientist Dr. Abdul Kalam regards Vedas as the oldest classics and the most precious treasures of the East. Great philosopher, poet and artist Rabindranath Tagore was highly inspired by the Upanishads and the works of the greatest Sanskrit poet Kalidas while writing his ‘Geetanjalee’. Mahatma Gandhi, whose works and lifestyles inspired many great scholars, statesmen, scientists and diplomats of the modern age, also admitted the Bhagawata Geeta as a boundless ocean of priceless gems. The renowned Nepali writer and great scholar Madan Mani Dixit has proclaimed in his recently released book ‘Ananta Chaitnaya’ (‘Infinite Consciousness’/‘Eternal Dynamism’) that the first scientists of the world were Maharshi Yagyawalka, Uddhalak Aruni and Shwetaketu, the scholars of ancient eastern civilization. Even VS Naipaul- the renowned author of ‘A Wounded Civilization’ and Carl Sagan- the prolific author of the world famous book ‘Cosmos’ admit Hinduism as the noblest of all.  

Gewali has completed his share of work by presenting us the monumental book. But it has left behind for the society the Herculean task of re-discovering the lost values and reorienting ourselves, without which the great pearl of profound wisdom cannot be woven into a necklace for mankind.

When the West could make breakthroughs from the knowledge derived from our ancient scriptures, then why are such virtues being underestimated in our own soil?

It is great to see the Westerners practicing yoga, and meditation, chanting ohm, and awakened to the higher importance of the Vedic knowledge and spiritualism. But sitting on the epicenter of those ancient heritages, why have we lost faith in our own virtues, and why do we hesitate to stand on its foundation? Why have we been ignoring, underestimating and devaluating the ancient Eastern philosophy and heritage in our own soil? Why do we hesitate to embrace an education system that enlightens our children with the eternal truth of our ancient scriptures? Instead of translating the rich virtues into the field of creation and productivity by ourselves, why do we have to wait for the West to so?

Unless we receive the wakeup now and respond to it, a day might not be that far, when we have to send our children to the Western schools to “learn” the meaning and value of our lost civilization. And that’s surely not the way we wish to pay our highest tribute to the ancient seers.

(Sandhya Regmi is a freelance writer and researcher.) 

POST-DEVASTATION CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEPALESE ENGINEERS

Post-Devastation Challenges & Opportunities for Nepalese Engineers 
(Published in The Republica, June 9, 2015)

                                                                                           Sandhya Regmi

sandhyaregmi2000@gmail.com         

(The author is an Environmental and Safety Engineer)

Prima facie, the massive destruction of buildings and structures by the recent great earthquakes in Nepal seems indiscriminate: flattening alike God’s temples, nation’s heritages, president’s palace, commercial buildings, children’s schools, infrastructure lifelines, and private-residential houses. On facts, far from acting indiscriminately, the destruction pattern and extent had strictly followed the laws of nature—destroying only those structures that had flouted the well-understood principles of natural science. All the destroyed structures had either outlived their permitted life-span, or had had inherent defects.

These destructions bear the hallmark of our failure to honour those fundamental principles. Gross negligence in applying the basic principles of natural science in constructing, operating, and maintaining those structures. Failure of the state, and of the non-state actors in formulating adequate policies and codes on earthquake resistant structures, and in enacting and implementing them accordingly.

Good news is that we have just learnt our lesson, though the hard way. Suddenly, we have started realizing the needs for sound structures constructed on strong foundations, and planned urbanization with wide roads and open spaces. This new-found enlightenment has, for the nation rebuilding, opened floodgate of opportunities and challenges, among others, for those who are, or strive to be, the masters in the applied field of natural science.

Among them, our engineers are positioned in the front line to deal with the aftermath of the devastation. Specifically, civil engineers have found themselves in high demand, particularly, those who have expertise in structural, geotechnical, and earthquake engineering.

In this nation-rebuilding mission, engineers are not the sole players, yet their role is central in reshaping the society. The profession is entrusted with providing safe and comfortable buildings and physical infrastructures for the society to live comfortable life and to prosper. Yet their failure to adequately apply the law of natural science may lead to another catastrophe in future.       

This raises question on whether our engineers are geared up to take the new challenges and to inspire and lead the society to the new frontier. Is the pool of our engineering resources sufficient and capable to meet the demand and aspiration of the society?

On quantity, out of 16,000 engineers registered with Nepal Engineers Association (NEA), many are working overseas—who may not be readily available for the nation rebuilding. Among the available engineers, structural engineers reportedly number around 400, and geotechnical engineers constitute a fraction of that number. By any standard, these figures are far from being adequate to meet the present national demand.

On the positive side, there should be no real issue on the capability of our engineers. They are among the country’s best brains. It is no secret that Nepal’s brightest students have historically opted for the engineering field. And that trend has not reversed to date, despite some noticeable variations. Unlike in some other countries, our society views civil engineers with high regards.  

But all is not well. How many of our engineers have got the opportunities for adequate training and experience in designing, constructing, retrofitting, maintaining, supervising, and inspecting the earthquake-resistant structures and their foundations? How often have they got the opportunity to apply those skills into practice?  And how often are they compelled to ignore one or more of the basic design steps: subsoil investigation, loading tests, foundation design, and structural calculation?

That’s not all. Have all ‘experts’ gained self-confidence in the profession from the quality of their expertise, or merely from their function and position? And how often do they play the role of self-appointed ‘expert’, drifting into field of expertise other than their own despite their lack of specific knowledge. A case in point: an architect or a structural engineer purporting to act as, or undermining the role of, a geotechnical engineer.

These issues touch the core of the profession. If we are to tackle them, we all have our role to play.  

Our engineers should not be afraid to take the emerging challenges. They should upgrade, and reinforce their skill and knowledge, and should not hesitate to involve themselves into life-long learning process—updating themselves on applications of new theories, practices, and technologies, and applying them into practice.

Academic institutes should focus in creating competent engineers. Besides hiring qualified faculties, furnishing adequate facilities and designing adaptable courses, the institutes should also ensure that only capable students get admitted. Faculties should be encouraged to conduct quality research by providing essential resources and opportunities, and by making necessary tie up with private sector and reputed foreign institutes.

NEA has a central role to play in the professional and ethical development. It should be proactive in advising and assisting the government in formulating policies, and in drafting codes and standards. NEA should create wide opportunities for interactions among the practitioners, researchers, and other stakeholders. This may be done by publishing quality researches, and by organizing seminars, workshops, and conferences, both at national and international level. 

The state has the longest to-do list. It must formulate and codify relevant policies, enhance institutional capabilities of its machineries, and objectively regulate the system. Steps should include introducing mandatory exam-based licensing system, establishing an independent institution to regulate the system, and imposing specific license requirement for specific type and class of work. To reverse the brain drain, the state should encourage the overseas Nepalese engineers to return, by creating for them at home the opportunity they deserve.

The state should extend the scope of Dr. Govinda KC’s medical-mafia doctrine in regulating the functions of private (and government) engineering institutions. And finally, the state must ensure that the engineering education is accessible and affordable to the best and the brightest students across the country.

(The author is an Environmental and Safety Engineer)

LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKES

Lessons Learnt
From The Devastating Earthquakes
(The Next Move)
Published in The Kathmandu Post, June 7, 2015)

                                                                                            Sandhya Regmi

sandhyaregmi2000@gmail.com         

The devastating earthquakes of 25^th April and 12^th May and its continuing aftershocks—that destroyed the fabric of the nation by killing and injuring tens of thousands, traumatizing millions, destroying property worth billions—was unavoidable. But its consequences were, only if we were prepared for it. And to the extent we were prepared for it.

The earthquake has stark-naked our ill preparedness. This, despite our knowledge that an unscheduled visit by the unwelcome guest was unavoidable, and despite the decades-long drum-beats on the preparation from the state machineries and non-state persons. At the state level, requirement to draft stringent building codes and their enforcement remained not far placed from the fairy tale. The concept of alternative international airports and other transport routes and systems remained far-fetched dreams. But why was even the country’s only air-entry point repeatedly shut down, when its service was badly wanted? Wasn’t it too built to the standard? How about residences’ whereabouts, didn’t the state even consider it necessary to maintain residence-log that could have helped find the number of missing victims? Even at heart of the capital, the state’s mass-communication system failed its robustness test, at the time when people needed it most. In absence of the state-communication, people in the camp were compelled to rely on rumors.

The quake has served to warn our politicians, planners, rule-makers, and rulers that, the necessity of the country’s physical infrastructures and their standard must stand taller than the usually professed internal-rate-of-return doctrine. The state needs to freshly work on the requirements and standards of additional international and national level airports, road transports, including their feasible implementation scheme and schedule. Similarly, the country needs fresh review on its building codes and implementation scheme for each class of building structure: airport infrastructure, hospital, national heritage, school, public building, commercial building, and residential building.

The consequences of the ugly guest’s nasty acts have compelled to put ourselves to trial on the stage of our civilization. Far from indulging into lootings and vandalism, the quake affected people themselves helped each other, from bare-hand-scratching of rubbles and sharing their tent-and-food to providing security to themselves. In the aftermath,  people from across the country unified as one—regardless of their geographical location, cast, class, colour, or religion—standing taller than the artificial divides devised by the politicians. In the same basket, the event has offered our politicians an opportunity to introspect worthwhileness of their dragging the country for years in the name of federating the state to their likes.

The earthquake has provided an opportunity to hold the best-placed organization and the best way forward to deal with such aftermaths. Without pausing a second, the first-order salute goes to the heroes of our  national army and police force who, for the search and rescue operation, worked days-and-nights sacrificing their own life. The instant responses from our neighboring states, and the helps and solidarity poured from across the world bears on us an insight to prepare ourselves to respond in the event of future mega-disasters, both inside and outside the state boundary. This calls for our national army to align and focus more on joint-search-rescue drills with the state-security forces of our neighboring countries. For, at the time of such disasters, we will need their help, and their people will need ours.

Similarly, the country needs a standing centralized body capable of efficiently handling and coordinating in such emergency situations. The body should be capable of estimating the nature and degree of assistance needed at each specific location to cope with specific disaster situation, and capable of coordinating and negotiating the requirements with non-state organizations and agencies operating inside and outside the country. Such arrangement would help pinpoint the precise requirements in the mind of perspective donors, help reduce duplication, redundancy, and wastage of resources, and would serve the core purpose at the quickest possible time.

Despite its mighty act, this black disaster has failed to fail us, for we may have fallen down but not yet out. Arguably, the most beautiful sight out of the rubble is the light radiating out of the survivors’ face. Their refusal to be defeated. Their spirit to be alive. Their determination to stitch the broken hearts, to re-work on the shattered dreams, and to move forward. Their energy to reconstitute and rebuild their homes, schools, and the country.

But in fueling that rebuilding task, they would need helping hands. The state has acknowledged and 127 nations’ solidarity has testified that. To assist in the rebuilding process, several donors have already raised their hands, while others are in the process. But there is an apparent confusion or uneasiness between the state and the donor agencies on the channel and mechanism to streamline the assistance. The government must show statesmanship by working seriously to find ways that are consistent with the national interest, and are transparent and accountable, yet flexible enough for sides to be part of the process.  

This is a great chance for everyone to participate in the nation-rebuilding process. A change for leaders from all walks of life: individuals, students, professionals, business houses, and non-profit organizations; medical leaders like Dr. Govinda KC and Dr. Bhagawan Koirala, professional writers like Professor Abhi Subedi. Yet the country’s politicians are best positioned to tap the opportunity, for people have given them the duty and power to lead the nation. So, it is the golden opportunity for the politicians to bury their differences and to work unitedly, and secure their place in the glorious history of the nation building. Yet they have another choice. They may opt for abusing and misusing the situation and focus on fulfilling their vested interests. But they must not forget that people too will have their choice.   

( Regmi is a Freelance Writer & a Researcher) 

PLASTIC FREE CITY (WELCOME TO PLASTIC BAG FREE KATHMANDU)

Plastic Free City  
(Welcome to Plastic Bag Free Kathmandu)
Published in The Republica, April 14, 2015)

                                                                                            Sandhya Regmi

sandhyaregmi2000@gmail.com         

With the dawn of 2072, Kathmandu valley is set to join the plastic-bag-free club, which includes many countries or their states across the world. With the aim of making Kathmandu valley clean and pollution-free, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MoSTE) has imposed the ban from Baisakh 1, 2072—on import, storage, distribution, sell, and use of plastic bags up to 40 microns thickness.

As an informed citizen and environmental specialist, I rejoice over this positive move, and much like the rest of the Kathmanduities, offer it a red-carpet welcome. We may consider this as a first step in our dream of having a clean-green Kathmandu free of not only plastic bags but also of other hazardous wastes, sewages, carbon emission and other forms of air pollutions.

During my last Shimla visit in August 2014, I had an opportunity to witness the plastic-free hilly station, and was fascinated by its greenery and beautification of its surroundings with pine trees. Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, was in fact among the first cities in India to ban plastic bags in August 2003. More to it, illegally cutting down a single tree in this hilly station may lead one to a heavy penalty, including years of imprisonment. I could not see a single littering anywhere on the street, much less the polythene bags and improper disposal of solid waste. I had then wished deep in my heart the same to come true in my dear Kathmandu soon.  

 Tension with Competing Forces

The process leading to the ban imposition has not been smooth and not been achieved in a single day, due to the tension between competing forces. The dismissal by the Supreme Court on the ground of public health concern—one week before the scheduled ban date—of the writ petition filed for a stay-order against the ban, cleared the last hurdle in the way for the ban imposition. The petition was filed by Nepal Plastic Manufacturers’ Association—that represents 300-strong plastic-manufacturing industries that collectively produce some 30,000 tonnes of plastic bags annually—arguing that the ban was made in a haste and without necessary preparations, including the choice for alternatives to plastics.

Compromise

Apparently, the ban notice represents an act of compromise. It retracts from the earlier decision of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment Protection as well as of the Cabinet to ban all forms of plastic bags. And the notice is silent on the production ban of the bags in the valley. Further, if the ban aims to achieve a clean and pollution-free place as stated by MoSTE, and relates to the public health concern, as held by the Supreme Court, why was the scope of ban limited to the valley?

Enforcement Issue

Yet, success or otherwise of the ban hinges on its enforcement. In the past, similar attempts have failed. In 2011 MoSTE had come up with ‘Plastic Bags Control and Regulation Directives’, barring companies and individuals from production, import and storage of polythene bags thinner than 20 microns, and had even provisioned fines ranging from Rs. 500 to Rs 50,000 for producing and using of such bags. But the regulation could hardly be enforced, due to the fierce protest from the Association that had argued on the ground of investment loss and job loss.

 Addressed Evils

Obviously, the plastic-bag hazards affect human health, and other lives, and degrade environment from multi-fonts. The bags litter the landscape, and take hundreds of years to decompose even if dumped properly. After years of dumping, they may breakdown, but never biodegrade. So, earlier or later, their toxins get released into the environment, thereby adversely affecting the health of organisms that come into contact with the toxin. If not disposed of properly, the bags can clog sewages, prevent ground-water seepage, pollute water bodies, and affect water habitats. When plastic bags are blown by wind into trees and other plants, animals and birds can be mistaken for flowers and plants, and can die after eating the bags. Making the matter worse, the ingested plastic toxin remains intact even after the death and decomposition of the animals and birds, and thus can be ingested by another cycle of victims. If the bags are burnt, they infuse the air with toxic fumes, which once inhaled can damage human health and lead to cancer.

Nor is plastic bag’s production-process environmental friendly. Every year some 100 million barrels of oil are burnt to produce plastic bags around the world, thereby adding air pollution and taking away much of the vital energy resources needed to meet other energy requirements. 

Effect of Ban

The ban is bound to have some effect on the plastic manufacturers, but they would be far from being out. The ban only affects production of the thin plastic bags, and the affected volume is limited to that being consumed within the valley. Concurrently, this will generate a new business opportunity to other support industries that produce biodegradable and recyclable bags, such as papers, jutes and cloths. For consumers, this may mean more frequent recycling of their bags or paying more from their pocket for more expensive alternative bags. Further, unless its hygienic condition is maintained, recycled bag itself may become a source of contamination.  

Road Ahead

Towards realizing the goal of making the capital and the country clean and pollution free, besides the plastic ban, the state must go through another long to-do list. But for now, the real test is whether or to which extent the enacted ban can effectively be implemented. Obviously, making it a success or otherwise hinges not only on the efforts of the state authorities, but also of Kathmanduities.  

(Regmi holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Engineering from the National University of Singapore)

RAGS TO RICHES (WHAT CAN NEPAL LEARN FROM LEE QUAN YEW'S SINGAPORE)

Rags To Riches 
(What Can Nepal Learn From Lee Quan Yew's Singapore) 


(Published in The Kathmandu Post, April 14, 2015)

                                                                                            Sandhya Regmi

sandhyaregmi2000@gmail.com         

“Whoever governs Singapore must have that iron in him. Or give it up. This is not a game of cards! This is your life and mine! I've spent a whole lifetime building this and as long as I'm in charge, nobody is going to knock it down.” This inspirational quote fairly reflects the doctrine applied by political genius Lee Quan Yew in repositioning Singapore’s map from the third world to the first. The visionary prime minister from 1959 to 1990 and influential politician until 2011, died on 23^rd March at the age of 91.

When I first entered Singapore in 2001, soon after my 2-year stay in Japan as a researcher at the University of Tokyo, the first thing that astonished and welcomed me was the brilliant greenery and dazzling cleanliness of the perfectly managed & preserved metropolitan garden city, which I had not seen even in the highly developed European countries during my stay in Germany and visit in its neighboring countries. Singapore looked like the princess clad in silk and satin. Chewing gum was banned, littering was fined, and grafting was canned. The place that practically guarantees highly honorable, respectable, and safe life for women and children alike—free from both environmental and social pollutions. I recall my days, commuting by train, bus and on walk, all the way from the National University of Singapore, sometimes reaching my residence, Bedok North, at midnight, without any feeling of insecurity.

In 50 years, under the Singaporean Lion’s visionary leadership, the country got transformed from an impoverished British colonial outpost with swampy island having no natural resources—a stinking fisherman’s village suffering from poverty, malaria, and dunge fever—into a dreamland. Today Singapore stands tall on the global map as a knowledge-based economy, with one of the highest GDP per capita ($55,182) in the world, just 2% unemployment, third in the global education club, among the 3 least corrupt nations (including Finland and New Zealand), and almost the lowest crime rates. A clean and green city. A dream city in the real world.

This miraculous achievement by Lee’s Singapore has brought into limelight the issue on whether or to which extent other countries may draw from Lee and his Singaporean model. In Nepal’s context, Lee’s doctrine pyramid may be dissected as follows: 

 Lessons for Nepal

(1)

The vision for prosperous country and people forms the top block of the pyramid. Nepal needs a vision that goes beyond beggar’s mentality that seeks to limit the vision to the threshold of poverty or literacy over a decade or two, and yet fails to achieve it. We need a vision that is founded on stability, health, and prosperity of people and the country. In the past, some of our politicians had lip-served to make Nepal like Singapore. But a vision differs from such day-dreams in that a vision is premised on the state’s robust and time-bound plan and strategy with discrete roadmap to achieve the underlying goal.

(2)

Sincerity and accountability of the state operators could constitute the second block. In fact, until it is installed in the system, the accountability can easily be swapped to the top of the pyramid in a country where, even after spending billions of rupees taxed from the people’s toil and spending over five-year period, our 601-member strong team of constitutional assembly has failed even to deliver a 100-page document. Why not put them to test to see if they are playing the ‘game of cards’, or if they are really working with the feeling of the ‘life’ that Lee was referring to? Look at his spirit: "Even from my sickbed, even if you are going to lower me to the grave and I feel that something is going wrong in Singapore, I will get up." Hello, politicians of Nepal ! wake up to your conscience.

   (3)

The requirement for the elimination of prevailing practice of power abuse and corruption by authorities in all organs of the state does not need to be overemphasized. The recent case of Dr. Govinda KC’s Satyagraha typifies the extent to which the country is swamped with the evils at all levels of the state administration. We need to do introspection on why the state decisions are being sold or abused, and how the matter could be resolved. While the moral and ethics work for the majority, it does not seem to do so for all. So, craft strict punishment codes to account for such abusers. No mercy to corrupts. No shelter to criminals. No undue favour to anyone. Lee’s Singapore did not drop the ‘iron’ despite the mercy plea by the US president Bill Clinton in 1994: the American graffiti convict Michael Fay was not spared from canning.

   (4)

To put the country into the track of prosperity, Nepal must put the state-endorsed anarchism to an end once and for ever. Sparing peaceful demonstrations, ban and criminalize any and all forms of strikes: political, trade-unions, educational institutes, and any other. At best, a strike is an abuse of democracy and others’ right. At worst, it provides cover to anarchists at the cost of the country and people.    

  (5)

Lee’s Singapore has proved the world that human resource is the most powerful of all the resources. For inclusive prosperity of the country rich in human resources, Nepal must devise mechanisms for and provide access to quality education, medical facilities, housing and other basic needs to all its citizens.

   (6)

And finally the country must stop begging, instead focus on enacting and implementing investor-friendly laws and regulations. The resource-starved Singapore—which even lacked drinking water in its land—was not transformed by begging or by any ODA fund, but by genius policy formulation and implementation. By crafting and implementing such genius policies, Nepal can score better, considering the abundance of natural-resources advantages that we additionally have.

         

(The author was a researcher at the National University of Singapore from 2002-2004)  

LET'S DEAL WITH LUMBINI'S ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

LET'S DEAL WITH LUMBINI'S ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

(Published in The KTM POST, November 30, 2014)

                                                                                           (Sandhya Regmi)

International Conference on Buddhism

A three day International Conference on Buddhism took place in Lumbini, the sacred birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha – the apostle of peace - from 15^th to 17^th November 2014 for the promotion, preservation and protection of Buddhist Cultural Heritage. The conference was jointly organized by the Sitagu International Buddhist Academy of Myanmar and the Teravada Buddhist Academy ‘Vishwa Shanti Vihar’ of Lumbini Buddhist University of Nepal. The conference was a landmark achievement in itself with the participation of the most venerable monks and respectable nuns from over 32 countries across the world. The participants included professors, educationist, cultural experts, archaeological & environmental professionals, research scientists, dignitaries, officials of governmental and international non-governmental organization, universities, educational institutions, Buddhist organizations and communities.  

The conference provided a golden opportunity for many enthusiastic participants like me to be a part of and interact with the educational, intellectual and spiritual Gurus. The elegant gathering ran through a series of intellectual sessions on Buddhist Heritage, Buddhist Culture, Buddhist Educational System, and Environmental Conservation & Sustainable Development of Lumbini.  For me the event enriched with Buddhist Education and Self-Enlightenment. As a firm believer in Buddhism, an admirer of Buddha’s teachings & philosophies, and an artist of Buddha portraits, my enthusiasm met the event.

Further,  my Environmental Engineering background  gave me an opportunity to pour out my opinions and ponder for a better environmental management system and the protection & preservation of both the natural and social environment of the internationally recognized world top class authentic pilgrimage site, which at the moment is found to be at risk of deterioration due to serious environmental pollution threats, and needs immediate attention by all concerned individuals and authorities at the local, national and the international levels.  

Air Pollution in Lumbini

A comprehensive and quantitative air quality assessment was conducted at the Lumbini World Heritage Site and its vicinity by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2013 in the project entitled the Heritage Air Quality and Weather Assessment for Lumbini Protected Zone (HAWA-LPZ) through scientists from Indian Institute of Tropical Meterology (IITM), Pune, India.  The results showed that during the winter season the air quality of Lumbini and vicinity is alarmingly poor and unhealthy mainly due to the temperature inversion phenomenon and the trapped local industrial pollution where PM2.5 (fine particles) touch unhealthy level of 270 µg/m3 and PM10 (bigger particles) hit the level of 350 µg/m3 both far exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS 2012) of Nepal and the WHO guidelines. This high level of air pollution is extremely dangerous and poses serious health hazards especially the respiratory and heart diseases on human beings and threats to biodiversity in and around the heritage site. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted by the IUCN in 2013 confirms an estimated release of about 912.6 metric tons of carbon emission per day from 4 cement industries in the Lumbini area. The carbon emission is carcinogenic to humans and has been declared by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the WHO as a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths.        

Tourists and Pilgrims visiting Lumbini are yet ignorant about the fact that the early morning fog visible in the sacred garden is not just the fog rather the smog, which is the high concentration of smoke particles accumulated in air, which can do substantial damage and are sometimes poison and carcinogens; and the Buddhist monks and nuns living in the monasteries are unknowingly breathing into their lungs this carcinogenic air while practicing yoga, pranayama and meditation. The deteriorating air quality of Lumbini and surrounding has caused significant adverse impacts and been proved hazardous both to the social and natural environment, and thus requires immediate preventive and mitigation measures.

Solid Waste Mismanagement in Lumbini

The growth of tourist infrastructure, increasing population especially the visitors, the increasing commercial and industrial activities in the area have contributed to the increase in waste generation in the world heritage site inscribed on UNESCO’s list.  Furthermore, the increase in number of visitors after the completion of the ongoing international airport in Bhairahawa will generate more waste and will impose serious adverse impacts on the environment, if an efficient waste management system is not timely established.       

The currently practiced SW Management is ineffective as there has been no proper segregation, collection, transportation and disposal of waste. Waste has been swept only from the cleaning routes and not from main roads, pedestrian paths and gardens, and waste has been dumped direct in open areas and even at the backyard of the Mayadevi temple. While we were taken to visit the Lumbini museum as a part of the conference activities, it was alarmingly unhygienic to see the area covered with litter producing foul odor, an extremely neglected SW disposal scenario totally ignored by the local residents and authorities. Hence a systematic and scientific SW management mechanism is required timely to preserve the environment of this internationally significant pious heritage site.   

Degradation of Monuments in Lumbini 

The most important monuments - the spiritual, cultural and social assets of the sacred garden of Lumbini – namely the Marker Stone, the Nativity Sculpture and the Asoka Pillar are undergoing degradation due to industrial and vehicular emission in the vicinity of the heritage site apart from the growth of algae and microscopic fungi and bacteria. The emitted SO2 and NO2 react with water vapor in the air in the presence of oxidizing agents to form sulfuric and nitric acid—the acid rain—which is very corrosive and attacks limestone, marble and metals of ancient sculptures and monuments. Not only the precious monuments of Lumbini, but also the world’s most cherished buildings - the Taj Mahal of Agra, the Colosseum of Rome and the Lincoln Memorial of Washington D.C. are slowly dissolving away because of the action of the weathering.

Actions to be taken

I propose to take the following actions to deal with the environmental issues of Lumbini.

1)    A comprehensive environmental study needs to be carried out to map out and update environmental issues (including air, water, solid waste noise pollutions) and to identify specific measures to be taken to deal with the issues. Any master plan for Lumbini development must address all the environmental issues.

2)  A stringent legal framework specifically devised to protect environment of Lumbini might be needed. This needs to be considered after due consultation with all stakeholders.

3) The major pollutants in and around the heritage site are the industrial emissions. Most of the industries set up in the periphery of Lumbini poorly regulated and exceed the acceptable pollution threshold, and do not comply with the laws and standards. Hence the Ministry of Science, Technology & Environment (MOSTE) and its Department of Environment (DOE) should urgently undertake compliance monitoring of Legislation, Regulations and Standards in the industrial sector of Lumbini.

4) Immediate and stringent legal actions should be taken to exclude all carbon-emitting industries especially the brick kilns and cement factories and all other major environmental polluting industries established within the Lumbini Protected Zone (LPZ)—which is the region covering a 15 km aerial distance from the Lumbini Project Area (LPA). Any new industry to be established should be outside the LPZ, and need to comply strictly with the Regulation, Bylaws and Standards of the Environment Protection Act (EPA).         

5) The vulnerable population of Lumbini including the monks and nuns living in the monasteries, the visitors & pilgrims as well should be made aware of the fact that all the environmental pollution has adverse impact on human health, biodiversity, air quality, water quality, noise quality and also on the precious historical monuments, sculptors and masonry. In any environment related project undertaken by the government, the participation of these local people, authorities and institutions are of utmost importance.

6) Environmentally Friendly Renewable Energy Technologies (RET) especially the solar PV and Electric Vehicles (EV) should be promoted in the heritage site in order to minimize the industrial pollution, the vehicular emission and thus prevent the related irreversible impact of acid rain’s degradation of monument.  

7) The 3R principle of waste Reduction, Recovery and Reuse should be adopted in order to minimize the waste generation and its final disposal.

I take this opportunity to urge all stakeholders to come forward and create a working front through which we could contribute in preserving the environment of Lumbini. At the individual level, I am willing to participate and contribute in dealing with the environmental issues of Lumbini, with governmental and non-nongovernmental institutions and the stakeholders.

(The author is an Environmental Engineer and has conducted research on Energy & Environment at the University of Tokyo and the National University of Singapore)