Friday, May 08, 2015

In The News (9)

भारत सरकार, भारतीय सञ्चार, आम भारतीय र नेपाल
राहत र उद्धारका क्रममा प्रत्यक्ष संलग्नहरूको प्रशंसाको स्पर्श एकदुईवटा सञ्चारकर्मीको व्यवहारका आधारमा सबै भारतीय सञ्चारमाध्यम फिर्ता जाऊ' को अभियान जारी हुँदा त्यसले नेपालीमा कृतघ्नताको अंश बढी र सहिष्णुताको कम रहेको सन्देशसमेत बाहिर जानेछ। ....... वर्तमान चरणमा नेपालमा भारतप्रतिको अविश्वास या उसको अलोकप्रियता खासगरी आन्तरिक राजनीतिमा विगत नौ वर्षमा भारतको खुला प्रवेश, 'माइक्रो म्यानेजमेन्ट' सँगै आन्तरिक असुरक्षा उत्पन्न गर्ने एसडी मेहता प्रवृत्ति जिम्मेवार छन्। ....... दूतावासले पैसा खर्च गरी सरकार गिराएका उदाहरण किताबहरू र आधिकारिक सूचनाका आधारमा आएका छन्, जसको दूतावासले खण्डन गरेको छैन। पूर्ववर्ती सरकारको छिमेक नीति असफल भएको मोदीको भारतीय जनता पार्टीले स्वीकार गरिसकेको छ। ....... उता एसडी मेहताको गतिविधिलाई आलोचना नगर्न त्यसबेलाका भारतीय राजदूतले नेपाली नेताहरूलाई चेतावनी मात्र दिएनन्, त्यसमा सफलता नै हासिल गरे। तर त्यसले 'सरकारी' भारतको नियतलाई सबभन्दा बढी प्रश्नचिन्हमा ल्यायो नेपालमा। ......

नेपालमा २०६३ को परिवर्तनपछिको नेतृत्वदायी राजनीतिक समूहले पूर्णत: विश्वास गुमाएको छ मुलुकभित्र।

....... त्यो समूह भ्रष्ट छ र नेपाली जनताको संलग्नता तथा अनुमोदनमा उनीहरूले राजनीति सञ्चालन नगरेको पनि स्थापित भएको छ। यहाँको राजनीतिक नेतृत्व परिचालित र परचालित भएको तथ्यसमेत स्विकारी भारतले नेपाल नीति समीक्षा नगरेकाले नै नेपालको चार दलीय सिन्डिकेट जस्तै ऊ पनि यहाँ अलोकप्रिय हुँदै विश्वसनीयता गुमाएको हो। ...... जुद्धशमशेरको ९० सालपछिको सोच, उपलब्धि र कार्यान्वयनको पृष्ठभूमिमा सुशील कोइरालाको गठबन्धन सरकार अत्यन्त संवेदनहीन र असक्षम देखिएको छ। ...... दलमा युवा र विद्यार्थी समूह-संगठनहरूमा खासै दायित्वबोध देखिन सकेको छैन। राहत उद्धारमा संलग्नको संख्या अत्यन्तै न्यून छ।
Haiti's earthquake generated a $9bn response – where did the money go?
Uncertainty about the scale and outcome of spending following Haiti tragedy highlights

need for greater transparency

........ the international response to the quake was overwhelming. ..... Private donations are estimated at $3bn. ..... about 94% of humanitarian funding went to donors' own civilian and military entities, UN agencies, international NGOs and private contractors. In addition, 36% of recovery grants went to international NGOs and private contractors. Yet this is where the trail goes cold – you can look at procurement databases to track primary contract recipients, but it is almost impossible to track the money further to identify the final recipients and the outcomes of projects. ............ 60% of US-disbursed recovery funding is "not specified" (pdf), as is 67% of Canada's aid to Haiti (pdf). Data for the European commission shows that 67% of humanitarian funding and 43% of recovery funding is to "other international NGOs" (pdf). Data reporting becomes even more opaque when one looks for the specific organisations, agencies, firms or individuals that have received grants or contracts in Haiti. Detailed financial reports and rigorous impact evaluations are hard to find. ........ most organisations only publish case studies or other descriptions of their work; negative outcomes or failures are almost never documented ..... It is a contradiction that the Haitian government is asked to improve transparency when the international aid community itself fails to provide adequate information to the public. ......... We publish the financial information relevant to the execution of our budget. All we ask is for the same transparency from our donor friends ......... Haiti received an amount almost equal to its gross domestic product, but several hundred thousand people remain in tent camps set up in the aftermath of the quake. ...... the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), a multi-stakeholder scheme with a standard for publishing information about aid spending, and Publish What You Fund's aid transparency index. ..... Transparency is a critical step towards better project design and implementation in Haiti and other poor countries. Donors, NGOs, private foundations, private contractors and other civil society organisations must report to IATI and must do so in a timely manner.
प्रचण्डले यसरी थर्काए संसदमा
देशका प्रधानमन्त्री र गृहमन्त्रीले यतिबेला लम्बेतान विवरण प्रस्तुत गरेर अहिले पनि परम्परागत रुपमै ठूलठूला शब्द बोल्ने तर काम केही नहुने ‘परम्परा’ मात्रै धानेको हो कि भन्ने चिन्ता प्रचण्डले प्रकट गरे । ...... अझै पनि देशमा ठूलो भूकम्पको खतरा कायम रहेको विगत १४ दिनले देखाएको जिकिर गर्दै भने– ‘सरकारले यसलाई सुन्न चाहेको छैन या सुनेर पनि सुनेजस्तो गरेको छैन ।’
भारतले थप १ लाख त्रिपाल दिने
भारतको गृह मन्त्रालयले दिएको निर्देशनमा कोलकाताबाट पुर्वी नेपालको नाका हुँदै १ लाख त्रिपाल पठाइने भएको छ । यसअघि गत सोमबार मात्रै पश्चिम बंगाल सरकारले १ लाख त्रिपाल नेपाललाई सहयोगमा पठाएको थियो । मुख्यमन्त्री ममता बेनर्जीले थप २० हजार त्रिपाल सहयोगमा दिने घोषणा गरिसकेकी छिन् । ..... तर, भुकम्पपीडित सर्वसाधारणका लागि आवश्यक राहत तथा उद्धार सामग्री पठाइरहेको दिल्लीस्थित दुतावासले यो काम थालेको १० दिनमा पनि कहींकतै जिल्लामा पनि सामान पुगेको जानकारी पाएको छैन । .... यस बीचमा बिमान सेवा, रेल्वे र ट्रक ढुवानीबाट ४० टनभन्दा बढी सामग्री नेपाल पठाइएको तथ्यांक दुतावाससँग भए पनि कुनै जिल्ला वा सम्बद्ध निकायबाट यो सामान पाइएको जानकारी आउन सकेको छैन । भारतीय विमान सेवाको सौजन्यबाट दैनिक प्रति बिमान १ टनसम्म सामग्री ढुवानी भैरहेकोमा यसमध्ये अधिकांस सामान काठमाडौंस्थित बिमानस्थलमा अड्किएर बसेको छ भने रेल र ट्रक ढुवानीमा गएका सामानबारे पनि जानकारी आएको छैन । .... अहिले पनि दिल्लीस्थित दुतावासमा १० टनभन्दा बढी राहत सामग्री थन्किएर बसेको अवस्थामा छ ।
भूकम्पपीडितलाई विदेशबाट पालदेखि पानीसम्म --- सबैभन्दा धेरै सहयोग भारतबाट
भारतले सबैभन्दा बढी १ लाख ९३ हजार ४ सय ४ थान त्रिपाल तथा एक लाख ४० हजार २ सय ९४ थान कम्बल राहत उपलब्ध गराएको छ । भारतले चामल, चिनी, नून, चिउरा, चाउचाउ, मेटे्रसदेखि पानीसमेत उपलब्ध गराएको छ ।...... यस्तै, उत्तरी छिमेकी राष्ट्र चीनले १० हजार ४ सय ३५ थान कम्बल, २ हजार १ सय ७९ थान टेन्ट, एक हजार एक सय कार्टुन पानी उपलब्ध गराएको छ । ..... सरकारले अढाइ लाख भन्दा बढी त्रिपाल वितरण गरिएको जनाएको छ । सरकारले सार्वजनिक गरेको तथ्यांकअनुसार भूकम्प गएदेखि विहीबारसम्म ठूला परिमाणमा खाद्य तथा गैरखाद्य सामाग्री वितरण गरिएको छ । ......

अहिलेसम्म दुई लाख ६६ हजार ८ सय १८ थान टेन्ट वितरण गरिएको छ । .... सरकारले एक लाख पाँच हजार २ सय ३४ क्वीन्टल चामल वितरण गरेको जनाएको छ ।

रोनाल्डोद्वारा नेपालका भूकम्पपीडितलाई सात करोड सहयोग गर्ने घोषणा
सेनाको मुख्यालयलाई अमेरिकी र इजरायली प्राविधिकको ‘रेड स्टिकर'
‘प्रधानसेनापति गौरव शमशेर जबराले क्लवमै बसेर महाविपत्ति सामना गर्न सेनाले सञ्चालन गरिएको ‘अपरेसन संकटमोचन’को कमाण्ड कन्ट्रोल गरिरहनु भएको छ। साथै प्रधानसेनापतिबाहेक वलाधिकृत र वलाध्यक्षको कार्यालय पनि क्लवबाटै सञ्चालित भएको छ।' ..... वैशाख १२ गते प्रधानसेनापति राणा पाकिस्तानी सेनाको निमन्त्रणामा पाकिस्तान भ्रमणमा जाने तयारीमा थिए।

प्रधानसेनापति राणा आफनो निवास भत्किएपछि पालमा बसिरहेका छन्।

Reflections on the earthquake
We have been so habituated to criticizing the government and blaming them at every juncture that we have perhaps forgotten that it is we Nepalis who created this system in the first place. This system that is doomed to fail. .......... As we are rebuilding Nepal, we need to ask ourselves what kind of a governance system we have been living in if no one is satisfied with it.
नेपालका लागि सोँचेजस्तो राहत उठेनः संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघ
A new generation will help Nepal rise up and rebuild
The sad irony is that we knew the big one was coming, but no one expected it. ..... Our people are icons of bravery and our homes legendary for their instant warmth and hospitality. They say people visit Nepal once but come back for their friends. ...... But we are also afflicted by man’s failings. Nepalese have endured centuries of social discrimination and exploitation from despots and modern day oligarchs. A long civil conflict killed thousands and chased away a generation’s opportunities for economic and social progress. Millions of youths have left the country to seek their futures elsewhere. We are still ranked close to the lowest end of the poverty index. ...... The messy vortex of Nepali politics has left little space for nation-building. Corruption is endemic and little of any economic benefits filter to the poor. Even in the best of times, the political leadership is mocked daily for its ineptitude. ........

A grass-roots movement is taking place among its young, educated and talented people. They are back to show the entrenched old guard how it should be done: entrepreneurship, a passion for social enterprise and a fearlessness to question the establishment.

....... In the immediate aftermath of this calamity, the one thing that stood out was the instant compassion and a can-do resourcefulness of a new force in our country. The pushcart vendor who gave all of his fruit to the tent-city occupants, the soldiers and police constables, the selfless nurses and doctors working without rest, the thousands of volunteers braving the odds: They are Nepal’s finest, all working tirelessly through the nights to rescue those trapped under rubble.

In The News (8)

बामदेवलाई गृहमन्त्रीबाट हटाउन ओली निवासमा छलफल
पहिलेदेखि नै गौतमको कार्यशैलीबाट असन्तुष्ट भएपनि पछिल्लो समयमा महाभूकम्मको विपत्तिका बेला उनको भूमिकाले पार्टीको मात्र नभई आफ्नै व्यक्तिगत छविलाई समेतलाई धमिल्याउने काम गरेको निष्कर्षमा अध्यक्ष ओली पुगेको स्रोतको दाबी छ । विपत्तिको यो घडीमा कार्यबाहक प्रधानमन्त्रीको समेत जिम्मेवारी सम्हालेका गौतमले जति गर्न सक्थे, त्यसमा सिन्को भाँच्नेसम्मको काम नगरेको र सरकारको दोषको भार एमालेले बोक्नु परेको भन्दै ओलीले गौतमलाई हटाउन छलफल चलाएको बताइन्छ । विपत्तिका बेला काम गर्नेभन्दा भड्किला अभिव्यक्ति दिने गौतमको कार्यशैलीबाट एमाले नेताहरु बेचैन भएको बुझिएको छ । ...... कमिसन आउने विषयमा उनको नांगो हस्तक्षेप देखिएकाले उनलाई दर्खास्त गर्ने विषयमा कुरा भएको ....... हतियार खरिदमा हुने कमिसनको खेलमा गृहमन्त्री गौता चुलुम्म डुबेको एमालेको एक नेताले बताए । हतियार खरिद गर्दा तीन वटा देशसँग गोप्य कोटेशन आव्हान गर्नुपर्छ । जसले सबैभन्दा सस्तोमा कोटेशन गर्छ, उसैसँग खरिद गर्नुपर्ने हुन्छ । तर, यो पटक गौतमले त्यो ऐन नै संशोधन गराएर एउटै देशबाट कोटेशन आव्हान गरेहुने बनाए । ...... यसो गर्नुको खास कारण उनका व्यापारिक साझेदार दीपक भट्टलाई खुसी पारेर उनीमार्फत आफूले कमिसन खानु रहेको एमाले स्रोतको दाबी छ । चीनियाँ हतियारका कारोवारी भट्ट गृहमन्त्री गौतमको खास मान्छे हुन् ।
Would like India to help us restore the glory of Nepal: Envoy
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) came in for a special praise from Nepalese Ambassador Deep Kumar Upadhyay for their rescue operations in his country following the killer quake last month, who also sought assistance from India in rebuilding the quake-ravaged country. ...... The Home Minister said Nepal is a part of "Bharat parivar" and India stands committed to stand by it. "Nepal is a sovereign nation and we consider it part of Bharat parivar (family). We will be standing where ever the Nepalese want us to stand by it." ...... Giving brief of the NDRF operations for nine days in Nepal under 'Operation Maitri', Director General of the force O P Singh said that

out of the 16 people found alive, 11 were rescued by his men

. ..... The specially-trained force rescued 11 persons, retrieved 132 bodies and provided medical aid to 1,157 injured and sick victims.
The Best Way to Help Nepal Recover From the Quake? Go There on Vacation
Ganga Sagar Pant, CEO of the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), says there is no reason for Nepal’s tourism — currently contributing around 10% of GDP and jobs — to grind to a halt. “The world must go on,” he said. “The tourism products are still there — mountains, flora and fauna, jungles, trails.”
Nepal earthquake: UN says it has only received fraction of necessary aid
a race against time to deliver relief supplies to remote areas – some of which are accessible only on foot – before the expected arrival of heavy monsoon rains next month. ..... “Someone has to open the tap....We cannot run our responses on credit cards. Those who have offered help need to make good on their pledges.”
That other jolt from Nepal’s earthquake
Many years after the great Ethiopian famine of 1984, a British television reporter—a veteran of many conflicts and disasters—conceded with remarkable candour that his reports may have inadvertently ended up reinforcing racial stereotypes about Africa. By repeatedly showing images of white charity workers coming to the aid of helpless starving Ethiopians—ignoring African workers for instance—journalist Michael Buerk and cameraman Mohamed Amin’s reports may even have caused a loss of self-esteem among blacks in Brixton and other London neighbourhoods, where they already suffered from racial discrimination at the time. ....... From being the land of wildlife born and roaming free, diverse Africa had become the continent of dying babies. ..... Last week, social media in earthquake-hit Nepal was set abuzz with criticism of the way the tragedy was being reported by Indian television channels, which were busy focusing on the relief and rescue work being carried out by Indian disaster relief forces. A Nepali cartoon showed an Indian television cameraman peeking out of the pocket of an Indian disaster relief worker. The Twitter hashtag #GoHomeIndianMedia went viral in Nepal, before being picked up by the Nepali mainstream media and travelling to India. ........ Indian television may have helped raise awareness of the Nepal earthquake. .......

But Indian television—news as well as fictional serials—is a bit like Hindi-language films: factual documentaries, largely, do not exist, and everything is black-and-white in colour. Forget nuance, balance and objectivity and, most of all, forget reasoned and informed debate.

....... Eight people, all shouting at the same time while wagging their fingers at the camera, may well be how television news in India wants to style itself and attract advertisements. If that is how debate is meant to be aired in a particular cultural context—debates in Parliament can be similarly noisy—then who is anyone to tell them otherwise. ........ The problem happens when they step outside familiar ground. Nepal, for instance. Anchor after anchor has spoken about how familiar they are with this country, yet few have really studied its politics, history, society and economics. ....... Few Indian journalists are hired for their specialization, few develop specialisms at work, say South Asian politics and culture. Why bother—aren’t they all a bit like us. Does anyone even speak Nepali? The result is loose talk of conspiracies—that foreign office favourite—apparently hatched by “anti-Indian sections in Nepal”. ....... The problem occurs when they cover international news, or even South Asian news, which has been scaled down the order of priorities for years, so that even for conflicts in countries such as Afghanistan or, to a lesser extent, Sri Lanka, much of the Indian media has taken its news from global media outlets—primarily, the big western wire services, American and British newspaper syndicates, the BBC and CNN. Anyone who has ever visited Nepal and mixed with Nepalis will know the amusement and slight irritation that Indian television news causes there. One prominent Indian television reporter told me from Kathmandu it’s not all Nepalis—it’s just “the intelligentsia and media”. ........ “Look, there’s been a race from day one, on who would be the first channel to get to the epicenter of the earthquake. And the government of India brought these reporters along, like embedded journalists, trying to copy the Yanks. .... “The Indian guys were hobnobbing with the Indian journalists. The local journalist was left out, and that’s why this whole thing happened. The local media were given access only a week later. ....... “On the one hand, it was like an Indian PR exercise. On the other hand, just about every one of the Nepali journalists has been affected by the earthquake in one way or the other. They have been camping out, living in tents. But still, the way they (Nepali media) have covered the disaster, they’ve really stood out in my opinion.” ....... Every reporter wants to save a baby, every reporter wants their army to pull someone out alive, every reporter wants to be the first on Ground Zero. A temple stood in the midst of rubble, we were told—over and over again. ....... This is the problem of parachute journalism, and there is nothing new in it. We have all done it. Western media have practised it for decades but they have also become acutely aware of the problems this can sometimes cause—chiefly bad journalism. Which is why you see more and more local journalists working for international media the world over. Sadly, news across Indian television channels is a mere platform to hyper-ventilate with hyper-nationalism.
What India can learn from Nepal
Nepal is this conflict-ridden poor country that hasn’t been able to frame a new Constitution for eight years now, has ego issues with India, plays the China card before New Delhi ..... Nepal’s image as a country that can’t manage itself is reinforced by the constant political instability in Kathmandu, because the politics is too bitter. ..... If we could, we’d be surprised that there are ways in which Nepal’s polity is more progressive than India’s. ..... Nepal has gone from war to peace, monarchy to republic, theocratic to secular state, a monolithic hill-centric nationalism to inclusive citizenship, and is slowly moving from unitary to federal state. These are processes, Jha argues, that countries and societies have taken decades to achieve. ...... Consider, in contrast, how India’s various conflicts, in Kashmir, the North East and the tribal belt, have been dragging on for decades, with New Delhi “managing” rather than seeking to resolve them. ..... Bringing the Maoists to the table was no mean achievement, one that India came around to supporting. ........ It is curious, for instance, why Nepal has almost no internet censorship, a claim no other South Asian country can make. Internet censorship, more than even press censorship, is a sign of how free a society is........ Nepal is also the only country in South Asia with no restrictions on community radio. Anybody can set up a local community radio station. News and politics are allowed. There were 263 operational community radio stations when the earthquake struck; 20 of them have been destroyed. ... Unfortunately, India is too afraid of radio, and does not give community radio licenses to anyone other than small NGOs and universities. India doesn’t even allow news on FM radio. ..... Nepal is the only country in South Asia where homosexuality is not criminalised. .. In 2008, Sunil Babu Pant became a member of the first constituent assembly (2008-2012), thus becoming the only openly gay politician in South Asia. ........ The first constituent assembly was described by the United Nations as having set a “gold standard on inclusion of minorities.” A third of its 601 members were women, Dalit representation was up from 0 to 49 in just a decade.
Alibaba's Jack Ma Joins Nepali Billionaire Binod Chaudhary's Rebuilding Efforts In Quake-Hit Nepal
Through his charitable arm, the Chaudhary Foundation, the billionaire is contributing $2.5 million in efforts to reconstruct 100 schools and 10,000 houses. The Foundation will pay the cost of 1,000 homes and raise money from other wealthy donors for the remaining 9,000 units. ...... Jack Ma’s Alibaba Foundation has agreed to fund 1,000 homes and will be sending a team of 10 executives to Nepal, reports Chaudhary. The Indorama Foundation, the charitable arm of Indian-born Indonesian plastics tycoon Sri Prakash Lohia, has pledged funds for 1,000 homes. ..... Alibaba’s Ma, whom Chaudhary met a year ago, was quick to respond to his request for help. So too his friend Lohia. ..... The houses to be constructed are expected to cost

$750

each and are being designed by Seeds India, an Indian non-profit, which has done similar work in northern India and Habitat for Humanity, which already operates in Nepal.
Destiny Dev Bungie Raises $400,000 (So Far) for Nepal Earthquake Relief



Does this ‘Nepal’ image make you want to build these children a home? Think again
An estimated 1.7 million children have been directly affected by the disaster, and the viral photograph seemed to perfectly encapsulate their situation. Desperate, vulnerable and alone. ..... We feel sympathy and pity, and these emotions create a power dynamic. They are helpless, we can help. They are vulnerable, we can protect them. ...... The standard response to images of displaced or at-risk children after a disaster overseas, is to build and support orphanages. It seems like an easy way to ensure children have a roof over their heads, and hopefully food and education, too. It was a response to the tsunami in 2004. It was a response to the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. It was even the response to the 10-year civil war in Nepal that ended in 2006.

It was the wrong response.

...... In Haiti, an estimated 80% of children in orphanages have a living parent. Some Haitian “orphans” were even adopted by American families, only for it to be revealed that they were not real orphans. Foreign aid can end up unnecessarily denying vulnerable children the chance to live with their families and instead condemning them to a lifetime of institutionalisation. ......... In many countries across the world, including Nepal, children are deliberately separated from their parents and trafficked to orphanages. As in any situation that attracts a large amount of cash, the willingness of foreign donors and volunteers to support orphanages can be exploited for profit motives. Aid money can be unknowingly lining the pockets of corrupt businessmen and fuelling the commodification of children. ........ “We are now deeply concerned that the earthquake will accelerate [child trafficking] beyond our worst nightmares. Aid money is flooding in to the country, children’s homes are offering hundreds more places for children, and not enough is being done in the rural areas to stop the flow of children away from their families into profit-making orphanages.” Children who have been separated, displaced or orphaned are among the most vulnerable in society. If we stand by while they are trafficked into institutions – many of which keep children in woefully inadequate conditions and some of which are dangerous – we will fail them. ........ It is always disempowering to hear that things are more complicated than originally assumed. That good intentions can backfire, that obvious solutions create even worse problems. We are being warned against rushing to Nepal and giving the “wrong kind” of aid. ..... we are mustering support for nuanced and considered responses that aim towards real solutions that we would accept in our own countries.
Nepal earthquake survivors turn to rebuilding homes and lives
Six years ago, Paru Shrestha's family tore down their old home in the Nepali town of Sankhu and replaced it with a modern, five-storey house. It probably saved their lives. .... Ten days after the 7.8 magnitude quake, many people were still searching debris for the bodies of loved ones, or struggling to recuperate from injury and trauma. ...... But many survivors do not complain simply because they know other Nepalis are suffering, too. ..... The quake has affected 8 million of Nepal's 28 million people, with at least 3 million needing tents, water, food and medicines over the next three months, said the United Nations. About 519,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed. ...... "If we can't rebuild our homes, we'll be displaced. We can't let that happen," said Madan Shrestha, 35, a bookseller who is not related to Paru. But most Nepalis cannot afford even to demolish their damaged houses, never mind build new ones.
Earthquake Strains Nepal's Already Shaky, But Potentially Powerful, Electricity Sector
Now, with many villages and municipalities here about to enter their second week without power — and with little expectation that the outages can be addressed quickly, given the extent of damage to the nation’s already fragile delivery infrastructure — many communities could be facing a long, slow journey just to get back to a crude baseline of regular power shortages. ...... More than a dozen hydropower plants — the chief source of electricity generation in the country — have suffered damages as a result of 7.8 magnitude earthquake, reducing the country’s domestic power production capabilities by as much as much as 30 percent ...... At least six other power projects that were under construction by NEA and a variety of smaller independent producers, have suffered damages. ....... at least eight private generating facilities remained completely offline. ..... “The number of all damaged distribution transformers may be in the many hundreds or even thousands,” Bhat said in an email message. “Reports of such damages are yet to be collected from remote areas where communication is yet to be restored. Similarly, distribution lines — including distribution poles, insulators and conductors — are damaged in large quantities. The exact quantity is yet to be confirmed.” ........ The rapid deployment of small-scale, increasingly independent hydropower projects in dozens of remote communities had helped to reduce the portion of Nepal’s 28 million inhabitants without any access to electricity in recent years to between one-quarter and one-third. ......

one of the critical needs besides food and shelter is electricity for lighting and mobile charging

...... someone from his village comes down to the nearest town with 70-80 mobile phones every alternate day to do mass charging ..... a Nepalese solar firm, Gham Power, which is working with other businesses and stakeholders to identify areas most in need of power and dispatch solar charging and lighting kits as quickly as possible ..... With more than 2 percent of all global water resources at its disposal, Nepal has long been poised to be a self-sustaining electricity powerhouse. A prodigious monsoon season and vast water stores of the Himalayan glaciers feed thick arterial river flows up and down this mountainous nation, representing as much as 83,000 megawatts of hydropower potential — enough to overhaul a woefully underdeveloped economy and turn Nepal into a powerful regional electricity supplier. ...... Beset by political bickering, however, the nation has only managed to harness less than one percent of that potential thus far, and the recent earthquake is only likely to set things back further — though China and India will be keen to get things on track as quickly as possible. With burgeoning middle-class and electricity-hungry populations of their own, both countries have been eyeing Nepal’s hydropower sector in recent years
Here’s how broke college students are helping Nepal recover from disaster
crowdsourcing information, in real time, that people need on the ground. ..... Sevier used social media to draw in more than 60 volunteers – during final exams, no less – to learn the mapping software. “They were really excited to have a chance to help,” she said. ..... It only took about 20 minutes to an hour to learn how to do it, she said, and now she keeps seeing students working on the maps around campus, at the library, at coffee shops. ..... an international charity is using the maps to help guide its decisions in Nepal
Nepal earthquake rocks its economy
preliminary economic losses from the Nepal earthquake likely to reach and possibly exceed $5 billion. That would equal at least 25 percent of Nepal's GDP. ...... the IMF expects the Nepalese economy to "decelerate" in the short term as the nation deals with the loss of essential revenue from tourism and absorbs higher costs for imported goods. ..... preliminary reconstruction costs in Nepal could climb above $5 billion .. "Their tourism economy has obviously come to a halt. I don't know when it would be realistic for tourists to again visit Nepal." ...... less than $3.50 is spent per capita annually in Nepal on property and casualty insurance, versus the nearly $2,300 spent each year in the U.S.
Nepal asks India to provide only much-needed items
Kathmandu has asked Indian agencies not to send items like water or clothes, and focus instead on supplying tarpaulin sheets and dry rations for its citizens rendered homeless by the unprecedented disaster. ....... "I am proud of the NDRF. They have carved a niche for themselves as an able rescue force,

having rescued alive 11 of the total 16 people and recovering 133 bodies in all. This, when rescue agencies from 34 different countries had been working in Nepal

," Singh said. ...... All 780 NDRF personnel engaged in the rescue mission are back home
Israel lauds India’s efforts in rescuing nationals from Nepal
no known Israeli national is stranded as of now. "We only lost one Israeli youth who got buried in the debris. His body has already been flown back to Israel."

BibekSheel Nepali: Earthquake Response Task Force


A few suggestions (first, great work, as in great work on the ground, but also great work putting together this video --- almost equally important):

  • Put out shorter clips (3-5 minutes) almost daily, mostly to do with work on the ground. Your public Facebook page is your hub. 
  • Always conclude by asking for donations. Make it easy for people to donate. 
  • Target the global Nepali diaspora, but don't ignore the locals. Set up a missed call mechanism perhaps?
  • "Sell" the numbers. Moving around information is almost as important as moving around food, water tablets and basic medicine. Show the world you have a great bang for the buck. Impact per dollar, if you will. 
  • Don't restrict yourself to Nepali donors. Anyone anywhere on the planet can donate. In fact, consider spending 1% of your proceeds on Facebook ads. Or get donors to sponsor that. 
  • The short term needs are food, water purifying tablets, and basic medicine, and tents/tarpaulins. The immediate long term needs are house reconstruction. Build the big picture by gathering information from every possible source. How many are impacted? How many have need? How are the needs being met? What is the unmet need? Show that you are doing good work, but it is a drop in the ocean. That you provide a great bang for the buck (low overhead), but you face a resource crunch. 
  • Getting that information out there, those concrete numbers, would  be a big help. Ordinary Americans (and Indians and British and Japanese and others) will donate directly to you if you communicate well. Facebook is that platform. 100% real time online transparency is the weapon to use. 
  • This video is great, but also upload another one with English subtitles. 
  • If you can show the world that what you are doing is 20 times cheaper than the foreign governments and agencies trying to provide end to end solutions, that just might end up being your top contribution. That might not get you the foreign government funds, but ordinary Americans (and Indians and British and Japanese and others) will step in. 
  • Good work is not enough, it also has to scale. Looks like you went from 50 to 500 to 1100 volunteers. Go to 5,000 to 50,000. It has to be that fundraising is the only constraint. And that fundraising has to be on a war footing, and global. Nepalis who participated in your virtual #withNepal event now need to help you with this. You rope them in by creating your daily 3-5 minute video which always end with a strong pitch for people to donate. 
  • Also play a watchdog role. People in the affected areas should learn to call you to say things like "I am from such and such place, this is the scale of devastation, and we have not received any help yet" or "Help came but went to all the wrong people, the true needy did not get it." Those audio recordings could be part of the video clips. Raw audio. 
  • Work closely with the group (I believe KLL) that is doing the crowd sourced map. That is the closest thing to 100% online transparency we have right now. 
  • Always try to communicate the big picture. As in, there is a need for 500,000 tents, we have sent out 1500, other organizations and agencies have sent out 200,000 as of ___________ and we believe there is an unmet need of _________ tents. 
  • The hotline is an awesome idea. 
  • Create one task force just for a robust online discussion on what might be the best options for reconstruction of houses. What is everyone else saying? What are some of the best ideas in the local context? What is the need on the ground? What kind of help can be expected? What might be some of the local self help ideas? What mistakes are to be avoided? 
  • You say resurgence. What do you mean? 
  • Now might not be the best time. But keep collecting all possible data/information that can be seen as evidence of incompetence and corruption on the part of those in power, and at the right time, maybe in a few weeks, when one round of help has already reached most of those in need, start a political campaign where you say we can do better. And there the membership through missed call needs to go national. Because those who messed up can not be allowed to stay at the help for five years. And this Relief/Reconstruction/Resurgence will be at least a five year marathon. Give people an alternative. A sound political alternative. In short, plot a political offensive. 
  • Also act a watchdog to foreign governments and agencies. Challenge some of their mental frameworks. Challenge them on the maximum bang for the buck. What is their ROI (Return On Investment)? Is it poor? Share that with their taxpayers. Give them options to work through organizations like yours. 
  • Which are the Top 10 organizations? With the maximum impact, efficiency, transparency? 
  • Do not ignore Kathmandu valley. The valley also has need. It also has resources. And it might be your "Delhi!" The political stepping stone. 
  • Start an Adopt A Family program. You connect a sponsoring person or family globally to a family in need in Nepal. The help is for house  reconstruction and basic livelihood needs. 
  • Reach out to Elon Musk. Ask him to pitch in. If he does, the media publicity that will generate will bring in much more from many people. Ask Musk to build a Mangal Tower in Kathmandu in place of Dharahara. Free WiFi across the Valley. FYI: Musk has a soft spot for the Khan Academy. You should be able to tug him. 
  • The goal of the daily 3-5 minute video is fundraising. That's it. Let there be no doubt. 
  • Go directly to platforms like Indiegogo for the same. 
  • The last 10 seconds in the video are not well done. If someone wants to donate, all the information should be right there. Your PayPal account ID, your Western Union ID, bank account. No? 
  • Summary: Great work, keep it up, scale like crazy. 


Thursday, May 07, 2015

A Marshall Plan Is Possible Through 100% Online Transparency

Logo used on aid delivered to European countri...
Logo used on aid delivered to European countries during the Marshall Plan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Marshall Plan was a US government effort. Done right, 100% online transparency allows you to bypass that US government and go straight to the American people. And by American, I also mean British, Indian, Japanese, whoever.

Needed: A Marshall Plan
governance in Nepal was a disaster zone even before the earthquake. ..... Slow delivery of services, lack of coordination, mismanagement, ad hoc decisions and corruption have been the hallmarks of our soft state. Despite the restoration of democracy and regular elections, accountability has somehow always fallen between the cracks. Leaders who traditionally thrived on patronage have felt no need for performance-based legitimacy. ...... How could we expect the Nepali state to become the epitome of efficient management and speedy delivery overnight, just because there was an earthquake? ....... It would have streamlined procedures to receive maximum assistance instead of creating hurdles, it would have expedited delivery of urgent medical and food supplies to remote areas instead of letting it pile up at the airport, it would have encouraged donations to pour in instead of creating obstacles and obfuscation. ...... what we saw were politicians and bureaucrats showing the same inertia and lethargy as they have during ‘normal’ times. They pushed paper, waited for rubber stamps and ‘clearance from higher-up authorities’ as if it was just another humdrum day in our banana republic. All right, we’ll say it:

the bureaucratic delays in the initial days after the quake cost lives. The earthquake killed people, red tape killed many of the survivors.

........ The Prime Minister toured Sindhupalchok by air 10 days after the earthquake, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been holed up in a secluded villa in Man Bhavan for the past week, and only briefly gate-crashed a relief distribution event organised by the Guru Dwara. The President, it must be said, shunned media attention and made low-key personal visits to ruins of Kathmandu’s historic heart. ..... And when the politicians and the government did act decisively, it was to spread even more hopelessness and confusion. Just like the famously absurd sound bite by a palace official after the royal massacre in 2001 about it having been caused by the “accidental discharge of an automatic weapon” this time too, officials were busy shooting themselves in the foot every time they opened their mouths. .......... The Central Bank issued a dreadful statement that all earthquake aid had to be channeled through the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (‘otherwise they will be seized’) that immediately halted most emergency cash donations from abroad. The PMO tried to clarify it was only for NGOs set up after 25 April for earthquake relief, but its interpretation sowed even more confusion. Then some wiseguy in government said we don’t need any more aid. Not to be outdone, another smartass told foreign rescue workers “we don’t need you anymore we can handle it ourselves”. The government is the subject of ridicule across the world, it is squandering the goodwill that Nepal and Nepalis command internationally – testament to which is the tremendous and prompt delivery of relief flights.......... The Army and Armed Police together have 120,000 personnel deployed in the 12 districts, and by all accounts have gone beyond the call of duty, despite their own family tragedies, in search, rescue and ferrying supplies. Civil society, individuals, overseas Nepalis and the private sector have stepped in to fill the gaps. ......... In the short-term there is still the need to get emergency food, medicine and shelter to the areas where they are most needed. In the medium term, we will have to turn our attention to semi-permanent housing as well help with seeds for the planting season as the rainy season approaches. This is of vital importance so subsistence farmers who have lost their granaries have something to eat in the coming year and will not have to depend on outside food aid. Then there is the colossal need for reconstruction of the 300,000 homes and 15,000 schools that have been destroyed. ........ This needs a Marshall Plan type movement with seamless coordination between the government, local bodies, the international community, the UN and the multilateral agencies. By now we have plenty of lessons learnt from Haiti to Haiyan about how to best manage the rehabilitation of vast populations. No two countries are alike, but there are red flags about where things went dreadfully wrong elsewhere, and why things worked brilliantly in places. ....... more than anything else, we in Nepal need to turn this tectonic shift into a paradigm shift in the way we govern ourselves, how we plan, move towards a renewable energy economy, be more self-sufficient, enforce urban planning, zoning and safe housing regulations, and decentralise decision-making. ....... Nepal has turned into a no-man’s land because of overseas out migration. Village after village devastated by the earthquake have only women, children and the elderly.

Massive Corruption At The Airport?

विमानस्थलको भण्डारकक्षमा केही टन भन्दा राहत सामग्री रहेको छैन । नेपाली सेनाको विमानस्थल समन्वय केन्द्रले हालसम्म २२०० टन राहत सामग्री आएको जानकारी गराउँदै आएको छ । तर ती राहत सामग्री कहाँ गए र कसले पाए भन्ने बारेमा कुनै पनि सरकारी निकायसँग तथ्याङ्क रहेको छैन । जिल्ला सदरमुकाममा राहत सामग्री छैन, पीडितले पाएका छैनन् । केही सरकारी अधिकारीले राहत सामग्री राजधानीका केही स्थानमा लुकाएर राखेको पाइएको छ । उनीहरु माथि कोही कसैले पनि कारवाही गर्ने आँट राखेको छैन । विमानस्थलबाट प्रभावित जिल्लामा पठाइएका राहत सामग्री कहाँ गयो भन्ने बारेमा न त गृह मन्त्रालयलाई थाहा छ ? न त अन्य निकायलाई नै । ..... विमानस्थल नेपालको हो कि भारत, चीन, अमेरिकाको हो भन्ने छुट्टयाउन नसकिने अवस्थामा रहेको सरकारी अधिकारी नै स्वीकार गर्छन । ..... सरकारले सिन्धुपाल्चोक जिल्लामा राहत सामग्री वितरणका लागि चीनलाई जिम्मा दिएको छ । पोखरालाई केन्द्रबिन्दु बनाएर भारत र काठमाडौँ केन्द्र बनाएर नुवाकोट, रसुवा,धादिङको जिम्मा समेत भारतीयले पाएको छ । भने रामेछाप, ओखलढुङ्गा, दोलखाको जिम्मा अमेरिकाले पाएको छ । तर ती जिल्लामा हालसम्म भूकम्प पीडित जनता त्रिपाल समेत नपाएर बारीको पाटामा बस्न वाध्य छन् ।

1934, 2015

Making Nepal Different From Haiti



Nepal's story does not have to be a Haiti repeat. But asking the foreign governments and organizations to put all their pledged money into the Prime Minister's Relief Fund is the worst of all possible outcomes. First, they will not do it. It is their money. They answer to their own governments, not to the Nepal government. You can request them, but you can not make them. They have already made it clear they will not do it.

If the foreign governments and organizations working directly is the best way to reach the affected masses, so be it. But I don't think that is true.

So, what's the way out? Out of the box thinking.

I believe this is the solution: Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill.

The political leaders in all three parties are in a sorry shape. They could have delivered a constitution within six months of the last elections, and held elections to the state and local governments within six months after that, and we would have been in a much better shape right now. Don't let bygones be bygones, but let's face the reality that that did not happen.

Those same leaders today asking the donors repeatedly over multiple meetings to put all the money into the Prime Minister's Relief Fund is no different from when they had meeting after meeting over months to reach "consensus!"

It is not happening. The pledged money is not showing up in the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. Get over it. And I don't blame them. That would have been a hard proposition in the best of times, but right now the Sushil-Bame-KP government has Jajarkot written all over its face. I just so happen to think myself not putting all that pledged money into the Prime Minister's Relief Fund is an excellent idea. If you put the money there the biggest disaster in the country's history will become the biggest corruption story in the country's history, plain and simple. Look at all the foreign aid that has come into Nepal over the past 60 years, aid and loans. What do you have to show for it?

But then those foreign governments and donors are not bathed in the holy Ganga either. They messed up Haiti royally. They are not great at involving locals. They can have faulty assumptions. They might hire a ton of their own people when locals might have comparable or even better skills, and might be 20 times cheaper. They might blow up a big chunk of the aid money that way. They might spend a major chunk of the aid money buying stuff in their own countries. After all, relief and reconstruction is an industry. There are loads of lobbyists in all major capitals trying to grab a piece of the pie for themselves. Those lobbyists don't feel much domestic pressure to keep Nepal's best interests in mind. There is often no countervailing force.

विशेषज्ञ कुकुर टोलीको खर्च दैनिक २२ करोड
राहत रकम, ३ दलकाे खिचातानी

So, what to do?

I believe this is the solution: Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill.

You can't make them put all their money into the Prime Minister's Relief Fund, which is such an unrealistic thing to expect. But you can get them to 100% online transparency, as long as you are also subjecting yourself to the same. And you are getting all NGOs and INGOs to do the same. You can do all that with one comprehensive website that has abundant social media sharing buttons.

So there is this ocean of people who are, say, on Facebook: Nepalis in Nepal, Nepalis all over the world, friends of Nepal. And they all have the option to visit the website and to share stuff there onto their own social media streams. It is inevitable that old media, the global media, will lose its interest in Nepal at some point, and long before the reconstruction work has happened. This army of social media enthusiasts will keep Nepal alive in the social media world, and the fundraising will keep happening, because it is not dependent on old media no more.

The website features every government, agency and organization that is involved. And it provides full transparency on the book keeping for each. The website is also where you go to see all the deliberations by all actors. It is so easy to do. Everybody with a smartphone is well equipped to create content for social media. You can show pictures and videos. You can interview people and share on Facebook. You can share book keeping details in a Google Doc. It is pretty much free.

When Nepal's parliament gets together and holds a robust discussion on the Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill all those debates and discussions should end up on YouTube, fully transcribed in English. The MPs should have the guts to ask all the hard questions to the foreign governments, agencies and NGOs. Ask why the mistakes in Haiti will not see a repeat in Nepal. Representatives from those foreign governments, agencies and NGOs could be invited to those hearings. The MPs should have the guts to face those representatives and answer their questions as well. Most of those questions will be to do with corruption and inefficiency.

The Nepal Army, which is a total failure when it comes to being an inclusive institution (zero Madhesi faces), has done great work in the past weeks. Perhaps they can be given a larger, ongoing role over the coming months. Nepal is not going to be attacked by either India or China. But it gets hit by natural disaster every year without fail. And this was the biggest of them all. I feel like the Nepal Army rose up to the challenge.

Government secretaries and the all party mechanisms in each village are still pretty good. Those can help.

The Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill will provide a platform where anyone and everyone can participate in the discussions for every step that needs to be taken next. There is relief, reconstruction, and resurgence. The country should bounce back from this and finally end up on a fast track to rapid development. This earthquake has brought forth an unprecedented sense of unity among Nepalis across the world. Maybe it will birth an Aam Aadmi Party in Nepal. I, for one, don't see these three parties doing anything different in the future just because an earthquake hit.

Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill ---- this is designed to hold everyone accountable, and everyone with internet access anywhere in the world can play the watchdog role. The organizations doing the best work will see enhanced fundraising because that army of social enthusiasts keeps spreading the word far and wide.

Done right this Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill could go beyond building houses. It could go on to providing small loans to small farmers so they can emerge stronger than ever before. Done right this Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill could get Nepal more money directly from the American people than from the US government, and from the ordinary citizens of the UK, and India.

But right now I am pessimistic. The current crop of the three party leaders will not do it. This is harder to do than the constitution. And Vivekshil Nepali has not decided to do it yet.

नेपाल सरकार कि विदेशी सरकार --- प्रश्न नै गलत

अहिले नेपालमा व्यापक छलफल भएको छ ----- राहत र पुनर्निर्माण को पैसा कसले खर्च गर्ने? नेपाल सरकार ले गर्ने कि विदेशी सरकार र संस्था हरुले। प्रधान मंत्री राहत कोष को कुरा आएको छ। हेटी को कुरा आएको छ।

नेपाल सरकार कि विदेशी सरकार --- त्यो प्रश्न नै गलत हो। राहत र पुनर्निर्माण को पैसा सबै प्रधान मंत्री राहत कोष मा हाल्ने हो भने अर्को जाजरकोट हुने हो। राहत र पुनर्निर्माण को पैसा सबै प्रधान मंत्री राहत कोष मा हाल्ने कि नहालने --- त्यो प्रश्न पनि अव्यवहारिक छ ---- नेपालको संसदले हाल्ने भनेर निर्णय गरेमा हालिने होइन। अरुको पैसा के गर्छ उसको निर्णय हुन्छ।

मुख्य कुरा हो राहत र पुनर्निर्माण हुनुपर्यो। सहयोग पाउनु पर्ने ले पाउनुपर्यो। बढ़ी भन्दा बढ़ी सहयोग हुनुपर्यो।

I believe this is the solution: Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill.



हेटी ले सिकाउने: घुस खाने कि तलब खाने?
The Government Under A Cloud
100% Online Transparency Not Just For Nepal Government
The Nepal Army Has Been Doing Exemplary Work
हो, सरकार अक्षम्य रुपले असफल भएको हो
Massive Infrastructure, Massive Growth
Digital Sharing: How It Could Work
Exemplary Relief And Reconstruction Through Digital Sharing
Time For The People To Revolt Against Corruption
A Corrupt Elite Rattled By The Earthquake
नेपालमा एउटा अहिंसात्मक कोतपर्व को खाँचो
Outlines Of A 100% Online Transparency Bill
The Perfect Time
Complaining About Tuna And Mayonnaise
सरकारले काम गरेको कि नगरेको?
भारतको रोल, चीनको रोल, नेपालको आफ्नो रोल
The Corrupt Ones Are Worried About Money Laundering
What Kills? Earthquakes? Collapsing Buildings? Or Corrupt Governments?
Shesh Ghale Tells It Like It Is
Mass Action For Relief And Reconstruction
An Insane Act By The Nepal Government
Criminal Acts By The Political Leadership
My Article On Nepal Earthquake For Foreign Policy: Draft 1