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The Nepal humanitarian crisis (2015-2017) developed owing to a lack of action following the April 2015 Nepal earthquake and its aftershocks. It was compounded by political factors as a result of the 2015 Nepal blockade. Victims of the earthquakes were still living in flimsy, temporary shelters more than a year after the initial devastation. The governmental National Reconstruction Authority had not devised relocation plans for these people as recently as July 2016.[1] In Sindhupalchok District, the region that had suffered the worst devastation, the humanitarian situation was a little better towards the end of 2016 than it had been in 2015.[2]
Development indicators dropped with the passage of time. Nepal had ranked among the countries that had seen remarkable development gains pre-quake; post-quake reversal of gains led to around 43% of the urban population lacking access to even a decent toilet.[3] It has been reported that one of the primary reasons for girls dropping out or irregularly attending school was the lack of toilets.[4]
Announcement
In early November 2015, the US embassy sounded the warning of a humanitarian crisis evolving in Nepal. The issue of post-quake vulnerability somehow dissipated during the increasingly vocal information war between Kathmandu and New Delhi, which witnessed public denouncements at various United Nations offices.[5] Soon UNICEF followed with a warning echoing statements previously made by the US embassy.[6]
Ethnic Angle
The most ignored communities were Nepali Indians, living in the most inaccessible regions of Nepal, clinging to high mountain passes. They have yet to see any quake aid from Kathmandu, while the relief effort focuses on the immediate needs of people in the vicinity of cities. The areas of Nepal hardest-hit by the earthquake, such as Gorkha District, Sindhupalchowk District and Dolakha District, where 90% of houses were destroyed, are likely to suffer most as Kathmandu historically has shown very little interest in them, and transport must be by mule in treacherous mountainous terrain as no roads exist.[7] In particular, Tamang and Chepang children were already suffering from severe malnutrition before the fuel crisis, and they were worst off.[8] Having waited until winter is in full swing, the government in Kathmandu, finally gearing for action in December, realized that it could not efficiently deliver supplies to remote locations without helicopters.[9] By Christmas 2015, snow had already fallen in many parts of the country.[10]
1/3 of all deaths were among Tamang people, and roughly 2/3 of the 600,000 structures completely destroyed were in Tamang dominant areas. It is the poverty, neglect and outright discrimination against Tamangs that makes them even more vulnerable to disasters like earthquakes, landslides and floods—Anthropologist Mukta Singh Lama.[11]
In total, an estimated 600,000 homes were destroyed in the earthquake (with no donated money reaching any survivors as of 9 November).[12] These and similar predominately Mongoloid groups that inhabit high mountain homelands are known to international tourists and trekkers through trekking circuits, where the experiences of them sharing their homes and hospitality are an integral part of the trekking experience. However, these very same people are the most vulnerable within Nepal due to their remoteness, post-quake effects, weak political representation, low caste, and the altitude and climate.[7] Goma BK of the Gagal Bhadaure Village Development Committee(VDC)-9, Ramechhap, said that she was unable to get find onekilogram of rice or one tarpaulin even after walking four hours daily for six days. Rajendra Nepali of Bhimeshwor Municipality-6, Dolakha, said that Dalits were excluded during the relief effort because their settlements are located in remote areas and lack access to information.[13]
Humanitarian access
Political leaders did not lose their houses, and they have their warm homes in Kathmandu. Only the poor like us suffer like this. They cannot feel our pain unless they spend a night in our shelter.—Quake survivor Rani Mhendo Tamang from Haku village.[14]
Humanitarian access to survivors has been lacking, other than the UNHAS air drops, as the government had seized ad-hoc post-quake efforts and resources within the month after the initial quake. This situation did not improve even with the new government of KP Oli in October. Only after widespread criticism and warnings of impending doom did the government break the logjam and appoint the reconstruction authority head on 25 December,[14] who now has the task of racing against time to begin reconstruction.[15]
Crisis Intensification
Winter Onset
Despite the first politically unified government since before the Nepalese Civil War, no action has been taken in the month since Cabinet endorsed an action plan for releasing grant assistance meant for houses destroyed by the 25 April earthquake.[16] On 26 November, some 600 children in Gorkha District were diagnosed with malnutrition.[17]
We are alive so far. But I do not know if we will still be alive when it starts snowing after a few weeks. We have a choice to either suffocate in the smoke or freeze in the cold.—Quake survivor Karbo Tamang from Haku village.[14]
In a normal winter the prior year, without quakes or fuel shortages, an estimated 5,000 children died from pneumonia exacerbated by indoor pollution from firewood used to keep warm. These numbers were expected to rise sharply in the winter of 2015.[18] While long-promised legal traction in preparation for assistance has materialized, the first 2,000 families to receive money they can put to immediate use, collected it on 20 December from the Nepal Red Cross for emergency clothing and food. Many complained it is not enough to buy clothes for the entire family let alone any food.[19] As the problems compound, some 3,300 people have been diagnosed with tuberculosis in the west as of 25 December, a region not affected by the quake.[20] In a twist of irony, on 28 December, an ignored and very irritated group of quake survivors sent the Nepali government warm clothes as a symbolic protest.[21] The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) of copters, coordinated by the World Food Programme, has made 4,784 sorties in the eight months to remote areas. This has stopped for lack of funds, with the last delivery made on 31 December just as the worst of winter cold sets in, and confirmation of disease and death from lack of food in villages makes headlines in earnest.[22] The first 3 billion rupees was released by the Kathmandu government for warm clothing on 3 January 2016, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.[23]
Despite an about turn regarding quake relief by the central government of Nepal around Christmas and early January 2016, and one Army led relief to push into remote Gorkha during a blizzard, only one out of four villages received aid as helicopters had trouble landing.[24] The Oli government began selling donated food meant for victims to raise money, instead of delivering the goods to survivors. This move was criticized by the independent Nepal Human Rights Commission.[25] Additionally, the official launch of the reconstruction campaign resembled a religious ceremony rather than a relief mission.[26]
Additionally, even in the Madhesh plains town of Pokariya, which has a well-connected infrastructure compared to the Himalayas, some 26 people have died in two months, with major news outlets failing to report this.[27] Some 400 health facilities were damaged or destroyed in the quake-hit mountain region. As of mid-February 2016, only one had been restored to operation, by an NGO not the government.[28]
Ongoing Issues
Despite the first government relief actions and commitments, serious hurdles in execution] exist.[29] The quake has not only destroyed homes but livelihoods. According to a news report, every needy family across the quake-hit Gorkha District seeking out a living with traditional occupations finds itself in the same kind of predicament—the quake has destroyed their means of livelihood. Once self-sufficient communities have become entirely dependent on aid for survival, extreme depression (mood) is setting in.[30]
People are just not living well after the disastrous post-quake post-blockade winter. Stress-induced insomnia has become commonplace and chronic and that is wreaking social havoc.[31]Water scarcity has hit 2.8 million people and over 5,200 drinking water projects.[32] As of March 2016, some 325 water sources in 14 districts have gone dry.[32]
Reconstruction obstruction
The NRA should not regulate but facilitate, what we need now is quick decision-making.— Kenichi Yokoyama, Nepal Director of the Asian Development Bank (in response to March 2016 NRA notice)[33]
In a brief notice in early March 2016, the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) directed all relief agencies to stop reconstructing private homes destroyed or damaged in the earthquake for the 2.5 million survivors, without its approval.[33] Although the intentions finally appeared humanitarian this time as to bring the ad hoc relief agencies into oversight, the timing (a year late and after the brutal winter) had rendered a swift and brutal reaction from relief agencies.[34] Infighting between political parties had already led to the extended and bitterly cruel delay in NRA setup, along with the willful misleading of survivors regarding money to rebuild, and timeliness that only worsened the humanitarian situation, with no government clarification on this.[33] Although the NRA issued a ban, it is clear that NGOs are not waiting, nor is the agency seriously seeking to stop them, as an NRA spokesperson stated: "We don’t mean to stop INGOs and NGOs from reconstruction projects, just to bring them under our jurisdiction."[33] The agency's response has been that they are understaffed and ministries are not cooperating nor attending their meetings.[33]
International reactions
United States – On 5 November 2015, the US expressed deep concern over the critical shortages of essential supplies in Nepal resulting from a volatile situation along the Nepal-India border.[35]
United Nations – On 26 November 2015, United Nations Development Programme resident senior economist Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis stated: "What could have been transient poverty is turning out to be structural poverty due to delay in reconstruction works."[36]
United NationsUNICEF – On 30 November, UNICEF stated – "More than 3 million children under the age of 5 in Nepal are at risk of death or disease during the harsh winter months due to a severe shortage of fuel, food, medicines and vaccines."[37]
United NationsWorld Food Programme – On 11 December, UN WFP stated – "Major disruptions in food and fuel imports across its southern border with India have severely affected Nepal’s supplies and caused a worrying increase in food prices."[38]
The Chepang, also known as Chewang, are an Tibeto-Burman ethnic group from the rugged ridges of the Mahabharat mountain range of central Nepal.
The Tamang, are a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group of Nepal, Southern Bhutan and North India. In Nepal Tamang/Moormi people constitute 5.6% of the Nepalese population at over 1.3 million in 2001, increasing to 1,539,830 as of the 2011 census. The Tamang people are concentrated in the central hilly region of Nepal. Indian Tamangs are found in significant numbers in the state of Sikkim and the districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal state. Bhutanese Tamangs are native to various districts in the southern foothills of the Kingdom of Bhutan. Such districts include the Tsirang District, the Dagana District, the Samtse District, the Chukha District, the Sarpang District and the Samdrup Jongkhar District. Tamang language is the fifth most-spoken language in Nepal.
The Dhaka topi, or Nepali topi, is a hat which is popular in Nepal, and which forms part of Nepalese national dress, worn by men on celebrations.
Dharahara or Bhimsen Stambha, is a 72-metre-tall (236 ft) tower at the centre of Sundhara, Kathmandu, Nepal. It was first built in 1832 by Mukhtiyar Bhimsen Thapa under the commission of Queen Lalit Tripurasundari and was a part of the architecture of Kathmandu recognized by UNESCO. It has been damaged and reconstructed several times.
Chautara Sangachokgadhi is a municipality in Sindhupalchowk District in Bagmati Province of central Nepal. The municipality was established on 18 May 2014 by merging Pipaldanda, Chautara, Kubhinde, Sanusiruwari Village Development Committees as Chautara Municipality. Later on 2017 it was expended again merging Sangachok, Thulo Sirubari, Kadambas, Irkhu, Batase and Syaule Village Development Committees to form Chautara Sangachowkgadi Municipality. It is now divided to 14 wards. This is the district headquarters of the Sindhupalchowk District. The municipality stands at the elevation of approximately 1,600 m above sea level. Religious and cultural festivities form a major part of the lives of people residing in Chautara. There are people of various religious beliefs, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity as well, giving Chautara a cosmopolitan culture. Nepali is the most commonly spoken language in the municipality. Likewise, Newari and other languages such as Tamang is also spoken as the Newars and Tamangs dominate the settlement in population.
Janardan Sharma is a Nepalese politician and former Finance Minister of Nepal. He is a three-time parliamentarian. He has previously served as Minister of Home Affairs, Energy, and Peace and ReconstructionNepal.
Gagan Kumar Thapa is a Nepali politician and youth leader, who is the current General Secretary of the Nepali Congress. He is currently serving as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives, Nepal from Kathmandu since 2008, and is currently in its Parliamentary Committee on Education and Health. He served as the Minister of Health and Population of Nepal from 2016 to 2017.
Devika Bandana is a Nepalese solo and playback singer. She has received national level awards including Gorkha Dakshin Bahu and Chinnalata Geet Purashkar. She also participated the song Melancholy, a song by 365 Nepali Artists which was recorded in a single day on 19 May 2016, in Radio Nepal, Kathmandu in which song was attempt to break the Guinness World Records, has been written, music composed and directed by environmentalist Nipesh Dhaka.
The April 2015 Nepal earthquake killed 8,964 people and injured 21,952 more. It occurred at on Saturday, 25 April 2015, with a magnitude of 7.8Mw or 8.1Ms and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of X (Extreme). Its epicenter was east of Gorkha District at Barpak, Gorkha, roughly 85 km (53 mi) northwest of central Kathmandu, and its hypocenter was at a depth of approximately 8.2 km (5.1 mi). It was the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal since the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake. The ground motion recorded in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, was of low frequency, which, along with its occurrence at an hour when many people in rural areas were working outdoors, decreased the loss of property and human lives.
Operation Maitri was a rescue and relief operation in Nepal by the government of India and Indian armed forces in the aftermath of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. Indian government responded within few minutes of the quake. It started on 26 April 2015 and also involved Nepali ex-servicemen from India's Gurkha Regiments for interface for guidance, relief and rescue.
An earthquake struck Nepal at 11:56:54 NST on 25 April 2015 with a moment magnitude of 7.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). It was the most powerful earthquake to strike Nepal since the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake. Many thousands of people died, with most casualties reported in Nepal, and adjoining areas of India, China, and Bangladesh.
Bibeksheel Nepali Dal is a political party in Nepal. The name "Bibeksheel" translates to "common sense wisdom".
The 2015 Nepal blockade, which began on 23 September 2015 and lasted about six months, was an economic and humanitarian crisis that severely affected Nepal and its economy.
Kathmandu Living Labs (KLL) is a living lab and nonprofit civic technology company based in Kathmandu, Nepal that primarily works on mobile technology and mapping. KLL focuses on using GPS/GIS technology for humanitarian aims, sometimes referred to as "humanitarian mapping".
Ganesh Panday is a Nepalese filmmaker and journalist. His most recent film about earthquakes in Nepal has won 15 International Awards
Events in the year 2019 in Nepal.
Hari Prasad Rimal sometimes known as, father of Nepali Radio drama was a Nepalese actor, singer and film director. He is known for being the first person to sing on Radio Nepal and he has acted on Nepal's first film Aama.
Bhumika Shrestha is a Nepalese activist and actor. Shrestha is a third gender activist and is currently working with the Blue Diamond Society.
Bhairabi Temple is a Hindu temple in Bidur Municipality, Nuwakot, Nepal. It is dedicated to goddess Bhairavi, the consort of god Bhairav.
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