Namaste, diaspora family. On Wednesday the government formally stopped looking for survivors of the Bhotekoshi flood. Then more rain killed about 35 people, and an avalanche on Himlung killed fifteen Nepali expedition workers. In Japan, the weather put our cricketers out of the Asian Games without their losing a match. Dashain is nine days away. Two corrections to last week appear below.
Where Things Stand
Rescue is over. On 30 September the disaster authority (NDRRMA) moved to “search and recovery”, which continues at two tunnel sites. Families of the missing can now get relief without the usual 12-year wait; it starts at the ward office (Radio Nepal).
The count (30 Sep): 1,454 dead, 112 identified, 5,285 missing, down from 5,786 mostly because duplicate names were removed. One missing Malaysian traveller turned up alive after 37 days (myRepublica).
Correction: we said the Rs 15,000 rent allowance was being paid. The Kathmandu Post found on 30 September that no family had received it (The Kathmandu Post).
Relief funds: Rs 16.155 billion given, still Rs 1 billion released (Khabarhub).
Second rain (24 to 27 Sep): 35 dead, 12 of them in Baglung; the Narayani hit a record 11.94m (Nepal News).
🌍 Diaspora & Globalisation
Malaysia: Twenty-Five Agencies and a Locked Door
New hiring for Malaysia has been frozen for six weeks, and this week Kathmandu made its objection formal. Nepal asked Malaysia to drop the 25 Nepali agencies its new system named “principal” recruiters, with 250 more working under them. Nepal’s position is that every licensed agency is equal under Nepali law. The 25 firms have asked to withdraw. While the Department of Foreign Employment investigates them, pre-approvals stay on hold. “We are trying to resolve the complexities in Nepal-Malaysia labour relations at the highest level,” said Labour Ministry spokesperson Mira Acharya (OnlineKhabar). Nepal Press estimates that 300,000 jobs over two years ride on the outcome. For the 400,000 Nepalis already there, Malaysia is weighing a rise in the minimum wage from RM1,700 to RM2,000 a month, and foreign workers are covered (The Kathmandu Post).
The Gulf Narrows
Since the Iran–Israel war began on 28 February, new labour approvals for the Gulf are down 52 percent on last year, from 228,165 to 109,249. The UAE fell 59 percent and Saudi Arabia 57; only Oman rose, by 24 percent. With about 60 percent of Nepal’s 1.9 million overseas workers in the Gulf, the effects reach far beyond the people who never left. Arun Rai of Dharan was sent home from Abu Dhabi on unpaid leave. Shankar Lal Shrestha, 55, lost his gratuity when his Qatari employer closed. Remittances still hit a record Rs 2.363 trillion last year, partly because workers sent their savings home when the war started, but fewer departures now will show up later (The Kathmandu Post). If you’re owed wages, get it in writing and go to your embassy’s labour desk before flying home.
In Brief:
US: still waiting. There’s no decision on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) ahead of Congress’s 9 October reply date. The State Department says it is “a decision for the Department of Homeland Security”. USCIS fees rise from 16 October (NepYork).
Passports stalled. The passport system’s biometric server went down on Thursday after the government withheld Rs 1.22 billion from its German suppliers. We found no fix announced by Friday. If you’re renewing abroad, check with your embassy before booking travel (Nepal News).
🏛️ Politics & Governance
One Party, Two Conventions
Rain pushed the Nepali Congress’s 15th General Convention back to Sunday 4 October at Khula Manch, with voting on the 7th and 8th. On Thursday, Sher Bahadur Deuba’s faction started its own process, with ward conventions leading up to a central convention on 7 to 9 December. Deuba, Purna Bahadur Khadka and Shashank Koirala are staying away from Sunday’s event. “We had wanted a convention of unity,” said Koirala. Gagan Thapa’s side says it went ahead because no deal could be reached with Deuba. The Supreme Court’s review of its April ruling recognising Thapa’s leadership is still unheard, so each side calls the other illegitimate (Nepal News). The two sides now disagree about ideas too: the establishment’s draft drops BP Koirala’s “democratic socialism” for “social democracy” (The Kathmandu Post).
A Knock at Three in the Morning
Before dawn on Sunday, police took former Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana from his home without a warrant and held him for about twelve hours. The government says he was “taken to a secure location for his safety” after a threat. The Human Rights Commission called it “an illegal violation of constitutional rights”. myRepublica, citing unnamed sources, reported that the order came from the top; the government has not confirmed this (Nepal News, myRepublica). The opposition protested, and two RSP MPs objected online. On Monday, Durga Prasai was arrested for the eleventh time over remarks about an MP whose son died in the Gen Z protests, and the Supreme Court gave police 48 hours to justify it (Khabarhub). Together, the two cases are the sharpest test yet of whether a reform government will keep to the rules itself.
In Brief:
Session closed. Parliament was prorogued from midnight on Friday after passing 12 bills. “A majority can form a government, but it cannot retain public trust,” said the Congress leader Bhishma Raj Angdembe (Nepal News).
Home quietly. PM Balendra Shah returned from the UN on Saturday with no new pledges. A visit to India is expected after mid-November (The Kathmandu Post).
💸 Economy & Development
Who Pays, Week Two
In Doha, Nepal was elected vice-chair of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Board of Governors. Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle asked the bank for reconstruction money and got grants to prepare projects plus cheaper loans, but no pledged figure (The Kathmandu Post). Correction: his next stop is the IMF/World Bank meetings in Bangkok (12 to 18 October), not Washington. The International Labour Organization says 21,400 workers have lost their jobs or income, and puts reconstruction at about $4.78 billion (The Kathmandu Post). Insurers have received Rs 20.98 billion in flood claims and paid out Rs 6.74 million. Claims under Rs 500,000 no longer need a surveyor, so if a family vehicle or shop was insured, chase the claim (myRepublica).
Dashain on a Broken Supply Line
Every road to China is now shut. Rasuwagadhi has been closed since the flood, Tatopani is shut for a month, and the rain cut the Korala road in 46 places. More than 700 containers holding about Rs 5 billion of goods are stuck, and cars booked for Dashain can’t be delivered (The Kathmandu Post). Indian Oil raised its prices by about Rs 20 a litre, but the state oil company is holding pump prices until after the festival, at a loss of Rs 3.2 billion a fortnight, so expect a rise after Tihar (Peoples’ Review). The rain also knocked 358MW of power offline, and Nepal now plans to import up to 1,154MW from India this winter (The Kathmandu Post).
In Brief:
Tourists up 12%. September brought 88,248 visitors, with Chinese arrivals more than doubling. But UK arrivals fell 25 percent and US arrivals 14 percent (Nepal News).
A bridge for Rasuwa. A Bailey bridge is going up at Betrawati, with the road to Syaphrubesi due to reopen by mid-October. The rupee is at about Rs 153 to the dollar (OnlineKhabar).
⭐ Social & Cultural
Fifteen at Base Camp
The climbers hadn’t arrived yet. Early on Sunday, an avalanche buried the base camp of Himlung Himal (7,126m) in Manang. Fourteen kitchen staff and two guides were there, setting up for their clients. Rescuers dug through four metres of snow. “We recovered four bodies, making it clear that no one survived,” said Mingma G, who led the unpaid volunteer recovery team (The Himalayan Times). By Thursday the dead numbered fifteen, from Sankhuwasabha, Khotang, Gorkha and Rukum, and one worker is still missing (AP). No compensation has been announced. These are the lowest-paid people on any expedition, and it is fair to ask the companies, and the government that collects the permit fees, what they will do for the families.
Out Without Losing a Game
Against Japan on Saturday, Nepal made 149 for 4 in 15 overs, with Sundeep Jora on 57 not out and Lokesh Bam on 52 not out. Then the rain came and the match ended as a no-result, which sent Nepal through as group winners. Tuesday’s quarter-final against Sri Lanka was abandoned without a toss, and with no reserve day the higher-ranked side went through (The Kathmandu Post). “Associate cricket spends forever qualifying for the main event,” said coach Stuart Law, “and if higher ranked teams get past in these kinds of situations, it is brutal.” Nepal’s Games end with two bronzes. Next up are seven para athletes training for the Asian Para Games (from 18 October) with no state funding (The Kathmandu Post).
In Brief:
Getting home. Two million people will leave the Kathmandu Valley for Dashain, and the Department of Roads promises repairs “by Dashain”. Ghatasthapana is 11 October and Tika 21 October (The Kathmandu Post).
A month on. At least 33 pregnant women have had to travel to Kathmandu to give birth. A bank turned one survivor away because his 1986 citizenship photo no longer matches his face (The Kathmandu Post).
How to Help
Give through the PM’s Disaster Relief Fund, Nepal Red Cross or your NRNA committee.
The rent allowance hasn’t arrived yet, so for many families a direct transfer from abroad is the only cash before winter.
Families of the missing must register them with the ward office to get relief.
Our sponsor, belayat.uk, the UK Nepali noticeboard, carries jobs, housing and events. Holding a Dashain gathering, or collecting for Himlung’s families? Post it there.
Next week: the Congress convention opens on Sunday, the US TPS date is the 9th, and Ghatasthapana is the 11th.
Until next week, stay connected.
— The Nepali Diaspora Digest Team
nepalidiaspora.net
