W I T H O U T F E A R O R F A V O U R

Nepal’s largest selling English daily

Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj
Vol XXX No. 28 | 8 pages | Rs.5
Friday, March 18, 2022 | 04-12-2078
37.7O C 4.4O C
Dharan Jumla

Maoists’ dilemma:
They need Congress
but can’t fully trust it
Dahal says option of joining hands with the UML open if
electoral alliance with coalition partners is not possible.
TIKA R PRADHAN
KATHMANDU, MARCH 17
With the May 13 local level polls less
than two months away, the Communist
Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), which
sees its prospects grim without an
electoral alliance, has started pressing
the ruling coalition leader Nepali
Congress to go to the election jointly.
But Congress remains non-commit-
tal, as voices within the party are get-
ting louder against poll alliance with
any of the coalition partners–the
Maoist Centre, the CPN (Unified
Socialist) and the Janata Samajbadi
Party.
Nonetheless, leaders of the Maoist
Centre and the Unified Socialist on
Thursday also demanded that Prime
Minister and Congress President Sher
Bahadur Deuba make good on his
commitment for an electoral alliance
with coalition partners.
“The prime minister has agreed to
form a mechanism down to the local
POST PHOTO: ELITE JOSHI level for an electoral alliance,”
Revellers dance to the music during a Holi festival concert at Kathmandu Durbar Square on Thursday. While Nepal’s hill districts celebrated Holi said Ramesh Malla, chief per-
on Thursday, the Tarai region will celebrate the festival a day later on Friday. sonal secretary of Maoist Centre
chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
Some Congress leaders say
they would win most of the local
(Maoist Centre) and the CPN (Unified
Socialist).
And two of the splinter parties–the
Maoist Centre and the Unified
Socialist—last year helped Nepali
Congress President Deuba to return to
power by ousting the government led
by UML chair KP Sharma Oli.
Back in 2017, during the first phase
of the local polls, Congress had forged
an electoral alliance with the Maoist
Centre as they had run the govern-
ment together, but Dahal reached out
to the UML saying the electoral
alliance could not be fruitful as
Congress voters didn’t vote for Maoist
candidates.
This time also, Dahal, who sees no
hope of the party that had won 116
local levels retaining its local govern-
ment seats without an electoral alli-
ance, has asked Prime Minister Deuba
to officially announce an electoral alli-
ance for local elections or else the
Maoist party would start talks with
the UML.
Though UML leaders including
party chair Oli and General
Secretary Shankar Pokhrel have been
ruling out the possibility of an elec-
toral alliance with the Maoist Centre–
Maoist chair Dahal and some other

Inside How a Buddhist centre in government seats even if they

contested the elections sin-
gle-handedly because the com-
leaders including Barshaman Pun
have been saying that the possibility
of the Maoists forging an electoral

Poland became a refuge

munist forces are divided and alliance with the UML cannot be ruled
weaker. The Nepal Communist out.
Nepal celebrates Holi with Party (NCP) formed in May 2018 Some see this as a mere tactic of the
gusto after Covid hiatus has split into three different par- Maoists to pressure Deuba.

for Nepalis fleeing war

ties–the CPN-UML, the CPN >> Continued on page 2
Kathmandu: Throughout Thursday,
major junctions of the city–
Shahidgate to Nepal Airlines,
Ratnapark to Old Buspark–were

omegawatches.com
packed with foot traffic and vehicles
alike. Last year during Holi, only Between March 2 and 11, Benchen Karma Kamtsang
Basantapur Durbar Square and its
surrounding areas had seen revellers Centre in Grabnik, Poland provided shelter to 43 Nepalis.
in large numbers despite a govern-
ment ban on public gatherings. On
Wednesday, the District
Administration Office, Kathmandu
had issued a public notice asking peo-
ple to celebrate the festival in a
‘responsible manner.  (Details on Pg 3)

E-commerce going strong

despite reopening of markets
Kathmandu: Nepali consumers had
e-commerce thrust upon them by the
Covid-19 crisis, as they had no choice
but to buy things online during the
months-long lockdown. During those
depressing days, internet stores pro-
vided a vital service by making home
deliveries, and people fell in love with
the new style of shopping. The habit
stuck. With the coronavirus on the
way out, the street markets are return-
ing to their usual bustle as movement
restrictions have been lifted, but
online sellers are not dispirited.
E-commerce entrepreneurs say that
online sales of household goods have
declined some but demand for non-es-
sential goods is high.  (Details on Pg 5)
Cheap Turkish drones bolster
Ukraine’s defences
Ankara: Despite three weeks of
Russian bombardment, Ukraine has
kept up a stiff defence of its cities by
using Turkish-made drones to carry
out pop-up attacks on the invaders
with a lethal effectiveness that has
surprised Western military experts.
The Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial
vehicles, which carry lightweight,
laser-guided bombs, normally excel in
low-tech conflicts, and Turkey has sold
them to more than a dozen countries,
including Azerbaijan, Libya, Morocco
and Ethiopia. The drones have carried
out unexpectedly successful attacks in
the early stages of Ukraine’s conflict
with Moscow.  (Details on Pg 6)
Nepal face in-form UAE today
Kathmandu: Nepal take on in-form
hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) in
their second UAE Triangular Series
of the ICC World Cup League 2 match
in Dubai on Friday. Both the sides
come at the ICCA Academy Ground
with victories over Papua New
Guinea (PNG) in their first games of
the Series being played in double
header format. While the UAE regis-
tered a thumping seven-wicket win
over PNG in their opening match on
Tuesday, Nepal snatched a hard-
earned four two-wicket win over the
same opponents on Wednesday.
Nepal are sixth in the seven team
standings with 10 points after nine
games.  (Details on Pg 7)
The Benchen Karma Kamtsang Centre in Grabnik is the branch of the Kathmandu-based
Benchen Monastery, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery.
Tsering Ngodup Lama
Kathmandu, March 17
At 9pm on March 1, Waldemar Zych, a
Polish citizen who’s popularly known
by his Buddhist name Lama Rinchen,
was getting ready for bed. Since the
next day was the first day of the
Tibetan New Year, Lama Rinchen, the
head priest of Benchen Karma
Kamtsang Centre (BKKC) in Grabnik,
Poland, had been busy the whole day
performing Buddhist rituals and pre-
paring for the festival.
“Before going to bed, I was going
through my phone, and an article pub-
lished by a major Polish news outlet
caught my attention. The article stat-
ed that a Polish journalist had come
across a group of Nepalis who had fled
Ukraine and were now stranded at
Warsaw Central Station,” said Lama
Rinchen, who is now in Kathmandu
for a few days. “The article said that
the journalist decided to let the
Nepalis take shelter at his company’s
office.”
As someone who has deep ties with
Nepal, Lama Rinchen knew he had to
do something to help the stranded
Nepalis. He had first visited Nepal in
1989 and has since been to the country
many times. Grabnik’s BKKC, the
organisation Lama Rinchen heads,
also has a special connection with
Nepal. Established in 1995, the centre
is the branch of the Kathmandu-based
Benchen Monastery, a Tibetan
Buddhist monastery. The centre con-
ducts seminars on Tibetan Buddhism,
meditation practices, and classical
Tibetan Buddhists texts.
“The night I came across the news
of the stranded Nepalis, it was already
9pm. But the very next day, I got in
touch with the media company and
drove to Warsaw, which is 40km from
our centre. I realised the best way to
help the Nepalis was by providing
Photo courtesy: Benchen Karma Kamtsang Centre, Grabnik.
them safe shelter and food,” said Lama
Rinchen. “That day, we brought 23
Nepalis to stay at Grabnik’s BKKC.”
The following day, 20 more Nepalis
who had recently fled Ukraine arrived
at Grabnik’s BKKC. One of them was
37-year-old Pacheeta Sherpa from Jiri,
Dolakha. Sherpa had arrived in
Ukraine on January 24 on a work visa.
Exactly a month later, on February 24,
Russian President Vladimir Putin
authorised what he called “a special
military operation” in Ukraine.
The Russian invasion prompted
many—Ukrainians, foreign nationals
and Nepalis—to flee the war.
After waiting for two days, on
February 26, Sherpa decided to leave
Ukraine. C O N S T E L L AT I O N S M A L L S E C O N D S
“It wasn’t an easy decision to make.
I had taken a loan of Rs800,000 to come
to Ukraine, a country where I hoped to Born in 1952 as a symbol of precision, the OMEGA Constellation continues its
work so that I could provide a better
legacy of excellence with this 34 mm model in stainless steel and 18K Sedna™
future for my family back home,” said
Sherpa, a father of two, in a phone Gold. With a subtle yet sparkling Small Seconds display on the white mother-
interview from Portugal. “Leaving of-pearl dial, the Co-Axial Master Chronometer model is also certified at
Ukraine was the last thing I wanted to
do, but I had no other option.” the highest level by the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology (METAS) to
On the morning of February 26, guarantee more accuracy, reliability and supreme resistance to magnetism.
Sherpa put a change of clothes in a
small backpack and left his hostel in
Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. He took a
train to Lviv, where he reached at 3am
the next morning. At 9am, Sherpa and
four other Nepalis boarded a taxi and
headed to the nearest Polish border.
Just 15km into the journey, the taxi
got stuck in a massive traffic jam of
motorists heading to the Polish bor-
der. Sherpa and his friend ditched the
taxi and decided that it was best to
make the remaining journey—around
80km—on foot.
“We walked nonstop for 22 hours AVAILABLE AT:
and finally reached the Polish border. REGENCY WATCH: Annapurna Arcade, Durbar Marg
There were thousands of people wait- 1 Durbar Mall , Thamsherku Center, Durbar Marg • MGA International Pvt Ltd
ing in line in the hopes of entering
Poland,” recalled Sherpa.
>> Continued on page 2

C M Y K

National
A child enjoys a dolly cart ride at Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu on Thursday.
Palpa’s Amar Narayan Temple in disrepair
The locals allege that the repair work done on the temple four years ago was not up to the standards.
MADHAV ARYAL
PALPA, MARCH 17
The roof of Amar Narayan Temple at
Narayansthan in Tansen
Municipality-2, Palpa collapsed last
Wednesday. The three-storied temple
had undergone repair works only four
years ago.
“The extended roof of the first floor
on the south and east side of the pago-
da-styled temple collapsed with a loud
noise,” said Uma Shankar Pokharel,
the priest of the temple.
The Amar Narayan Temple was
built by Kaji Amar Singh Thapa about
two centuries ago during the Nepal-
The temple that was built two centuries ago has wooden carvings of archaeological significance.
British War in 1806. Thapa had
brought craftsmen from Kathmandu
to build the temple.
“The Amar Narayan Temple was
renovated by the Department of
Archaeology from 2015 to 2018 under
the supervision of Tansen
Municipality. During the renovation,
the uppermost roof was covered in
brass and the Gajur in gold. The old
worn out woods were replaced while
the damaged ones were repaired,”
said Pokharel.
According to locals, the temple,
which survived the earthquake of
1934, has wooden carvings of archaeo-
logical significance.
Since the collapse of a part of the
structure on Wednesday, the temple
has been closed to the public.
“The western and northern side of
the temple are also at risk of collaps-
ing. We can’t allow the public to enter
the temple premises since it is risky,”
said Pokharel.
Chief District Officer Jagannath
Pant and Tansen Mayor Ashok Kumar
Shahi visited the temple to inspect the
damage. The Department of
Archaeology was also informed about
the collapse and two engineers from
Kapilvastu, Lumbini carried out the
survey on Thursday morning.
According to Bishnu Pathak, an
Post Photo: MADHAv ARYAL
Post Photo: Anish Regmi
engineer at the Department of
Archaeology, the records of the wreck-
age have been kept in a safe place.
“The temple contains valuable wood-
en materials and ancient carvings,”
he said.
Meanwhile, the locals allege that
the temple’s roof collapsed as the
repair work done four years ago was
not up to the standards.
“A complaint has been lodged with
the concerned authority against the
construction company for carrying
out substandard work,” said Varun
Regmi, ward chairman of Tansen
Municipality-2.
“At the time of the reconstruction,
the locals had complained to the
stakeholders about the poor quality
of work being done by the contractor,”
said Narayan Prasad Koirala,
chairman of the temple management
committee. “The municipality,
Department of Archaeology, and the
consultant engineer had ignored us
back then. There was sheer negligence
and ignorance on the part of the
authorities.”
Maheshwar Shrestha, a local resi-
dent, said, “The temple has historical
and archaeological significance and it
is important to take the local people’s
input but the concerned authorities
did not listen to us.”
The renovation work of the temple
was done at a cost of Rs.30 million
with loan assistance from the World
Bank. The maintenance work was con-
tracted to Prakritik Construction
Private Limited, Rupandehi.
Maoists’ dilemma: They need Congress ...
>> Continued from page 1
“I don’t think the Congress would
decide against an electoral alliance
with the coalition partners,” said
Haribol Gajurel, a senior Maoist lead-
er, close to Dahal. “They know what
happened [Congress fared poorly] in
the last polls when we joined hands
with the UML, although no official
discussions have been held with the
main opposition yet.”
Gajurel, however, said informal dis-
cussions with UML leaders were going
on but refused to elaborate. Even the
party chair Dahal has also said no
formal discussions with UML have
been held of late.
Dahal seems to have been offended
by the statements of some Congress
leaders like General Secretary Gagan
Thapa and senior leader Shekhar
Koirala who are vehemently opposed
to the idea of electoral alliance with
the coalition partners.
“Though we have not started discus-
sions [for poll alliance] with the UML
yet, we cannot rule out the possibility
if the Congress attempted to push us
away by coming under the influence
of some of its hardline leaders,”
Dahal told reporters at the press meet
organised by Press Centre Nepal at
Butwal on Thursday. “Nothing is
impossible in politics.”
Of late, realising that a nationwide
electoral alliance among the coalition
partners was not possible, Dahal has
been directing his party cadres to
make preparations to fight and win
the elections single-handedly.
On Thursday, Dahal also said
there could be electoral partnership
among coalition parties for some
particular local level seats, but a
nationwide alliance is not possible.
During a training for his party
workers in the Capital on Wednesday,
Dahal said the upcoming polls, wheth-
er they be local, provincial or federal,
would be a life and death battle for his
party.
“There is a conspiracy to wipe out
all revolutionary and pro-people par-
ties that fight for rights and identity
of the people, so that just two bour-
FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022 | 02
How a Buddhist centre in
Poland became a refuge ...
>> Continued from page 1
“The situation was grim. We waited
for another 22 hours and managed to
get into Poland. We were cold, scared,
and had very little to eat,” he said. “By
the time we reached Poland, I didn’t
have a single penny, but fortunately, a
group of Non-Resident Nepalis (NRN)
had arranged a bus to take Nepalis to
a hotel in Warsaw.”
But after two days, Sherpa said,
they learned that hotels in the city
were giving more priority to
Ukrainians fleeing the country over
other nationalities.
“It was then we were told that a
Buddhist centre in the nearby town of
Grabnik would house us. When I
reached the centre on March 3, several
Nepalis were already staying there,”
he said.
Shiva Pariyar, a resident of
Bardibas, also arrived at the centre on
the same day as Sherpa.
Like Sherpa, Pariyar left Ukraine
with just his passport, a pair of
clothes, and whatever little money he
had.
“It took me seven days to reach the
Polish border. We walked for over
100km. We were so scared,” said
Pariyar. “When I arrived at the centre,
it was the safest I felt since I left
Ukraine. I ended up staying at the cen-
tre for 10 days. As someone not used to
being treated like family by foreigners
in a place so far from home, the stay at
the centre felt kind of surreal.”
According to Lama Rinchen, some
of the Nepalis who arrived at the cen-
tre told him that they had walked
more than 150km to reach the Polish
border.
“Some people told me that they had
been drugged and robbed on their way
to the border. One of them had walked
so much that his legs were swollen
when he arrived at the centre. Many
were so exhausted that after arriving
here, they slept for two to three days,
only waking up in between to eat and
to use the washroom,” said Lama
Rinchen. “We believe that help should
be given where it is needed the most,
and we are so glad that Grabnik’s
BKKC could do its part in helping
Nepalis who were fleeing the war.”
Apart from serving as a place to rest
and recuperate, the centre also served
as a safe space for the many Nepalis
like Sherpa and Pariyar to plan where
to head next.
According to Sherpa and Pariyar,
the Polish immigration officials at the
border told Nepalis that they’ll have to
leave Poland within 15 days. But many
Nepalis who arrived at the centre, said
Sherpa, had no concrete plans on
where to head next.
Poland is where a majority of
Nepalis studying or working in
Ukraine ran to after the Russian
attack. According to Nepal’s embassy
in Germany, which is accredited to
look after Ukraine affairs, there were
around 1,000 Nepalis, mostly students,
in the eastern European country when
the war began.
As of March 12, around 580 Nepalis
had reached several European coun-
tries like Poland (466), Slovakia (87),
Romania (28), and Hungary (8), accord-
ing to the embassy.
“Since the staff at the Buddhist cen-
geois parties could rule the country by
turns,” Dahal said at the political
training in the Capital on Wednesday.
“Whether it is local, provincial or
federal election, each one will be a life
and death battle for us.”
In the Nepali Congress, Prime
Minister Deuba and leaders close to
him have been maintaining that the
party is committed to continuing with
the coalition until the polls and the
party will take an official decision on
electoral alliance from its central
working committee meeting sched-
uled for next week.
The UML, ousted from power by a
five-party coalition and shunted to
opposition benches, is poised to con-
test the local elections with all its
might and has already started cam-
paigning after settling all issues relat-
ed to its party organisation.
Analysts say Dahal’s
suggestion is just
a tactic to pressure
Dahal and Congress
leaders.
“Since our relationship with the
Madhav Nepal-led party remains bit-
ter, I don’t think we will consider them
[for poll partnership] even if they
approach us, but with regard to the
Maoist Centre, it will be premature to
say anything because they have been
vacillating,” said Subas Nembang,
deputy leader of the UML
Parliamentary Party.
“Our priority will be to fight the
polls alone. Also electoral alliance
depends upon the situations in specif-
ic election districts.”
He, however, said there have not
been any discussions, formal and
informal, between his party and the
Maoist Centre on elections.
Malla, the chief personal secretary
to Dahal, also confirmed that there
have not been any discussions between
tre provided us with everything we
needed, we got plenty of time to focus
on getting all the information required
to decide which country to go to next,”
said Sherpa, who is now in Portugal’s
Lisbon. “I got in touch with my friends
in Portugal and decided to head
there.”
The staff and volunteers at
Grabnik’s BKKC, said Lama Rinchen,
closely coordinated with the Nepalis
to help arrange the logistics for their
next European destinations.
“Of the 43 Nepalis who stayed with
us, we were able to book and pay for
bus tickets for 39. The remaining four
had already booked their tickets,” said
Lama Rinchen.
When Sherpa told the centre’s staff
that he wanted to go to Lisbon, the
staff, he said, booked him a bus ticket
to Paris in France and then another
ticket from Paris to Lisbon.
“The centre’s staff even dropped us
to the bus station, and one of them
handed the four of us who were leav-
ing that day for Portugal 100 Polish
złoty each,” said Sherpa. “They had
already done so much for us so we
refused the money but she insisted
that we keep it, saying we could use
the money to buy food and water dur-
ing the 50-hour bus journey. The kind-
ness and thoughtfulness with which
the centre treated us have left a deep
impression on me.”
Pariyar, one of the last ones to leave
the centre, is now in Tavira, Portugal.
“I had to stay for many days at the
centre because it took me a while to
decide where to head next. But not
once was I made to feel that I had over-
stayed my welcome,” said Pariyar.
“The centre also asked us what we
needed the most and bought them for
us. For me, they bought a pair of
shoes, a set of clothes, and a suitcase.”
According to Lama Rinchen,
the centre was able to fund the expens-
es by using the cash donations devo-
tees had given to the centre over the
years.
“When word got around that our
centre was providing shelter to
Nepalis fleeing the war in Ukraine,
many of our friends and well-wishers
also offered help. On the day the first
batch of Nepalis arrived, a nearby
Vietnamese Buddhist centre sent a car
full of rice, lentils and fruits,” said
Lama Rinchen. “On March 11, the last
Nepali taking shelter at our centre
left, but our centre still remains open
to Nepalis fleeing the war in Ukraine.”
The majority of the 43 Nepalis who
stayed at Grabnik’s BKKC are now in
Portugal. Sherpa and Pariyar told the
Post that they are waiting to apply for
temporary residency in the country.
“At a time when it felt like there was
nothing but darkness around us, the
Buddhist centre in the middle of
nowhere in Poland brought
much-needed light into our lives,” said
Sherpa. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able
to forget the kindness, compassion,
and humanity that we received at the
centre.”
If you know of any Nepalis
who have fled Ukraine and are in
need of a safe place to stay in
Warsaw, Poland, call Grabnik’s BKKC
at +48-885-108-002.
the two parties.
Some Maoist Centre leaders even
said their party would face a moral
crisis if they decided to forge alliance
for elections with the UML because
Maoist Centre leaders have accused
the UML of attempting to derail the
constitution by dissolving parliament
twice.
“Since we would face some moral
issues if we joined hands with the
UML, our priority will be to continue
the existing ruling coalition until the
elections. But the Maoist Centre is
still capable of contesting the elec-
tions without alliance because ours is
the party that brought change to the
country,” said Shakti Basnet, a senior
leader of Maoist Centre. “We are the
only force that can give a way out to all
the problems of the country and this
is what we are telling the people in the
elections.”
There are lots of difficulties for
Congress to forge an electoral alliance
with the communist parties also
because there is no guarantee of
Congress voters following the party’s
decision. Also the grand old party has
a large number of aspirants for
office and leaders fear that those
denied election tickets could
campaign against the party’s official
candidates.
Political analysts say Dahal’s sug-
gestion Thursday that he would start
exploring the possibility of a poll alli-
ance with the UML is just a tactic to
pile psychological pressure on Deuba
and Congress leaders.
“I don’t think the Congress would
not go away from an electoral alli-
ance,” said Jhalak Subedi, a political
commentator who has followed left
politics for decades. “But voters of
local levels prefer the alliance of UML
and Maoist Centre.”
According to Subedi, there is no
guarantee if a Congress leader will
vote for an alliance member not from
the party.
‘If the party decides to go for an
electoral alliance, its voters may not
obey the party’s decision in all local
seats,” said Subedi.
C M Y K
03 | FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022

National

Supreme Court Nepal marks Holi with zest after Covid hiatus
delays passing Despite government’s request to people to follow Covid safety protocol, a majority of Holi revellers in public places were maskless.

verdicts after giving ANUP OJHA

KATHMANDU, MARCH 17
today I had so much fun with my friends
that I will remember this day for years
to come.”
that was the only area where people gath-
ered for the festival. But this year the cele-
brations are taking place in most pockets of

interim orders
Fifty-year-old Hira Basnet and her two Phagu Purnima, like most other festivals, the city. I am amazed to see such a big crowd
grandsons aged 11 and nine were among the had remained a sombre affair for the past here in Tundikhel,” said Jha, who is origi-
sea of colourful faces celebrating Holi, the two years because of the coronavirus out- nally from Bara district and runs a cosmet-
Hindu festival of colour and celebration of break across the world. But this year after ic business at Asan.
the triumph of good over evil, at Basantapur the country battled the third wave, the Throughout Thursday, major junctions
Experts say cases on which temporary Durbar Square on Thursday. Covid-19 situation has let up with a decrease of the city–Shahidgate to Nepal Airlines,
“I came here to be a part of the festivi- in the daily caseload. Most businesses and Ratnapark to Old Buspark–were packed
orders have been issued must be cleared ties,” said Basnet, a retired government marketplaces have opened their doors as with foot traffic and vehicles alike.
officer. “The festival reminds me of the the government lifted the pandemic restric- Last year during Holi, only Basantapur
swiftly by conducting the final hearing. times when I used to accompany my father tions. Festivals and public events are Durbar Square and its surrounding areas
to Basantapur every Holi as a young girl.” widely attended, raising concerns among had seen revellers in large numbers despite
BINOD GHIMIRE This year she has come to Basantapur to the medical fraternity since the risk of a government ban on public gatherings.
KATHMANDU, MARCH 17 reminisce about her time with her father transmission of the Covid-19 virus is still On Wednesday, the District
who passed away two years ago with Covid- considerable. Administration Office, Kathmandu had
On June 6, 2019 the then KP Sharma Oli government decid- related complications. On Thursday, Nepal reported 27 new issued a public notice asking people to cele-
ed to merge Sagarnath Forest Development Project with the The pandemic had confined Basnet inside cases of Covid-19, with no casualties in the brate the festival in a ‘responsible manner,’
Timber Corporation of Nepal. The government of Madhes her home for more than two years; she felt past 24 hours. According to the Health and had prohibited unlawful activities such
Province, earlier Province 2, challenged the decision at the cut off from the world, she says. “I am glad Ministry, 961,781 infected people have recov- as smearing colours forcibly on people and
Supreme Court, arguing that the federal government had I came here today. I feel happy being among ered from the disease so far. The number of throwing water balloons at people without
breached the constitutional jurisdiction of the province. the cheerful people,” said Basnet, taking active cases stands at 4,376. their permission.
The provincial government said the federal government her two grandsons by their hands. The public open spaces at Jawalakhel, Although the authorities had asked peo-
had no authority to take any decision on the forest project Basnet, a resident of Baneshwar, was New Baneshwar, and Basantapur Durbar ple to celebrate the festival by following
as it came under its jurisdiction. The Constitutional Bench infected with Covid-19 twice during the first Square, including many restaurants, pubs Covid safety protocol, a majority of people
of the court on August 30 that year issued an interlocutory wave of the pandemic in 2020. She got POST PHOTO: ELITE JOSHI and corporate houses on Thursday hosted in the crowd were maskless.
interim order against the federal government, asking it not infected again during the third wave last An elderly man is being smeared with colours musical events. Almost all the venues were “Although a larger number of people are
to implement the decision. Again on December 11 that year, year. “When the pandemic was peaking, I during the Holi festival celebrations at Kathmandu packed with Holi revellers enjoying the day vaccinated against Covid-19 compared to
it issued an interim order, continuing the earlier order. had given up but coming here today made Durbar Square on Thursday. out with their family and friends. the last two years, there still remains the
Even more than two and a half years after the first order, me realise that I am still hopeful of the days Tundikhel, the largest public open space danger of the vaccinated transmitting the
the Supreme Court, however, has not passed its final ver- to come.” all of his friends after two years of Covid in Kathmandu, was also filled to the brim virus to their unvaccinated friends and rel-
dict. It was the first petition by any provincial government The grandsons with matching white restrictions. with people enjoying the festival. atives,” said Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, chief of
against the federal government, challenging the latter’s t-shirts and their grandmother walked “My parents didn’t allow me to partici- “I had never seen such a massive crowd the Clinical Research Unit at Sukraraj
decision. into the crowd of people smeared with Holi pate in festivities with my friends here in Tundikhel,” said Dharmendra Jha, Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital
“The Madhes Province hasn’t been able to use the forest colours. because the risk of getting infected with who was busy selling colour powders at the in Teku.
as the final verdict is yet to come,” Gyanendra Yadav, a for- For 21-year-old Prasant Prasain, an engi- Covid-19 was high,” said Prasain. “It western gate of Tundikhel. “The situation has somewhat improved
mer minister for internal affairs and law of the Madhes neering student from Thapathali, celebrat- was suffocating to stay inside all the “During the past two Holis, I kept stalls but people should not neglect health safety
Province, told the Post. “The provincial government is yet ing Holi this year meant hanging out with time with no permission to socialise. But selling Holi essentials at Basantapur since measures in public spaces,” he added.
to get the full authority to utilise the resources from the
forest. It cannot take any decision regarding the forest with-
out the consent of the federal government.”
The petition, which is crucial to settle the jurisdiction
row between the federal and provincial governments, has
failed to get priority at the Supreme Court.
In yet another incident, on June 29, 2018, the Oli govern-
ment announced Maitighar Mandala as a no-protest zone
from July 15 onwards. Senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi
challenged the decision in the Supreme Court which on July
6 that year asked the government not to implement its deci-
sion to ban peaceful protests at public places, including
Maitighar Mandala. It gave continuity to its interim order
on July 13.
It’s close to four years, but the court has yet to pass the
final verdict.
“Though the court intervention was good, as it stopped
the government then from implementing its decision, it is
wrong that the final verdict has not been issued yet,”
Tripathi told the Post. “It didn’t need the Constitutional
Bench or the full bench to decide on the matter.”
Had the Supreme Court passed the final verdict on his
petition, it could have set a precedent so that no govern-
ments could take decisions against peaceful protests,
according to Tripathi.
Tripathi said there are dozens of cases on which the final
verdicts have not been passed despite the issuance of inter-
im orders.
“At least half a dozen petitions that I have filed are
awaiting final verdicts for the last two years,” Tripathi
told the Post.

Professor Bipin Adhikari says

it is unfair to keep the cases
on hold for years after issuing
interim orders.

An interim order is a provisional or temporary order that

is put into effect pending a final hearing and judgment.
Interim orders are usually issued to maintain the status
quo—asking parties to continue or halt an action—until the
final decision is reached.
Legal experts say although there is no timeframe as to
when the court should issue final verdicts on cases for
which interim orders have been issued, it is not a good prac-
tice to keep the cases pending for years.
“An interim order by its name is a short-term order which
shouldn’t be continued for years,” said Raju Prasad
Chapagain, a former chairperson of the Constitutional
Lawyers’ Forum. “The court must be sensitive about
such issues.”
Rule 49 of the Supreme Court Regulations says the inter-
im order is issued whenever there is a possibility that the
petitioner might face severe loss until the final verdict or it
is necessary to stop an attack on the fundamental right (of
somebody).
Officials at the Supreme Court say there is no deadline on
final hearings in the cases in which interim orders have
been issued.
“The cases are prioritised based on urgency. We are aware
that the very purpose of having the court will be defeated if
justice is delayed,” Bimal Poudel, a spokesperson at the
court, told the Post.
Yadav, the former minister from Madhes, however, doesn’t
buy the argument, saying the conflict over the jurisdiction
between different tiers of government must be a priority.
“It seems the tenure of the provincial government will be
over before the verdict is given,” he said.
The rate of passing the verdicts by the court is not
encouraging.
According to the annual report of the court from fiscal
year 2019-20, as many as 35,981 cases were in the Supreme
Court in the year including 24,180 from the previous year.
The court could clear only 31.2o percent cases leaving a
baggage of 24,756 cases for the following year. As many as
2,058—around nine percent of the cases—are more than five
years old. The case clearance rate in the Constitutional
Bench, like the one filed by Madhes Province, is even low
with just 25 percent of the petitions finalised in the fiscal
year 2019-20.
“The Supreme Court must set a timeline. The cases in
which the interim orders have been issued must be a prior-
ity,” said Chapagain.
Experts say while prioritizing cases for final hearing, the
court should also pay attention to the kind of cases. In cases
of public interest litigations, like the one Tripathi
filed against the decision to restrict protests in
Maitighar, an interim order has worked fine. But, according
to experts, in cases like the one filed by Madhes Province
against the federal government, the provincial government
is facing problems because the court has not passed the
final verdict.
Bipin Adhikari, a professor and a former dean at
Kathmandu University School of Law, said it is unfair to
keep the cases on hold for years after issuing interim
orders.
“As interim orders are generally issued without listening
to the defendants, it is wrong to keep the cases on hold for
years,” said Adhikari. “There has to be reasonable timing to
start the final hearings in the cases where interim orders
have been issued.”

C M Y K
 FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022 | 04

Opinion

EDITORIAL New ways of seeing

Season of fire New realities–and ways of
We must work sincerely towards ensuring that seeing–impress upon us the
fire incidents come down in the days to come. need to constantly ‘rewrite
the books of the past’.
Spring is here, and with it, the fear of incidents of wildfires
throughout the country returns again. As the Post reported
AMISH RAJ MULMI
on Thursday, various places in Taplejung and Panchthar
have already reported several fire incidents in human settle-
ments and community forests. In the past seven days alone,
the Home Ministry recorded 61 fire incidents. As the Post
reported last year, between April 8, 2020 and April 7, 2021, the
Home Ministry recorded a total of 2,765 fires across the coun-
Inclusion and representation: Few
try. A total of 99 people died and 342 were injured in those ideas have polarised Nepali society in
incidents. As fire ravaged forests and human settlements, the the past few decades as these. The con-
servative blowback against them was
government and the people had to wait desperately for rain most visible during the framing of the
as there were too little resources available for too many inci- 2015 Constitution. And as often as folks
dents occurring simultaneously. like to say they are for a more inclusive
Nepal, inevitably the debate centres
And yet, governments across all three tiers have yet to around its implementation. How does
show what they have done in the past one year to ensure pre- one make for a more inclusive, a more
representative Nepal? There are far too
vention and control of fire incidents. Even today, a vast
many ideas, but little that has actually
majority of local units lack fire brigades, which means that translated into reality.
there is little chance of sending proper help during fire inci- The Kathmandu Art Triennale,
which is currently exhibiting in five
dents. What is more, there are no proper roads outside cities different venues across the valley,
and major towns, which severely limits access to fire bri- seems to have given us an answer: That
gades. It is, therefore, not only a problem of the fire depart- if one were only to think beyond preva-
lent ideas and notions (and intellectual-
ment alone; it is a general lack of common sense in infra- ism), and that if one were to conscious-
structure development that plagues the country. A general ly acknowledge the marginalisation of
communities in our society, inclusivity
lack of sensitivity among the public about the need to Post File Photo
is possible. All one needs to do is care
take extreme precautions to prevent fire incidents is not about the idea to start with. Berger. In life, as in art, they seem to be tive work, then, turn into “art” only sumer goods that had made their way
helping either. What constitutes “Nepali art”, to saying, perspective is important. when it is gentrified? Is creativity sub- down the pass.
begin with? For most outsiders famil- ject to the approval of those in power, The floor above had a massive
A majority of the time, fire incidents happen due to imme- iar with the country–and for many What makes art? even as the art itself is sometimes triptych titled “Nepali Power”, a collab-
diate human actions, such as negligent use of fire. Now that Nepalis, too–the idea of Nepali art is Folklore and religion have influenced explicitly posited as an act of resist- oration between Turkish and Nepali
we have caused some irreversible damage to the earth, located in the three Durbar Squares, human art forms across the world. So it ance (one need look no further than the artists Koken Ergun and Tashi Lama,
the exquisite sculptures of deities, and has been in Nepal too. One is, thus, example of the pseudonymous but which depicted Nepali dreams of devel-
scientists say, climate change-induced fire incidents are only the latticed woodwork and pagodas that pleasantly surprised to find terracotta super-popular–and super-expensive opment and prosperity as a result of
going to rise in the near future. As the government fails to dominate old architecture within the Ghorwa horse sculptures that bring to street artist Banksy, or the current the fabled train from Tibet and invest-
valley. These ideas shape what we life the Tharu lore of their clans Maoist displeasure over the song Pir)? ment in hydropower. Next to it were
provide enough fertiliser in time, farmers across the country imagine to be “Nepali art”, and for descending from four ancestral broth- By incorporating these diverse art two works by Uma Shankar Shah, both
resort to the traditional practice of stubble burning, which good reason, for their motifs are bor- ers. Similarly, the Lhokor Chungni forms, the curators of the Triennale, in depicting how intricately connected
often gets out of hand and results in widespread fire inci- rowed, morphed, or highlighted over sculptures, made by Sindhupalchok turn, force the ordinary viewer to the historic Nepal Railway once was to
and over–not just in popular culture, artist Chenda Singe Lama, capture acknowledge Nepal’s many people, the people and their lives.
dents. Those traditions do not go away easily unless there is but in the arts too. within them the 12 animals that make breaking existing notions of what con- Between these three, all of which
a large-scale concerted effort to educate the farmers about Consider the paubha: The traditional up the Tibetan calendar and encom- stitutes “art”. Their careful selection find inspiration in the land itself, inan-
Newar painting style has transcended pass the cosmos itself. The relation of Mithila women’s art, the incorpora- imate objects such as borders, dams, or
the hazards such practices pose to humans, livestock
its religious connotations to being con- between healers and art is once again tion of Tharu women’s tattoos that trains, and intangible processes such
and property. The authorities also need to support them by sidered a prime example of Nepali art. highlighted in the paper amulets made both showcase the body as a “transcen- as dreams and desires are brought
providing them with easier alternatives. The only way we But what happens when Lok Chitrakar, by Nuwakot healer Chija Lama, who dental” canvas and as a traditional alive. The evolution of a border post
among the most well-known living etches mantras into wood blocks and “tether to matrilineal bonds”, and a over the years is a testament to con-
can reduce fire incidents, then, is to work more actively than paubha artists today, draws a “healing” prints amulets for ailments such as firmly anti-colonialist worldview sumerism’s great reach as well as a
ever before. singha (lion) around a boil or a shingle insomnia and for protection. The reflected in the works of many artists record of the very process of state-mak-
But what we need is an integrated approach rather than on someone’s back, as was done in Triennale explains, “The process from across the world, are all instances ing and development in our part of the
Newar households once upon a time not only involves Lama as an amu- of how inclusivity can be actually world. And then, of course, was the
ad-hoc solutions. There is a need to build sturdy mechanisms (including in mine)? Does the body let-maker but also as an advisor, exam- implemented in real life and not just be very act of introducing this new world
in advance so that we will not remain mute spectators during turn into a canvas? Let’s consider one iner, and listener.” restricted to words. to a group of young people, who lis-
more element: That the caste of One cannot also miss the delicate tened attentively.
times of crises. This calls for greater coordination between Chitrakars, or those who dabbled in irony in Bhakta Bahadur Sarki’s wood- The land as art These new realities–and ways of
the administration and the communities in training and such creative realms, were traditional- en sculptures, which were once com- One Friday afternoon, I listened quiet- seeing–impress upon us the need to
resource management vis-à-vis fire incidents. Without a con- ly considered to be lower in the overall missioned by upper-caste households ly as a Triennale volunteer explained constantly “rewrite the books of the
Newar hierarchy. So does the act of (the Triennale exhibit is called anthropologist Nyima Dorje Bhutia’s past”, as Borges once said was the
scious effort towards preventing and controlling fire inci- becoming a “healer” for a Chitrakar, as “Mukhiya and Mukhiyani”) in the exhibit on the evolution of cross-bor- duty of each generation. The only
dents, we might yet again be condemned to watch helplessly the Triennale explains, subvert “pre- Karnali region. Sarki’s work brings der trade in the Walung region of east- boxes are of our own making;
scribed caste roles” that accorded the another perspective to “art” as we ern Nepal to a group of school chil- sometimes, a sharp paper cutter and
and wait desperately for rain as wildfires spread in jungles
healing profession to Vaidyas? know it. Historically, in our part of the dren. Inside a glass, case lay specimens will are all that is required to push
and human settlements. We cannot continue to face signifi- By incorporating Chitrakar’s heal- world, while the art itself has been of border citizens’ passes required for past supposed boundaries. So, it is with
cant losses of life, property and livestock each year. Instead, ing lions within the same exhibit as his commissioned and patronised by eco- trade, an old LP record, and a transis- the Triennale, which sends out a
more popular paubhas, the Triennale nomically well-off or socially higher tor amid a plethora of other objects. On message of inclusivity that all of us
we must work sincerely towards ensuring that fire incidents and its curators are challenging our groups, those who make the art are the walls were photos of Walung over could do by incorporating within our
come down in the days to come. “ways of seeing”, to borrow from John mostly rendered invisible. Does a crea- the years, and a collage of Chinese con- own lives.

Shielding poor children from food crisis

Additional increases in the prices are high and the gains from
optimizing existing resources can

cost of food could lead be limited. Poorly targeted interven-

tions can leave a program’s intended

children to suffer significant beneficiaries even further behind.

Moreover, attempts to expand school

nutritional losses. meals programs too quickly can end

BINIAM BEDASSO
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threat-
ens to cause more disruption to
the global food system by dramatically
increasing the cost of staple foods
and the energy required to transport
them. The Black Sea region is respon-
sible for the export of at least 12 per-
cent of global food calories, so cutting
off access to it will have far-reaching
effects.
Food prices already were soaring as
a result of post-pandemic market
imbalances and supply-chain pres-
sures, together with climate-related
output losses. By the end of last year,
the crunch in the global market for
wheat and maize had driven up food
inflation in Sub-Saharan Africa by 11
percent. Now, poor countries face
another shock at a time when they
have little room to accommodate it.
Even before the economic crisis
caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, vul-
nerable households in developing
countries committed a large share of
their budgets to food. Additional
increases in the cost of food could
lead children in these households to
suffer significant and irreversible
nutritional losses. They could go to
school hungry or even drop out to help
supplement their families’ income.
Given the massive learning losses
children in low- and middle-income
countries (LMICs) suffered due
to pandemic-related school closures,
any additional disruption could have
devastating consequences.
Fortunately, most countries have a
tried-and-tested tool to protect their
most vulnerable children in these cir-
cumstances. School-meals programs
are considered the largest social safe-
ty net in the world. Before the pan-
demic, such programs reached 388
million children in 161 countries.
There is extensive evidence that
provision of school meals is an impor-
tant tool to keep poor and vulnerable
children in the classroom in food-inse-
cure areas. This is true even during
systemic shocks such as droughts that
may affect overall food supplies. Many
developing countries recognized the
value of school-based meals as a
social-protection instrument when
global food prices soared in the wake
of the 2008 global financial crisis.
Over the past decade, a growing num-
ber of LMICs have incorporated
school meals into their national budg-
ets as a cost-effective way to enhance
schoolchildren’s health and education
outcomes.
In the context of rising food and
fuel prices, the bulk purchase of
food and preparation of meals at a
school can potentially generate
economies of scale and efficiency that
contribute to overall cost reductions.
A recent study based on the National
School Lunch Program in the United
States shows that school-based nutri-
tion programs contribute to lower
prices at grocery outlets by reducing
the private purchase of food items.
Countries exposed to the negative
effects of the current turmoil in food
and energy markets must work to
strengthen such programmes. But
delivering nutritious school meals to a
significant portion of the student pop-
ulation consistently can nonetheless
be prohibitively expensive for coun-
tries with limited resources. A rough
calculation based on data from
the Global Child Nutrition Foundation
indicates that to broaden the coverage
of school-meals programs in LMICs
to the current global median level
could require the equivalent of 5 per-
cent of a country’s overall education
budget.
One of the first actions countries
Shutterstock
can take to stabilise and potentially
expand school meals programs is to
improve efficiency and ensure
accountability in existing schemes.
Developing countries have experi-
enced many noble public-sector initia-
tives that began with great promise,
only to succumb eventually to mis-
management and eroded public trust.
School-meals programs involve
extensive public procurement, an area
in which many developing countries
have substantial weaknesses. To help
maintain organisational and financial
integrity, therefore, officials should
commit to subjecting such programs
to routine independent audits.
Effective targeting is also crucial,
particularly at a time when global
up straining financial and organisa-
tional capabilities, undermining
existing operations.
Encouraging governments to
improve their school-meals programs
should be matched with support from
development partners to provide
financial relief, especially in light
of the looming debt crisis threatening
a number of countries. Currently,
many LMICs’ national budgets are
burdened by debt-service payments,
which in some cases consume close to
half of the total government reve-
nues. In these circumstances, pro-
grams such as school meals often are
the first to be eliminated or down-
sized. For example, mounting debt
recently forced Ghana to suspend a
planned expansion of its school-meals
program.
One way for the international com-
munity to help countries grappling
with the twin crises of food inflation
and excessive debt is to promote
debt-for-development swaps such as
the one the World Food Programme
brokered between Mozambique and
Russia in 2017. Although the process
of negotiating these swaps is too slow
to meet needs in an emergency, they
can be a powerful tool to facilitate the
long-term allocation of more resourc-
es to school-meals programs in highly
indebted countries.
As geopolitical crises and climate
disasters dominate the headlines, an
entire generation of poor and vulner-
able children in places far from the
spotlight risks falling through the
cracks. Keeping these children in
school and well-nourished is the least
the global community can do to pre-
pare them for an uncertain future.
Bedasso is a senior research associate
at the Centre for Global Development.
 — Project Syndicate

C M Y K
05 | FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022

Money

E-commerce going strong despite Covid curbs at Chinese

reopening of street markets
Entrepreneurs say that online sales of household goods have declined some, but demand for non-essential goods is high.
KRISHANA PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, MARCH 17
Nepali consumers had e-commerce
thrust upon them by the Covid-19 cri-
sis, as they had no choice but to buy
things online during the long months
of the lockdown.
During those depressing days,
internet stores provided a vital ser-
vice by making home deliveries, and
people fell in love with the new style
of shopping. The habit stuck.
With the coronavirus on the way
out, the street markets are returning
to their usual bustle as movement
restrictions have been lifted, but
online sellers are not dispirited.
E-commerce entrepreneurs say that
online sales of household goods have
declined some, but demand for non-es-
sential goods is high.
Since March 5, all Covid-19 related
restrictions in Kathmandu Valley
have been removed following a steep
drop in infections. On Wednesday,
Nepal recorded 82 new coronavirus
cases, down from a high of more than
12,300 on January 20.
With nearly 64 percent of the Nepali
people fully vaccinated, the valley’s
shops and restaurants are filling
up again like during pre-pandemic
times. But e-commerce firms say they
are not worried about online shopping
slowing down.
Ritik Shahi, head of marketing at
internet store Sastodeal.com, said
they were observing a 20 percent
month-on-month growth in demand
compared to the pandemic days.
“In fact, online shopping is getting
better than during the pandemic,”
Shahi said. “People have now become
habituated to buying goods online to
save time and be free of hassles.”
The number of e-commerce users
started picking up after the first
lockdown imposed on March 24, 2020.
The second lockdown which started
on April 29, 2021 too brought more
people online. With the Covid situa-
tion dissipating, people are diversify-
ing into different segments besides
grocery items—one of the segments
showing the highest sales during the
pandemic, e-retailers said.
“The business has not declined with
the improvement in the virus situa-
tion. The country is fully open, even
 SHUTTERSTOCK
According to Nepal Rastra Bank, Rs349 million worth of online payments were made using cards to e-commerce platforms during the
month-long period from mid-December to mid-January.
then the number of online shoppers
has been on a rising trend,” said
Nischal Niroula, co-founder of
Doormeet.com.
“We have been receiving 60-70
orders on a daily basis with the same
translation of around Rs100,000 daily.
The volume of orders and transac-
tions are, in fact, the same as during
the pandemic,” he said.
“But there is one change,” said
Niroula. “Sales of once fast selling
groceries are down, but buyers are
shifting to other segments.”
During the pandemic, orders for
edible oil, pulses, rice and legumes
were very high. “Now, most of the
orders we are receiving are for books,
cosmetics, bakery items and home
décors,” said Niroula.
E-retailers say that demand for gro-
ceries spikes whenever there is a pan-
demic. For Sastodeal, its grocery items
helped in attracting more customers
to the platform.
“People entered the grocery seg-
ment online due to the pandemic
which helped in creating new custom-
ers. They have now started buying
other goods also,” Shahi said.
Sastodeal is seeing a rise in the
number of consumers buying elec-
tronic goods. But Shahi added that
rising prices of everything due to
increased transportation charges fol-
lowing a jump in fuel costs had hurt
sales in the past few weeks.
“Sales are not as expected in recent
times compared to the same period
last year,” Shahi said. “The cash
crunch in the market is being felt
in sales. Inflation has hit consumer
buying behaviour, reducing the shop-
ping trend.”
E-commerce entrepreneurs say that
demand for online sales were higher
during the second lockdown than last
year because people had become more
confident about the service provided
by e-retailers. The rise in the use of
smartphones, increasing internet
access and the government’s encour-
aging the use of electronic payments
also boosted online shopping.
According to Nepal Rastra Bank,
Rs349 million worth of online pay-
ments were made using cards to
e-commerce platforms during the
month-long period from mid-Decem-
ber to mid-January.
According to the Connectivity
in the Least Developed Countries
Status Report 2021, Nepal’s perfor-
mance in e-commerce is still very
poor despite the country’s having
taken a giant leap forward in the
terms of online access. A Nepal
Telecommunications Authority report
shows that internet penetration had
reached 119.49 percent of the popula-
tion as of mid-December last year.
The report said that e-commerce is
related to a country’s level of develop-
ment, partly explaining the poor per-
formance of the least developed coun-
tries (LDCs). The survey revealed that
even among countries with higher
internet penetration, awareness of
e-commerce platforms is low in LDCs
like Nepal. One challenge they face in
e-commerce development is lack of
online shops.
E-commerce is among the few sec-
tors with the potential to add value,
helping these countries to diversify
their economies and graduate from
the LDCs group.
As per the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) Business-to-Consumer
E-commerce Index 2020, Nepal ranked
113th with 72 percent efficiency which
refers to the country’s performance in
relation to its national resources.
The research finding implies that
countries cannot be expected to per-
form better in e-commerce until their
productive capability improves, the
report said.
ports threaten global
supply chains
Congestion is building up at ports and some container
ships are re-routing to avoid expected delays.
REUTERS
SINGAPORE, MARCH 17
The queues of container ships outside
major Chinese ports are lengthening
by the day as Covid-19 outbreaks in
manufacturing export hubs threaten
to unleash a fresh wave of global sup-
ply chain shocks, ship owners, logis-
tics firms and analysts say.
China is experiencing its biggest
spike in Covid-19 infections since an
initial outbreak in the central city of
Wuhan was contained in early 2020.
The spread of the highly-infectious
Omicron variant this month has led to
movement controls across China,
including in key manufacturing hubs
of Shenzhen and Dongguan, paralys-
ing factories making goods from flash
drives to car parts.
While China’s main ports remain
open and vessels are continuing to
dock, congestion is building up and
some container ships are re-routing to
avoid expected delays, according to
ship owners, analysts and supply
chain managers.
Charter rates are expected to ramp
up, while delays to shipping freight
grow longer, they said.
Container loading is “decreasing
massively” at Shenzhen’s Yantian
port, the world’s fourth largest con-
tainer terminal, as port workers,
truckers and factory workers stayed at
home, said Jasmine Wall, Asia-Pacific
manager at SEKO Logistics.
“This implies that it will become
difficult to get cargo to and from the
ports and hence whether the termi-
nals are open or not becomes a moot
point,” said Lars Jensen, CEO at
Vespucci Maritime, a container ship-
ping advisor.
“It will have a disruptive impact on
the supply chain—in turn prolonging
the current supply chain crisis.”
Currently there are 34 vessels off
Shenzhen waiting to dock, compared
to an average of seven a year
ago, according to Refinitiv ship track-
ing data. At Qingdao, an eastern
Chinese port city, there are around
30 vessels waiting to dock compared
to an average of seven last year.
Charter rates per 40-foot container
remain close to all-time highs across
major global shipping routes, trading
at around $16,000 on the China-U.S.
West Coast route and nearly $13,000
from China to Europe, according to
Freightos shipping index.
Similar Covid lockdowns last year
saw operations at Yantian cut to one-
third of capacity, leading to a bigger
disruption of global shipping than the
one caused by the closure of the Suez
Canal for six days last year after the
Ever Given container vessel ran
aground, a director of Maersk, the
world’s largest container liner, noted
last year
Shipping lines are
also contending with
the possibility of a
escalation of Covid
cases in China.
Although supply chain experts say
that Chinese ports are more resilient
now to staff shortages and transport
disruptions, there remains the fear
that Yantian may have to shut if infec-
tions and restrictions spread. “If the
[Yantian] port does close, then the
whiplash effect when it reopens
will lay waste to all the progress made
in the US,” said Bjorn Vang Jensen,
vice president at consultancy Sea-
Intelligence. Even if ocean freight ter-
minals remain open, the lack of truck
drivers and warehouse operators
means there will be delays in filling
shipping containers and taking them
to port.
Shipping lines are also contending
with the possibility of a rapid escala-
tion of Omicron variant Covid cases
in China, which could result in more
widespread disruptions and have
implications for already rising global
inflation.

FOREX
US Dollar 121.58
Egyptians count rising bread costs Indonesia to replace palm oil
Euro
Pound Sterling
Japanese Yen (10)
134.18
160.10
10.26
as Ukraine war disrupts supply export curbs with levy
Chinese Yuan 19.14 Global prices of crude palm oil have surged to historic highs this
year amid rising demand and weak output from top producers.
Qatari Riyal 33.27
Australian Dollar 89.05
Malaysian Ringit 28.98 REUTERS Indonesia uses for cooking oil, have surged
Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank JAKARTA, MARCH 17 to historic highs this year amid rising
demand and weak output from top produc-
Indonesia will remove export volume ers Indonesia and Malaysia, plus Indonesia’s
restrictions on palm oil products and raise export limits.Indonesia first restricted
gasoline watch its export levy instead, its trade minister exports after prices of cooking oil—made
said on Thursday, in a surprise policy U-turn from refined crude palm oil—rose more than
just a week after it shocked markets by fur- 40 percent at the start of the year amid a
ther tightening its curbs. surge in global prices.
The world’s biggest exporter of the edible Despite export curbs, consumers com-
oil has required companies to sell 30 percent plained that cooking oil was not available at
of their planned export volume of palm oil many retailers across the country.
products, up from 20 percent imposed in Indonesia Palm Oil Association (GAPKI)
January, under a so-called domestic market said removal of the curbs was welcomed but
obligation (DMO) aimed at ensuring local the group was still awaiting details of the
supply amid soaring cooking oil prices. export levy increases, secretary general
In a parliamentary hearing, Trade Eddy Martono said. Some lawmakers at the
Minister Muhammad Lutfi said those policy hearing on Thursday criticised the Trade
had resulted in supply scarcity and the DMO Ministry for haphazard policymaking, and
would be withdrawn. The regulations were said the frequent changes to its palm oil
agreed and approved on Thursday. policies resulted in market volatility.
Instead, the ceiling of palm export tax and “Since January up to today, there were
levy would be raised, he said, from a com- already at least six ministerial regulations
bined maximum of $375 per tonne to $675 being issued regarding cooking oil and not
REUTERS per tonne. The maximum CPO tax would be one of them had positive impact on the wel-
An Egyptian worker carries loaves of bread at a bakery in Cairo’s southeastern Mokattam district, as the prices of basic goods in applied when prices reach $1,500 per tonne. fare of the people,” parliament member
Egypt have risen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Egypt, on Wednesday. “This is the market mechanism, and hope- Mufti Aiman Nurul Anam said.
fully this can maintain supply stability for The government this week removed price
REUTERS buys eight small flat loaves instead has shrunk. An attempt to raise the people,” Lutfi said. caps on packaged cooking oil while provid-
CAIRO, MARCH 17 of 10. “Sometimes we cook a good the price of Egypt’s subsidised Global prices of crude palm oil, which ing subsidy for bulk cooking oil.
meal every three days, and the bread in 1977 sparked riots while
From his job as a Cairo doorman, rest of the week we just eat some- former President Hosni Mubarak
Mahmoud Farag earns 1,500 thing like bread and cheese.” faced unrest in 2008 over wheat

India’s Reliance may Egyptian pounds ($95) each month

but it’s no longer enough to ade-
quately feed his family of five.
Egypt is typically the world’s
largest wheat importer, buying
more than 60 percent of its wheat
shortages. The leading chant of
the uprising that toppled him
three years later was “Bread, free-

avoid Russian fuel Food prices in Egypt were

already climbing before Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine. Now bread, a
from abroad. Russia and Ukraine
accounted for some 80 percent of
those imports last year.
dom and social justice”.
International organisations
such as the World Bank are now

after sanctions politically symbolic staple on

which many Egyptians are heavi-
ly dependent, is also getting costli-
reuters er as Black Sea wheat exports are
NEW DELHI, March 17 disrupted and global prices surge.
That is piling financial pres-
India’s Reliance Industries Ltd, opera- sure on families who have already
tor of the world’s biggest refining endured years of austerity, in a
complex, may avoid buying Russian country where nearly a third of
fuels for its plants following Western the 103-million population live
sanctions on Moscow over its invasion below the official poverty line and
of Ukraine, a senior company official many more struggle to get by.
said. Shoppers say the cost of a pack-
“Even if we can source some of the et of unsubsidised loaves has
feeds [from Russia], probably we will risen by a quarter in the three
be out of it because of the sanctions,” weeks since Russia’s invasion of
Rajesh Rawat, senior vice president its neighbour, while prices of oil,
and business head cracker, told an eggs, pasta and other widely con-
industry event on Wednesday. sumed foods are also climbing.
Reliance buys Urals crude and Flour prices have risen by up to
straight run fuel oil for its refineries 15 percent, said Attia Hamad of
from Russia. The private refiner the Cairo Chamber of Commerce.
mostly buys its petrochemical feed- “I eat less so my kids don’t get
stock from the Middle East and the hungry,” said Farag, 52, whose
United States. daily budget for bread currently
Now traders are scrambling to
source supplies from elsewhere as
fighting in Ukraine and sanctions
on Russia block shipments.
“If I want to find an alternative,
prices will be vastly different,”
said one trader in the region,
pointing to volatility in the
futures contracts that underpin
the market.
The contract for May delivery
wheat on the Paris-based futures
market is up almost 50 percent
from its February lows.
Recent price increases could
also nearly double annual state
spending on wheat imports to $5.7
billion from about $3 billion,
according to a study this week by
the International Food Policy
Research Institute, an amount the
government could find it hard to
recoup as the cost of subsidised
bread has not changed since the
1980s—although the size of a loaf
warning that soaring energy and
food prices could trigger similar
social unrest in North Africa and
the Middle East.
The government has tried to
reassure Egyptians in recent
weeks that existing wheat reserves
and local crops will meet demand
for the heavily subsidised bread
available to around two-thirds
of the population for at least eight
months.
It has also raised the amount it
will pay farmers for their wheat to
secure more of the local crop and
says it is budgeting for more
expensive grain imports, despite
growing pressure on public
finances.
Officials have said subsidy
reforms could be included in the
2022/23 budget, due to be
announced this month, though
the extent of any reform remains
unclear.

C M Y K

world
Briefings
Germany’s Scholz signals
support for Finnish NATO bid
BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf
Scholz said on Wednesday he wel-
comed any interest shown by Finland
in joining NATO, a question that has
gained more urgency since Russia
invaded Ukraine. The war in Ukraine
has prompted a public debate in neu-
tral Finland, which shares a long
land border with Russia, on whether
to join the US-led NATO alliance.
Asked at a news conference with the
Finnish prime minister whether
Germany would support Finland if it
decided it wanted to join the defence
alliance, Scholz said there was
already cooperation between
Finland and NATO. “The wishes that
Finland brings to us and the alliances
that we are involved in are always
very welcome,” said Scholz, adding
nothing more concrete.
Emirati-flagged cargo ship
sinks in Persian Gulf off Iran
DUBAI: An Emirati-flagged cargo ship,
longer than a soccer field, sank in
stormy seas off Iran’s southern coast
in the Persian Gulf on Thursday,
authorities said. Rescuers were try-
ing to account for all of the vessel’s 30
crew members. Capt. Nizar
Qaddoura, operations manager of the
company that owns the ship, told The
Associated Press that the Al Salmy 6
encountered treacherous weather.
The choppy waters forced the vessel
to list at a precarious angle and with-
in hours fully submerged the ship.
Emergency workers dispatched from
Iran successfully saved 16 crew mem-
bers, Qaddoura said, and civilian
ships had been asked to help with the
rescue efforts.
US weighs dropping Iran’s
IRGC from terrorism list,
source says
WASHINGTON: The United States is con-
sidering removing Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards from its for-
eign terrorist organisation blacklist
in return for Iranian assurances
about reining in the elite force, a
source familiar with the matter said
on Wednesday. The source said
Washington had not decided what
might be an acceptable commitment
from Tehran in exchange for such a
step, which would reverse former US
President Donald Trump’s 2019 black-
listing of the group and draw sharp
Republican criticism. (AGENCIES)
Tourists take pictures under yellow trumpet tree blossoms in Xinpu township in Hsinchu.
Cleanup begins after 7.4-magnitude quake shakes north Japan, killing 4
The region is part of an area devastated by a deadly 9.0 quake and tsunami 11 years ago that caused nuclear reactor meltdowns, spewing massive radiation.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO, MARCH 17
Residents in Fukushima and Miyagi
were cleaning their homes after a
sleepless night following a powerful
7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck
off the northern Japanese coasts,
smashing furniture, knocking out
power and killing four people.
The region is part of an area devas-
tated by a deadly 9.0 quake and tsuna-
mi 11 years ago that caused nuclear
reactor meltdowns, spewing massive
radiation that still makes some parts
uninhabitable.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu
Matsuno told reporters on Thursday
morning that four people died during
the quake and the cause of their
deaths are being investigated, while
107 others were injured. A man in his
60s in Soma city died after falling from
the second floor of his house while
Russia bogged down, blasting Ukrainian
cities as war enters fourth week
Although both sides have pointed to limited progress in peace talks this week, Putin shows little sign of relenting.
REUTERS
KYIV/LVIV, MARCH 17
Russian forces in Ukraine are blasting
cities and killing civilians but no
longer making progress on the
ground, Western countries said on
Thursday, as a war Moscow was
thought to have hoped to win within
days entered its fourth week.
Local officials said rescuers in the
besieged southern port of Mariupol
were combing the rubble of a theatre
where women and children had been
sheltering, bombed by Russian forces
the previous day.
“The bomb shelter held. Now the
rubble is being cleared. There are sur-
vivors. We don’t know about the [num-
ber of] victims yet,” mayoral adviser
Petro Andrushchenko told Reuters
by phone.
Russia denied striking the theatre,
which commercial satellite pictures
showed had the word “children”
marked out on the ground in front
before it was blown up.
Mariupol has suffered the worst
humanitarian catastrophe of the war,
with hundreds of thousands of civil-
ians trapped in basements with no
food, water or power for weeks.
Russian forces have begun letting
some people out in private cars this
week but have blocked aid convoys
from reaching the city.
Viacheslav Chaus, governor of the
region centred on the frontline north-
ern city of Chernihiv, said 53 civilians
had been killed there in the past 24
hours. The toll could not be inde-
pendently verified.
In the capital Kyiv, a building in the
Darnytsky district was extensively
damaged by what the authorities said
was debris from a missile shot down
early in the morning.
As residents cleared glass and car-
ried bags of possessions away, a man
knelt weeping by the body of a woman
which lay close to a doorway, covered
in a bloody sheet.
Although both sides have pointed to
limited progress in peace talks
this week, President Vladimir Putin,
who ordered Russia’s invasion on
February 24, showed little sign
of relenting.
In a vituperative televised speech,
he inveighed against “traitors and
scum” at home who helped the West,
AFP/RSS
trying to evacuate, and a man in his
70s panicked and suffered a heart
attack, Kyodo News reported earlier.
The Japan Meteorological Agency
early Thursday lifted its low-risk advi-
sory for a tsunami along the coasts of
Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures.
Tsunami waves as high as 30 centime-
tres (11 inches) reached shore in
Ishinomaki, about 390 kilometres (240
miles) northeast of Tokyo.
The agency upgraded the magni-
tude of the quake to 7.4 from the ini-
tial 7.3, and the depth from 60 kilo-
metres (37 miles) below the sea to 56
kilometres (35 miles).
Residents in hard-hit areas found
new damages in daylight on Thursday,
cleaning their homes, putting fallen
furniture and appliances back into
place and scooping up broken dishes
and windows.
At a hotel in Yabuki town in the
Fukushima prefecture, where its wall
Residents return to a damaged residential building that was hit by a missile in Kyiv, Ukraine on Thursday. 
and said the Russian people would spit
them out like gnats.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of
Putin’s security council, said the
United States had stoked “disgusting”
Russophobia in an attempt to force
Russia to its knees: “It will not work -
Russia has the might to put all of our
brash enemies in their place.”
Kyiv and its Western allies believe
Russia launched the unprovoked war
to subjugate a neighbour Putin calls
an artificial state. Moscow says it is
carrying out a “special operation” to
disarm and “denazify” Ukraine.
Heavily outnumbered Ukrainian
forces have prevented Moscow from
capturing any of Ukraine’s biggest
cities so far despite the largest assault
on a European state since World War
Two. More than 3 million Ukrainians
have fled and thousands of civilians
and combatants have died.
British military intelligence said in
an update on Thursday that the inva-
sion had “largely stalled on all fronts”,
Cheap Turkish drones bolster Ukraine’s defences
The drones have carried out unexpectedly successful attacks in the early stages of Ukraine’s conflict with Moscow.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANKARA, MARCH 17
Despite three weeks of Russian bom-
bardment, Ukraine has kept up a stiff
defence of its cities by using Turkish-
made drones to carry out pop-up
attacks on the invaders with a lethal
effectiveness that has surprised
Western military experts.
The Bayraktar TB2 unmanned
aerial vehicles, which carry light-
weight, laser-guided bombs, normally
excel in low-tech conflicts, and Turkey
has sold them to more than a dozen
countries, including Azerbaijan,
Libya, Morocco and Ethiopia.
The drones have carried out unex-
pectedly successful attacks in the
early stages of Ukraine’s conflict with
Moscow, before the Russians were able
to set up their air defences in the bat-
tlefield, said Jack Watling of the
London-based Royal United Services
Institute.
“The [TB2s] shouldn’t be making a
meaningful impact because they are
medium altitude, slow-flying aircraft
with a large electromagnetic signa-
ture and a large radar cross-section.
And the Russians have very capable
air defence systems, so they should be
being shot down. The terrain is very
open and gives good radar coverage,”
Watling added.
was broken, front door thrown out of
place, and dishes were broken, employ-
ees were starting to clean up.
“I don’t even know where to start,”
hotel president Mineyuki Otake
told NHK.
NHK footage showed broken walls
of a department store building that
fell to the ground and shards of win-
dows scattered on the street near the
main train station in the inland pre-
fectural capital of Fukushima city.
Roads were cracked and water poured
out from pipes underground.
Footage also showed furniture and
appliances smashed to the floor at
apartments in Fukushima. Cosmetics
and other merchandise at convenience
stores fell from shelves and scattered
on the floor. In Yokohama, near Tokyo,
an electric pole nearly fell.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company
Holdings, which operates the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
and Russian forces were suffering
heavy losses from a staunch and
well-coordinated Ukrainian resist-
ance. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr
Zelenskiy addressed the German
Bundestag by video link, pulling no
punches in a speech that invoked the
Holocaust and the Berlin Wall, and
seemed intended to shame pro-Rus-
sian politicians in Moscow’s main
energy buyer.
“Every year politicians repeat
‘never again’,” said Zelenskiy, who is
of Jewish heritage, citing a slogan
used to mark the Holocaust. “And now
we see that these words are simply
worthless. In Europe a people is being
destroyed, they are trying to destroy
everything that is dear to us, what we
live for.”
Russia has assaulted Ukraine from
four directions, sending two massive
columns towards Kyiv from the north-
west and northeast, pushing in from
the east near the second biggest city
Kharkiv, and spreading in the south
He said Ukrainian forces “have
been essentially flying in at a low-level
and then coming up and raiding
with them. So striking targets of
opportunity.”
Over time, as the Russians get more
organised and push out their air
defences, Watling said “the freedom to
employ those drones is diminishing.
And so what we are now seeing is that
the Ukrainians are having to be care-
ful as to when they commit them.”
In a briefing to Parliament on
March 9, British Defence Minister
Ben Wallace praised the drones, along
with other weapons donated to
Ukraine by the West.
“One of the ways they are deliver-
ing close air support or actual fire in
depth is through the Turkish TB2
UAVs, which are delivering munitions
onto their artillery and indeed their
supply lines, which are incredibly
important in order to slow down
or block the Russian advance,”
Wallace said.
The drones also have scored success
on social media. Their aerial video of
the destruction of Russian armoured
vehicles has become a key tool for
Ukraine’s information war.
Vasyl Bodnar, Ukraine’s ambassa-
dor to Turkey, shared videos of drone
attacks on Twitter, including one that
appeared to show a convoy of
A partially derailed express train sits following an earthquake in Shiroishi, Miyagi prefecture,
northern Japan on Thursday.
where the cooling systems failed after
the 2011 disaster, said on Thursday
that workers at the site—which is
being decommissioned—found some
tanks holding treated radioactive
FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022 | 06
REUTERS
from Crimea.
Northeastern and northwestern
suburbs of Kyiv have been reduced to
rubble by heavy fighting, but the capi-
tal itself has held firm, under a curfew
and subjected to deadly nightly rocket
attacks.
Amid the unrelenting fighting, both
sides have spoken of progress at talks.
Ukrainian officials have said they
think Russia is running out of troops
to keep fighting and could soon come
to terms with its failure to topple the
Ukrainian government. Moscow has
said it is close to agreeing a formula
that would keep Ukraine neutral, long
one of its demands.
Moscow said peace talks resumed
on Thursday by videolink for a fourth
straight day, discussing military, polit-
ical and humanitarian issues. A top
aide to Zelenskiy said Ukraine still
maintained its core demand, that it
retain sovereignty over areas occu-
pied since 2014 by Russian and
pro-Russian forces.
destroyed Russian military vehicles.
“Masallah” or “Praise be” he wrote
in a caption on one of the videos.
A video using a song titled
“Bayraktar” with sounds of explo-
sions timed to coincide with the beats
has been uploaded on YouTube and
played on Ukrainian radio.
Turkey has sold
them to more than
a dozen countries,
including Libya
and Ethiopia.
“So as long as they still fly in, as
long as they’re still armed, they will
be useful. They will mostly be useful
for the propaganda side,” said Aaron
Stein, director of research at the
US-based Foreign Policy Research
Institute. “The videos have enrap-
tured people because you can see an
airstrike in high definition.”
Turkey began selling the TB2
drones to Ukraine in 2019, and Kyiv
used them in fighting Russian-backed
separatists in the eastern Donbas
region—a move that Moscow called
AP/RSS
water were out of alignment due to
the rattling, and what could be a steel
beam fell from a roof of the number 4
reactor building, which has no fuel
inside.
Technical fault halts
Polish railways, a key
Ukraine exit route
REUTERS
WARSAW, MARCH 17
Railways ground to a halt in many
places across Poland on Thursday, dis-
rupting an important means of trans-
port for Ukrainian refugees after what
the transport minister said was a traf-
fic control system outage impacting
several countries.
Infrastructure Minister Andrzej
Adamczyk said that identical faults in
the traffic control systems, which are
produced by a unit of French train
maker Alstom, had also appeared in
India, Singapore and possibly
Pakistan.
“The cause is still being deter-
mined,” Adamczyk wrote on Twitter.
“[Railway operator] PKP PLK is work-
ing non-stop to minimise the effects of
the outage, which has affected about
80 percent of rail traffic in Poland.”
Similar faults in
the traffic control
systems had
appeared in India,
Singapore as well.
Slawomir Cyza, the chief executive
of Alstom in Poland, told Reuters by
email that the outage had resulted
from a data coding flaw.
“Alstom is aware of a time format-
ting error that currently affects the
availability of the rail network, and
thus rail transport in Poland,” Cyza
said, adding passenger safety was not
compromised and that the company
had implemented a plan to restore
traffic.
Almost 2 million people have fled to
Poland, and with free rail tickets on
offer for refugees, the network has
become a key means of transport for
those travelling to stay with friends
and family around the country.
“Regarding the transport of refu-
gees, which has been the key task of
the railway over the past few days, we
are in full coordination of the process
together with the ministry of infra-
structure ... so that the process is not
halted and can be carried out to the
extent possible,” PKP PLK deputy
chief executive Miroslaw
Skubiszynski told reporters.
“destabilising.”
Turkish officials have refused to
disclose details of the drone sales to
Ukraine, including how many were
involved and whether Kyiv is being
resupplied. Independent estimates put
the number of TB2s in Ukraine at
between 20 and 50.
The drones priced under $2 million
each according to estimates, are pro-
duced by the Baykar defence company,
which belongs to the family of Selcuk
Bayraktar, the son-in-law of Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Bayraktar is Baykar’s chief technical
officer. The TB2 has been credited
with helping tip the balance of con-
flicts in Libya, as well as to Turkey’s
ally Azerbaijan in fighting with
Armenian-backed forces in the disput-
ed Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2020.
Ankara has also used the drones
against Kurdish militants in Turkey
and northern Iraq as well as against
Kurdish fighters in Syria.
Such less-expensive drones are like-
ly to have a lasting impact on warfare
as a useful tool of attrition, as well as
being able to draw in the attention of
more expensive enemy jets, Stein said.
“I’d call it the Toyota Corolla of
drones. ... It doesn’t do everything
that your high-end sports car does,
but it does 80 percent of that, right?”
he said.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation
Authority said a fire alarm went off at
the turbine building of number 5 reac-
tors at the Fukushima Daiichi but
there was no actual fire. Water pumps
for the spent fuel cooling pool at two
of the four reactors at Fukushima
Daini briefly stopped, but later
resumed operation. Fukushima Daini,
which survived the 2011 tsunami, is
also set for decommissioning.
More than 2.2 million homes were
temporarily without electricity in 14
prefectures, including the Tokyo
region, but power was restored at
most places by the morning,
except for about 37,000 homes in the
hardest hit Fukushima and Miyagi
prefectures, according to the Tohoku
Electric Power Co, which services
the region.
The quake shook large parts of east-
ern Japan, including Tokyo, where
buildings swayed violently.
C M Y K
07 | FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022

Sports | Medley

Nepal face in-form UAE today Liverpool sink

Both the sides come on the back of wins over Papua New Guinea in their first matches.
Nepal are sixth with 10 points after nine matches in the seven-team standings while the UAE sit second with 18 points from 15 matches. 
SPORTS BUREAU
KATHMANDU, March 17
Nepal take on in-form hosts United
Arab Emirates (UAE) in their second
UAE Triangular Series of the ICC
World Cup League 2 match in Dubai
on Friday.
Both the sides come at the ICCA
Academy Ground with victories over
Papua New Guinea (PNG) in their
first games of the Series being
played in double header format. While
the UAE registered a thumping
seven-wicket win over PNG in their
opening match on Tuesday, Nepal
snatched a hard-earned four two-wick-
et win over the same opponents on
Wednesday.
UAE are second in the seven team
standings with 18 points from 15
games while Nepal are sixth with 10
points after nine games. PNG,
without a win after 14 matches, sit
rock bottom.
Oman lead the standings with 36
points from 28 matches. Scotland are
third with 16 points from 12 games,
Namibia are fourth on 14 points from
as many games and the United States,
also with 14 points, are fifth from 16
matches. The top three teams at the
end of the league will book their plac-
es in World Cup Qualifiers.
Nepal and the UAE have played four
one-day internationals in the past and
both the sides have won two games
each. In their last two games, Nepal
defeated the UAE by four wickets and
then by 145 runs in January 2019.
The top three
finishers will book
their places in World
Cup Qualifiers.
But the UAE are recently at their
best form. They were the major hurdle
in Nepal’s ambition of realising World
T20 dream. The UAE defeated Nepal in
the semi-finals by 68 runs that ended
the Rhinos’ hopes of reaching
the World Cup finals for the first time
since 2014.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is
scheduled to be played in October and
November in Australia.
Nepal, meanwhile, have struggled
for consistency especially in the bat-
ting department in the long format of
the game in the past couple of months.
In their Sri Lanka tour before leaving
for the UAE, Nepal played four match-
Photo Courtesy: CAN
es with the local teams. Though they
won three among them, Nepal’s
batting woes were evident. Nepal
failed to play for 50 overs in all four
practice matches.
Against PNG as well, Nepal strug-
gled with the bat before pulling off
victory in the last over thriller. Nepal’s
unpredictable opening and top order
batting has been the main concern.
Openers Kushal Burtel and Aasif
Sheikh departed for just one run and
16 runs while No 3 and No 4 batters
Gyanendra Malla and Dipendra Singh
Airee could only manage four and
eight runs respectively.
Nepal are likely to give continuity
to the same opening pair of Bhurtel
and Sheikh against the UAE. Middle
order batsman Rohit Paudel is likely
to replace Malla, who has been con-
sistently struggling with the bat, at
top order. All-rounder Dipendra
Singh Airee, Arif Sheikh, Bhim
Shakri and Karan KC are among other
batters likely to get their place in the
starting XI.
Captain Sandeep Lamichhane will
spearhead Nepal’s bowling attack.
Pacer Sompal Kami, who claimed
three wickets against PNG, and
Bikram Sob will likely start against
the UAE.
The match will kick off at 11:15 NST.
Arsenal to boost
title hopes
Agence France-Presse
LONDON, March 17
Jurgen Klopp urged Liverpool to fin-
ish the job as they moved within one
point of Premier League leaders
Manchester City after Diogo Jota and
Roberto Firmino inspired a crucial 2-0
win against Arsenal on Wednesday.
Klopp’s side took advantage of
City’s goalless draw against Crystal
Palace on Monday thanks to their
smash-and-grab raid at the Emirates
Stadium.
Arsenal enjoyed a sustained period
of pressure that could easily have
yielded the opening goal, but Alisson
Becker made a superb save to deny
Martin Odegaard and Liverpool capi-
talised to steal the points.
Liverpool, chasing an unprecedent-
ed quadruple, have won nine succes-
sive league games, scoring 23 goals
and only conceding twice. Having
trailed City by 14 points on January
15, Liverpool have hunted down the
champions impressively, putting the
race in their own hands as they eye a
second title in three seasons.
A victory against Watford in their
next league game on April 2 would set
the stage for a seismic showdown with
Pep Guardiola’s team at the Etihad
Stadium on April 10.
“We’ve obviously had a good period.
It’s what we need. We’re one point
behind, but it’s still the same. We have
to win football matches,” Klopp said.
Liverpool struck in the 54th
minute. Thiago’s precise pass behind
Cedric Soares sent Jota sprinting
into the Arsenal area, but the Portugal
forward’s low shot should have
been saved by Aaron Ramsdale,
who let it squirm past him at the
near post.
Liverpool went for the knockout
blow and Firmino delivered it in the
62nd minute. Andy Robertson was the
catalyst with a brilliant piece of tenac-
ity as the Scot saw his shot blocked,
then chased to the touchline to steal
possession before surging forward to
send in a cross that Firmino converted
with a deft finish.
Record-breaking Kane
Harry Kane created Premier League
history with his goal in Tottenham’s
2-0 win at Brighton.
After Cristian Romero deflected
Dejan Kulusevski’s effort into the net
in the 37th minute, Kane entered the
record books just before the hour. His
blistering finish from Rodrigo
Bentancur’s pass made it 95 away
goals in the Premier League for Kane,
more than any other player.
The England striker also moved
above Frank Lampard in the list of
Premier League all-time scorers,
going into fifth with 178 goals.
Antonio Conte’s seventh-placed side
remain in the race for a top-four fin-
ish, sitting three points behind
Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
Juventus fail again in
Champions League
A 4-1 aggregate loss to Villarreal means the Old Lady have
exited in the last 16 for a third consecutive season.
Allegri’s Juventus lost the second leg match 3-0 at the Allianz Stadium on Wednesday.
Associated Press
ROME, March 17
With three different coaches in three
seasons, the result remains the same
for Juventus: three straight elimina-
tions at home in the Champions
League round of 16.
Europa League champions
Villarreal scored three second-half
goals in a 3-0 win on Wednesday to
advance to the quarter-finals for the
first time in 13 years.
Substitute Gerard Moreno convert-
ed a penalty in the 78th minute to
break the deadlock following a 1-1
draw in the first leg. Then Pau Torres
was left unmarked to redirect in a cor-
ner before Arnaut Danjuma added
another spot kick as Villarreal
advanced 4-1 on aggregate.
“For 75 minutes the squad did well,”
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri
said. “Then a single episode changed
the match. These things happen in
football and we have to accept this
heavy loss.”
Allegri returned to Juventus this
season after Maurizio Sarri and
Andrea Pirlo coached the Bianconeri
during defeats to Lyon and Porto at
this stage over the last two seasons,
respectively. Including a quarter-final
defeat to Ajax in 2019, it’s the fourth
straight time that Juventus have
been knocked out after a home
second-leg match.
In Wednesday’s other match,
defending champions Chelsea
advanced 4-1 on aggregate after a 2-1
win at Lille.
Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Real
Madrid, Manchester City, Atletico
Madrid and Benfica also advanced to
AFP/RSS
the last eight.
Juventus sorely missed captain
Giorgio Chiellini, who never left the
bench following an injury layoff, and
fellow centre back Leonardo Bonucci,
who was still out injured.
The Bianconeri were eliminated by
Lyon and Porto at Allianz Stadium the
last two years under Maurizio Sarri
and Andrea Pirlo, respectively.
With Massimiliano Allegri having
returned as coach this season, the
trend was expected to be broken. But
after a strong first half, Juventus
were broken down midway through
the second half.
The penalty was awarded after a
VAR ruling determined that Juventus
defender Daniele Rugani fouled
Francis Coquelin. Juventus goalkeep-
er Wojciech Szczesny has saved three
straight penalties in Serie A and got
his gloves on Moreno’s kick but
couldn’t stop it. Torres netted from
close range in the 85th after a corner
was flicked on. Then a handball from
Matthijs de Ligt in stoppage time set
up Danjuma’s spot kick.
With the away goals rule no longer
in use, both teams needed to win to
advance.
Juventus had several chances early
on, including when Dusan Vlahovic
hit the crossbar with one touch follow-
ing a cross from Mattia De Sciglio, and
a header from Alvaro Morata. Giovani
Lo Celso curled wide in Villarreal’s
best chance of the first half.
At the start of the second half, it
appeared that Villarreal were content
to sit back and defend and try to get
take the game to extra time and a
shootout. But when Moreno came on,
the momentum shifted.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) ****
Today’s vibes will create a romantic ambiance
throughout the day, making it a good time to get a
little flirting in with that special someone. Lean into
change, especially if you’re not totally satisfied with
your current job title.
HOROSCOPE
CANCER (June 22-July 22) ***
New structures could manifest within your relation-
ships. This energy is perfect for dreaming of a
brighter future with your significant other. Use this
cosmic climate as an opportunity to recharge on a
physical and emotional level.
LIBRA (September 23-October 22) ***
Use today’s energy as an excuse to lean into the soft-
er side of life, choosing love and beauty over conflict
or drama. This cosmic climate will also ask you to
prioritize your health, making it important to nur-
ture yourself.
CAPRICORN (December 22-January 19) ****
Don’t be afraid to talk about your wants and needs
today. These vibes will encourage you to tap into
your personal power to elicit any change you seek.
These vibes are perfect for getting ahead around the
office without making any waves.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) ***
The day helps you scratch past the surface within
your blooming friendships while allowing you and
your companions to bond on a more profound level.
The day can also help motivate you on a professional
level.
LEO (July 23-August 22) ***
If you’ve been wanting to embrace change by adapt-
ing new routines and healthier habits, today is your
day. These vibes will encourage you to let go of any
behavioral patterns that aren’t contributing to your
wellbeing.
SCORPIO (October 23-November 21) ***
These vibes pushes you to express yourself through
art. This lunar placement will act as a blessing if
you’ve been staying on top of your self-care. Under
today’s skies, take enough time out for relaxation
and rejuvenation.
AQUARIUS (January 20-February 18) ***
A sense of peace and inner security will find you
today. Lean into these vibes by allowing yourself to
let go of hurts from the past. Tap into the beauty that
surrounds you, and you’ll soon find a world that’s
filled with blessings.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21) ****
Don’t be afraid to advocate and negotiate for yourself
today. The cosmic alignment will ask you to tap into
your personal authority so that you can seize the
opportunity while making headway within your pro-
fessional goals.
VIRGO (August 23-September 22) ****
Feel free to dedicate most of your time and energy to
fun and love. These vibes will encourage you to blow
off some steam with your nearest and dearest, espe-
cially if you haven’t been feeling like your normal
self recently.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-December 21) ***
You’ll be more sensitive to the thoughts and feelings
of those around you today. Unfortunately, this energy
can throw you off your game if you find yourself in
the company of tense or negative people.
PISCES (February 19-March 20) ***
You’ll discover a profound appreciation for your
friends today. These vibes can help you feel more
connected to your nearest and dearest without sacri-
ficing your own identity, allowing you to feel support-
ed and loved.

Crossword Sudoku

Yesterday’s Solution

C M Y K
 FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2022 | 08
(C.R.P.D.) - 3/052/053

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