My Thought on Controlling Population Migration from Rural to Urban Areas in Nepal

Migration of people from village to city is becoming an epidemic problem in Nepal. With a lack of proper urban planning, mass migration of people creating a serious housing problem in cities and livelihood issues in rural areas. Eventually, unplanned population migration adversely affects economic development of our nation. Danchi (団地), a housing system implemented in postwar Japan could be a good model for Nepal to manage the influx of people in urban and sub-urban areas. Danchi is a multi-unit apartment complex and Kathmandu is an excellent candidate for this housing system. Similarly, development of residential areas in villages make easy to develop infrastructures and provide basic needs to people living in rural areas.

We have to revolutionize our agriculture practice for sustainable development of rural areas in order to minimize population migration from village to city . Currently, our agriculture practice is still in a pre-medieval stage. People in village spend their time just keeping one cow and couple of goats (this is just a typical example)...or planting some small plots of land. This is just waste of time and their efforts. In order to increase productivity, agriculture practices should be done in large scale with modern equipment and technology. The increase in productivity and availability of basic services--housing, water, electricity, education, health etc., inspire them stay where they are, and eventually, help improve national economy.

मेरो प्रतीक्रिया: विधवालाई बिहे गरे आधा लाख, दलितलाई गरे एक लाख पाइने

आज दिउसो साथीहरु संग यसै बिषयमा हल्का कुराकानी पनि भयो। माई संसारको लेखअनि कमेन्टहरु पनि पढे। तर दु:ख लाग्दो कुरा हामी धेरै नेपालीहरु, यसमापनि शिछित बर्गमा, अझैपनि छुवाछुत जस्तो रुडीवादी सोचाइबाट ग्रसितमानसिकताले जरा गाडेको पाए। शिछित बर्गमा पनि माथिल्लो जात भन्ने सन्कुचितभावना अझै बिधमान रहेको महशुस गरे। पाक्कै पनी सामाजिक सुधार आन्दोलनमा योसानो आर्थिक सहयोग पर्याप्त नहोला तर पनि यसले दलित केटा वा केटि अथवाविधुवासंग बिवहा गरेको निहुमा घर र सामाज बाट तिरस्कृत हुनुपेको नबबिवाहित दम्पतिका लागि एउटा जीवन सुरु गर्ने आशा बन्न सक्छ। 

सम्पन्न नेपाल अनि सभ्य नेपाली समाज निर्माण गर्न छुवाछुत जस्तो रुडीवादीसंस्कारको अन्त्य हुनै पर्छ। यस कुरामा कसैको पनि दुई मत नहोला।निश्चयपनि, वर्तमान समस्याको दिर्घकालिन निधानको लागी नेपालीको सामाजिकचेतनाको स्तर उकास्ने काम अनि दलितहरुको शैछिक स्तर तथा शिप अभिबृद्दीसाथै विधुवाहरुकोलागि सीप आर्जन र रोजगारीको अवसर आदी विषयहरुमा योजनाबनाई कार्यन्वयन गरिनु पर्छ। साथसाथै, छुवाछुत प्रर्थालाई बडुवा दिने रविधुवा विवाहलाई हतोत्साह गरिने बिरुद्द कडा कानुन को निर्माणगरी कडाइकासाथ लागू गरिनु पर्छ। 

मलाई लग्छ, अन्तर जातिय विवाह, विशेसत दलितसंगको विवाह साथै विधुवासंगविवाह गर्नेहरु सामाजिक कुरिती बिरद्द जुद्दने नायक नायिका हुन। उनीहरुकोसम्मान अनी संरक्ष्यण गरिनु पर्छ। जसरी असल विधार्थी तथा चुनैतिपुणअनुशन्धानकर्तालाई स्कलरशिप या रिसर्च ग्रान्टले सहयोग गर्छ, त्यसैगरी यसप्रकारको आर्थिक सहयोगले ति दम्पतिहरुलाई नया जिवन जीउन सहयोग गर्नेछ। वर्षौ देखि अपहेलनाको जातोमा पिसिदै आएको पिडा, अन्तर जातिय विवाह गरेरतिरस्कृत हुनुपेको वेदना, जनयुद्ध या अन्य कारणले बेलैमा सिन्धुर पुछिएकाचेलीहरुको वेदनामय धरातलमा उभिएर हामी सबैले एक चोटी सोचने हो की!!!!!

Kathmandu – Hetauda Fast Track Highway: A Viable Alternative for Sustainable Transportation Network

This presentation was made on Saturday, 29th March, 2009 in First International Conference on "Development Issues, Challenges, and Strategies for Nepal" organized by Nepalese Student Association, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, U.S.A. 

View more presentations from Desh Sonyok

Hangdewa Landslide, Taplejunung, Eastern Nepal

I am going to post my email reply about Hangewa landslide to Badri Vinod Dahal, who is working in Taplejung in the field of Natural Resource Management. Badri jii wanted to know more about the landslide for its long term management. Since, my last field visit was in 2001, my knwoledge on Hangdewa landslidle is not up to date. Nonetheless, I hope this posting would help provide basic information about the Hangdewa-Hireba landslides.

Landslides in both Hangdewa and Hireba rivers are huge scale and very complicated. Types of mass movement are complex. The mass movement type varies in different parts of the slide area. In fact, these landslides are formed by the combination of various individual slides. Therefore, these landslides are very unique in its nature. Most probably, it provides typical example of complicated landslide in the world. An important parameter in landslide control is its depth of slip surface. In both Hangdewa and Hireba landslides, depth of slip surface varies from shallow to very deep. In some areas, it could be exceed 10 meters whereas in some areas, the slip surface simply represents the soil rock interface

Figure: Landslide distribution map of Hangdewa - Hireba watershed (2001)

First international symposium on “Development Issues, Challenges, and Strategies for Nepal

Nepalese Students’ Association (NeSA) at New Mexico State University (NMSU) organized its first international symposium on “Development Issues, Challenges, and Strategies for Nepal.” Keynote speaker, Dr. Alok Bohora, Professor of Economics at University of New Mexico, highlighted the “smart village” concept of economic e-development in Nepal while addressing the current political transitions in Nepal. Similarly, the invited speakers Rachel Stevens, Associate professor at NMSU recounted her 5-month long research on Nepalese Arts and Sculpture of Patan, Lalitpur and Dr. Rajat Rajbhandari from Texas Transportation Institute, El Paso, delivered a talk on growing traffic congestion in Kathmandu and possible solutions via information technology.

In the mean while, other six speakers, mainly Ph. D. scholars, from NMSU and University of Texas, El Paso, presented their talks on wide range of issues. Marohang Limbu advocated for the place of World Englishes, including Nepanglish in the US academic writing while appraising the current traditions of teaching English as Second Language (ESL) by the US academia. Emphasizing on holistic education, Binod Gurung stated that education has changing roles in Nepal that should empower children and youth to meet 21^st century personal, ecological, and market goals. The symposium coordinator Desh Raj Sonyok, revealing the possibility of the shortest Kathmandu-Hetauda Fast Track Highway which includes tunnels, mentioned that it can be as much as 75% shorter than the existing Prithvi highways and reduces 7-8 hours of travel time to 1-2 hours. Having involved in the Hydroelectricity sector in Nepal, Suresh Gautam, concluded that present day electricity crisis can only be resolved through strong commitment of implementing short term and long term action plans in Nepal. In the end, Kiran Spakota and Saran Rai discussed the health scenarios in Nepal and South Asia in general. 

The program was chaired by Dr. Ram N. Acharya, Asst. professor at NMSU and facilitated by NeSA President Hikmat Bahadur B.C. The symposium coordinator, Mr. Sonyok, in his concluding remarks said “The first symposium has been acclaimed as a huge success in addressing development issues at the outset of reconstruction and political transition in Nepal.”

Prof. Dr. Alok Bohara, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM

Associate Prof. Dr. Ram Acharya, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM

Associate Prof. Rachel Stevens, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM

Dr. Rajat Raj Bhandari, Texas Transportation Institute (TII) , El Paso, TX

Desh Raj Sonyok, Program Coordinator, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM