In the torrential rain last June, I was travelling from Kathmandu to Lumbini via road. I saw the devastation the monsoon rain could bring in a way I had never seen before. Many houses, plantation fields, and roads were half submerged in the ocean that monsoon had newly created. It was a very tragic picture. News about the collapse of Darchula came that same night.
Forces of nature cannot be predicted, but increasing human activities have compounded the damages caused by unexpected attacks of natural forces. This recent disaster proved again how inadequate our preparations are to combat even highly predictable natural disasters. I too do not have the answer to the question of the moment: Why doesn’t the government follow modern slope protection techniques like building of embankments and dams to protect dense settlements in risk-prone topographies before they are hit by terrible disasters? [break]
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Besides, the case of Darchula also highlights our submissive diplomatic dealings. Some reports, yet unproven, claim that the Khalanga flooding happened due to the opening of gates of the reservoir of Dhauliganga Hydropower Plant located in upper riparian section of Mahakali River in India. While Nepal government hasn’t issued any official statement regarding this claim, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu has already brushed off the popular belief.
The already hesitant Nepal Government hasn’t pursued the matter with any interest after that. Rather than confront the Indian Government about it, Nepal Government lies in the hope that matters will settle on their own in course of time when people forget the issue. Since the news is yet unverified, I was expecting our government to at least set up a commission to do the preliminary study about the causes of the sudden and horrific flooding.
After a 10-hour visit and inspection of the affected areas, government officials promised NRs 50 million for reconstruction; though the plans and cost calculations for the reconstruction have not been made public yet. I doubt if the circulation of the reconstruction budget was discussed in any meeting afterwards. All that the government now seems to be doing is discussing the upcoming elections on TV. I hope the election doesn’t prove too expensive to the already disaster stricken country.
Situations like these where our government chooses to forget matters involving India are recurrent. We have a long history of meek government behavior. We often neglect our natural right to raise concerns about common borders issues with the neighboring country, and forget many international rules and laws guiding such situations. Nepal and India have also signed many bilateral treaties and agreements regarding border issues and water resources along these borders. Such treaties, in many cases, have resulted in the building of barrages with doors in many rivers across the border. Many such treaties and agreements were chiefly guided by Indian interests alone. India has continued to dominate even in the process of implementing such agreements/treaties. It is because of these almost unilateral treaties that Nepal has been incurring heavy loss of lives and resources every monsoon.
The Indian government had acquired Nepal’s land during the construction of the Tanakpur Dam in India-Nepal border against international laws and regulations. Gandak Treaty signed in 1959 had also heavily curtailed Nepal’s water rights, stating that Nepal couldn’t withdraw water from Gandak river or its tributaries under the conditions of requirements annexed in the treaty. The schedule of the required water level to be maintained in Gandak Irrigation and Power Project, defined in the annex, was either very close to or exceeded the normal quantity of water in the river. The river would almost never have more water than what the annexed schedule provided; meaning Nepal could not withdraw water from the river. This clause was later amended, and the revised treaty was signed again in 1964. Still, even according to the revised treaty, Nepal could not withdraw water from the river in the driest months—February to April.
All this is happening also because of the incompetence of our leaders and delegates to sign the treaties on equal terms. Hence, a good share of the blame should be shouldered by Nepal Government, its bureaucrats, and our elected leaders. According to the interim constitution of 2007, any treaties of peace and friendship, defense and strategic alliance, boundaries of Nepal and resources and the distribution of resources require a two thirds majority in the parliament for ratification, accession, acceptance or approval.
This gives our elected leaders the power to check and balance the exercise of power by the government during the signing of treaties. Though there is no parliament at present, this provision was not even exercised when there was a parliament. We always seem to be submitting to the size, populace and government of India while signing treaties. This has remained a sad chapter in our diplomacy.
Diplomatic dramas like these are also evident in the personal or party-oriented visits of our political leaders without any responsible positions who then try to influence the country’s diplomacy. The vagueness of such political prostitution was recently repeated in the case of Darchula flooding. Only Nepali Congress released a press statement suspecting Dhauliganga Hydropower’s dam opening as one of the probable causes of the flooding. All other claiming-to-be-nationalist parties, or even ones advocating ultra nationalist agendas, are scared to break their silence about the matter. It is a national shame to have more than 100 registered parties and almost none of them daring to speak for their citizens (whom they claim to represent) when the Indian state is involved.
Our political makeup is severely compromised, and this has made our country compromise on many levels, including foreign policy and diplomacy. We have been readily giving other countries an easy upper hand because we are the victims of our own incompetence. Because of this, we are even ready to submerge our lands and ourselves within those dammed treaties.
There are International laws, UN Charters and Conventions that guide how treaties between countries are drafted, signed and implemented. We should advocate for and practice working towards a clear and respectable level of communication between Nepal and India on equal footing and equal terms. That would also help foster and maintain friendly relations between the neighbors.
The author is an
Economics graduate with interest in Public Policy
barshaaa@gmail.com
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