Nepal tiger population reaches 176, says govt

KATHMANDU, July 30: With the new counting showing increase in the number of big cats in two protected areas of the country, tiger population has reached 176 in Nepal, announced the government on Sunday. 

As Nepal observed the World Tiger Day-2012, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) unveiled the results of the recent counting on Sunday, which put the numbers of adult wild tigers at 37 in Bardiya National Park and at 10 in Shukla Phata Wildlife Reserve, Kanchanpur.

Although only two new adult tigers have been found in Bardiya since 2009, the number of big cat has doubled in Kanchanpur over the last three years. In 2009, tigers´ numbers were just 18 and eight in Bardiya and Kanchanpur respectively. With altogether 21 tigers found in the new counting conducted early this year by using camera trapping method, the national tiger population is now short of only 74 for Nepal to achieve its 2022 target. 

In 2010, when the tiger population was 155, Nepal had set a target to double the number by 2022. However, Maheshwor Dahal, an ecologist at the DNPWC, says, "It´s just a tentative target. We believe our target will be met even if we succeed to increase tiger population to around 250."

More scientific tiger count by 2013

The National Tiger Conservation Committee (NTCC), headed by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, on Sunday instructed the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) to count tigers in all protected areas simultaneously in the next year. This means that Nepal will have more scientific data about tigers by 2013 end. 

As of now, DNPWC has never conducted tiger counts simultaneously in all protected areas. In 2010, when Nepal claimed to have found 155 tigers, the national tiger population was compiled by using the results of previous counts. Even this year, when the new tiger population is believed to have reached 176, the number of recently traced tigers (21) has been added to the 2010 data (155). 

"Our tiger counts are not completely scientific till now," says Dahal. "When we add new numbers of tigers found in a certain area, some of the tigers counted in the previous census might have already been killed or dead. In this way, we can never figure out the exact number of tigers."

In November, 2013, DNPWC will count tigers in all national parks, wildlife reserves and some other potential areas simultaneously. 

Joint mechanism against environmental crimes

Sagar Shumsher JBR, a retired general of Nepal Army (NA), along with two others, was arrested with an illegal gun allegedly for hunting a deer inside Chitwan National Park (CNP) on June 13, 2012. 

This created a sort of confusion between the Chitwan District Administration Office (DAO) and the CNP administration over whether to charge Shumsher with illegally possessing a weapon or killing the deer. As a quasi judicial authority for hearing cases of wildlife crimes, the CNP administration could punish Shumsher for hunting the deer while the Chitwan administration had the rights to try him for possessing the illegal weapon. 

This sort of confusion is common because wildlife crimes are often intertwined with criminal activities like those of forgery and possession of drug and illegal weapons. In order to avoid this confusion, NTCC on Sunday also made a policy decision to form an integrated mechanism of several government bodies to combat all types of environmental crimes. 

The third meeting of NTCC also decided to increase the amount of compensation given to the families of those killed by tigers and other wild animals. As of now, the families of the victims of wild animals are provided Rs 150,000 in compensation. "It´s a necessary step," says Dahal. "The idea is to reduce conflict between people and tigers. We can´t protect tigers if we don´t address the local community´s concerns."

Transformation from positive thinking

July 29: We have the ability to create our own reality. For the most part, we can look at a situation and see the good or we can look at the same situation and choose to see the bad. Oftentimes the lens we use to view what’s happening is filtered by our thoughts.

Positive thinking is the act of thinking good or affirmative thoughts. Many people engage in positive thinking to rid themselves of depressing, unhealthy, negative thoughts. 

Positive thinking is a way to use your mind to reverse the damaging effects of negative thinking. Positive thoughts create more positive circumstances. 

Alternatively, negative thoughts contribute to feelings of dissatisfaction and disappointment. Therefore, changing our negative thoughts is essential to achieve happiness and peace.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” That is why the difference between can and cannot is only of three letters, and these three letters can determine one’s life’s direction.

It doesn´t matter what your circumstances are at the present moment. Think positive, expect favorable results and situations, and circumstances will change accordingly. If you persevere, you will transform the way your mind thinks. 

It may take some time for the changes to take place, but eventually they will. The person who sends positive thoughts shall activate the world around him positively.

Positive thinking is not something that comes automatically but it rather requires time and practice. You would not give a three-hour examination without preparing for it and the same goes for positive thinking. 

You need to acquire endurance and build it step by step. Sitting in the midst of a crisis with an unhappy smile, repeating “It’s going to be fine” is not positive thinking – that is being unrealistic.

In a video, Shiva Khera, the Indian motivational speaker, shared an example of Muhammad Ali about how positive thinking helps you to climb the ladder of success. 

When Muhammad Ali practiced, he continuously used to repeat the phrase “I’m the greatest, I’m the champion” and this positive thinking created positive vibes in him which ultimately led him to positive action.

He practiced and made it happen and the positive thoughts helped him.

Life is what you think of it and what you can make out of it. Even amidst difficulties, hope for the best. With faith in your heart and confidence in yourself, keep the courage. 

You can surmount all your problems. Know with certainty that after darkness there can only be light. Today can never happen again. We were not born to fail. 

The positive thinker can see the invisible, feel the intangible, and achieve the impossible.

It's not just dancing!

KATHMANDU, July 31: Dance is essential to a healthy society and has the power to cut across caste, creed and cultural diversity. It can demonstrate the infinite possibilities for human expression and potential, and facilitate communication within and across cultures and generations.

‘Lyrical Dances’ was such an event which focused to develop lyrical choreography in Nepal and inspire and contribute to the value of dance as a powerful medium of communication. 

Nritya Aagan, a dance school in Kathmandu, launched the lyrical dance project in July 2011 with support from Danida, Denmark’s development cooperation. The first step of the project was to select dance teachers and enthusiasts from various schools and have them participate in various workshops.  

After an intense orientation program and pre-master classes, participants were selected for a Master class with Lokesh Bharadwaj, master in Bharat Natyam and contemporary dancer from India.

The finale of the year long project was then ‘Lyrical Dances’, which took place on July 20, 2012 at the Nepal Army Officers Club in Kathmandu. 

Choreographers Swojan Raghubansi, Subima Shrestha, Saurabh Neupane, Sulochan Gopali, Deeya Maske, Beli Maya Ale Magar, Hem Raj Gajmer, Rohit Tamang (Kumar), Sushma Koirala, Shova Chand, Rajan Khatiwada, Jenisha Dangol flaunted their talent at the event and the young ones got to learn something new and exciting.

“Nritya Aagan is a strong believer in the arts as creative forms that express stories, feelings, and contexts relevant to the performers and their worlds. We aim to inspire young people to learn and appreciate different dance forms, maintain the integrity and essence of the forms and create a dance community well versed in different forms and principles,” said Subima Shrestha, Director at Nritya Aagan.

Sushma Koirala, 28, was involved with the project from the beginning. A dance teacher herself, she choreographed small scale dances but ‘Lyrical Dance’ was a whole different scenario for her. 

“I actually went to participate as a dancer but after the workshops, I had the opportunity to learn more and I was given a chance to choreograph, which was a big thing for me,” she shared.

 Koirala did not know about the ‘theme’ that one has to follow as a choreographer after listening to the music and lyrics, but now she says she has learned how to direct the dancers according to the tune and the theme of the song and if it suits them or not. “I think the project has helped me to a large extent and this will definitely help boost my career graph,” said she.

Lyrical dance emerged as a new art form after the cultural changes of the 1970s. Dancers wanted new ways to convey a wide range of human emotion through movement, rather than relying on the precision of classical ballet or the abstract quality of modern dance. 

Lyrical dances show expression, mood and often tell a story. The interpretation of the music is left to the choreographer.

“The project aimed to develop lyrical choreography in Nepal and inspire choreographers and dance teachers to discover a more internal understanding of movement. Lyrical dance fused traditional, classical and modern dance techniques to create a contemporary dance style, known for its expressiveness and musicality,” said Shrijana Singh Yonjan, Event Coordinator of the project.

Sharing her experience, 20-year-old Jenisha Maharjan, one of the dancers, shared that she got to learn a lot from the event, which she had not expected. 

“As a break-dancer, I dance mostly in English music and I don’t even listen to Nepali music much. Dancing to Nepali tunes with a mix of various classical forms of dancing, was an amazing experience,” she said, adding that she would further love to learn more classical dancing and also continue dancing to Nepali tunes.

The songs that were used during the show were all re-recorded. It was an attempt to conserve and promote classical musical compositions that are the musical heritage of Nepal. 

“The search for songs from the early sixties through the mid seventies proved to be an eye opening experience for the choreographers that participated in a research activity to find songs suitable for performing during the ‘Lyrical Dances’ program,” said Renchin Yonjan, Cultural Consultant at the Embassy of Denmark in Nepal.

Through ‘Lyrical Dances’, the young minds did not only get a chance to learn about the various dancing styles but also got to connect to classical Nepali music besides getting to learn about choreographing and dancing to not just tunes, but lyrics.

China stretch medal haul as Missy lights up pool

LONDON, July 31: China stretched their lead at the top of the Olympic medal table on Monday as American swimming sensation Missy Franklin lived up to the hype with her first gold of the Games.

After a stellar opening weekend which saw them bag six titles, China scored wins in artistic gymnastics, diving and women´s weightlifting to take their total to nine on a day marred by officiating controversies. 

China´s men´s gymnasts endured a disastrous qualifying round but swept back to form to win the all-round team event and retain the gold won in Beijing four years ago.

But the biggest cheers were reserved for Britain´s men, who finished with a bronze -- the hosts´ first medal of any colour in the team gymnastics event since Stockholm 1912.

Britain had initially finished in the silver medal position before being relegated into bronze as Japan moved up to second after an appeal, with Ukraine dropping out of the medals altogether.

Elsewhere, China´s Li Xueying set two new Olympic records as she crushed her rivals on the way to clinching gold in the women´s weightlifting -58kg class.

At the Aquatics Centre, China´s Cao Yuan and Zhang Yanquan took advantage of a blunder by British duo Tom Daley and Pete Waterfield to win the 10m platform synchronised diving gold.

The British pair had been on course for the host nations´ first gold until a messy dive from Waterfield let the Chinese teenagers back into the contest.

Daley later refused to blame Waterfield for his mistake that likely cost Britain a medal.

"We´re a team, that´s it, full stop," said the 18-year-old. "You win as a team and you lose as a team."

With four titles up for grabs in the swimming pool on Monday it was US swimmers who cashed in with two golds, although there was disappointment for American star Ryan Lochte, who was bumped out of a podim place in the 200m freestyle won by France´s Yannick Agnel.

With Lochte struggling, it was left to the 17-year-old Franklin to sprinkle stardust on the occasion, and the youngster from Colorado did not disappoint with a win in the 100m backstroke.

"I couldn´t be happier right now. I´ve just won an Olympic gold medal, so I am not thinking straight right now," Franklin said.

"It is exceeding the expectations a hundred billion times more than I think it could be like."

Franklin´s achievement was trumped by 15-year-old Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte who edged out American world champion Rebecca Soni for the gold medal in the 100m breaststroke.

Meilutyte led all the way to post a brilliant win over Soni in one minute 05.47 seconds, becoming the first swimmer from Lithuania to win a gold medal.

Away from the pool, the Olympics lived up to its tradition of providing abundant drama in sports which rarely enjoy a global spotlight, with amazing scenes in the fencing competition at the Excel Centre.

South Korean fencer Shin A-Lam staged a dramatic, lonely sit-down protest for more than one hour after losing her epee semi-final against Germany´s Britta Heidemann, convinced she had been the victim of an officiating blunder.

Shin sat sobbing disconsolately on the piste as her coach protested her defeat to no avail. She eventually returned to lose her bronze medal match.

"I am very emotional. I should have won," said Shin, the 11th seed.

Away from the medals, Great Britain trounced Argentina 4-1 in the men´s field hockey, a game which followed recent tensions between the two nations on the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War.

Meanwhile Switzerland footballer Michel Morganella became the second competitor to be sent home for posting racist abuse on Twitter after insulting South Korea´s players on the micro-blogging site.

"Michel Morganella has discriminated against, insulted and violated the dignity of the South Korean football team, as well as the South Korean people," said Switzerland Olympic team chef de mission Gian Gilli.

Greek triple jumper Voula Papachristou was kicked out of the Olympics last week for a comment which poked fun at Africans living in the country.

Meanwhile under-fire London Olympic organisers (LOCOG) continued to face criticism over the banks of empty seats which have been seen across various venues since the Games got under way.

Some 3,000 tickets from international sports federations were "put back in the pot" and sold to the public Sunday, LOCOG said amid growing public anger over empty seats.

Nepal-B’desh Commerce talks: 100 Nepali items to get duty-free access in B’desh

The two-day Nepal-Bangladesh Commerce Secretary level talks ended on Monday, with Bangladesh agreeing to provide unilateral duty-free access for 100 Nepali agriculture products to its market. The agreement was signed by Nepali Commerce Secretary Lila Mani Joshi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Ghulam Hossain.

Nepal had previously sought such facility for 246 Nepali products, including lentils, tomato, spinach and herbs, among others. According to officials involved in the meeting, the Bangladeshi delegates approved Nepal’s request for the duty-free access for local vegetables and fruit products to the Bangladeshi market. “However, it has not been finalised as to which products from the list will get the facility,” said Joshi.

He said that the meeting had decided to form a bi-lateral technical committee to take a final decision on providing duty-free access to Bangladeshi market. “The committee formed on Sunday, will submit its report by December this year,” he added. “Following the submission of the report, a decision will be taken as to when the new provision will combe into effect.” The technical committee will be led by joint secretaries of the two countries.

The Bangladeshi side, however, had only asked for trade expansion and tariff cut to five percent for Bangladeshi agri-products. According to the Nepali delegates, the Bangladeshi side especially sought tariff cuts on the products, including jute and fish. They had previously been seeking similar zero tariff facility for its products including cement and pharmaceutical products, among others. “The Bangladeshi government after knowing that we cannot provide its product a zero tariff facility due to Nepal India Commerce Treaty, it did not press us to fulfill its demand,” said Joshi.

The two-day meeting was especially focused on issues like trade facilitation, establishment of direct transport service and zero tariff market access.

Earlier on Sunday, the Bangladeshi side had notified the Nepali delegates of Bangladeshi government’s decision to provide visa on arrival to Nepalis. “We are pleased to know that the Bangladeshi government has already fulfilled our demand in this respect even before the talks,” said Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya, joint secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS). Nepal and Bangladesh agreed to work towards making each others’ currencies readily convertible to ease visitors and businessmen. So far, Nepal has currency convertibility agreement only with India.

The Nepali officials informed that both sides had agreed to ask their central banks to work towards that direction. “As the issue was beyond the scope of the meeting, it was agreed that central banks of both countries will be asked to work towards that possibility,” said Secretary Joshi.

 The meeting also reviewed the progress on the decision made in the last meeting. According to Joshi, the Nepali side also asked their counterparts to endorse the transport agreement signed in 2006. The agreement had envisaged connecting Nepal and Bangladesh directly through India. Joshi said that the Bangladeshi delegates had informed the Nepali side of the upgradation of the road connecting Bangladesh’s Singhabad and India. The Bangladeshi side also agreed to operate Kakarbhitta-Fulbari-Banglaband Customs by upgrading infrastructure. “Likewise, the discussion on building quarantine, cold storage and store house, among others in the border points of two countries also went positively,” said another member of the Nepali delegation. “This will help Nepali traders to export their goods.”

The next Commerce Secretary level talks will be held in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka in February 2013.

Posted on: 2012-07-31 08:30 

Watch out for the Google Nexus 7 Tab

KATHMANDU, JUL 26 -2012

The domestic tablet market looks like becoming more competitive with the Google Nexus 7 Tablet scheduled to hit the stores next month. The tablet, manufactured by Asus, will be introduced by Nagmani International, the sole authorised distributor of Asus in Nepal, by the end of August.

“The Google Nexus has been getting positive responses from users worldwide, and we are confident about its performance in the Nepali market,” said Amit Sharaf, director of Nagmani International. He added that the device was the first of its kind to possess the upgraded version of the Android Ice Cream Sandwich Operating System (OS) making it more efficient than its competitors in the domestic market.   

Nagmani International believes that the tablet will be successful in attracting techno-savvy people because of its captivating features and affordable price tag. “The market for tablets in Nepal is very small. Around 300 tablets costing Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 are sold monthly. With the Google Nexus, we are aiming to acquire a decent market share,” Sharaf said.  

The Google Nexus is equipped with Android V4.1 - Jelly Bean OS, Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset, Quad-Core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A CPU and ULP GeForce GPU. However, the tablet doesn’t support GSM voice communication, SMS or MMS.

As suggested by the name, the tablet has a seven-inch screen. It has an LED backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen and multi-touch functionality. Its screen is protected with corning gorilla glass. The Nexus 7 is 10.9 mm thick and is very light, weighing just 336 gm. Due to its slim body, users can reach round the tablet with a single hand like holding a smartphone. The device has accelerometer, gyro, proximity and compass sensors.

The Google Nexus comes with internal memory storage of 8 GB and 16 GB and 1 GB RAM. It doesn’t have a card slot to access external memory by using an SD card. It has a 1.2 mega pixel camera and video calling features. Other general features include Google wallet, SNS integration, MP4, WMV, DIVX, XVID, H.263, MP3, WAV, EAAC and WMA player, organiser, image and video editor, document viewer, Google search, maps and Gmail. Features like YouTube, calendar, Google Talk, Picasa integration and voice memo are also incorporated in this device. As for connectivity, the tablet features various options like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and a near-field communications (NFC) chip. A Li-lon 4325 mAh battery supplies runtime of one hour.

Due to the competitive price set by Google in the international market, the tablet will be competitive in terms of pricing.

According to Sharaf, the company is planning to price the Nexus 7 with 8 GB storage at Rs 30,000 and the model with 16 GB will cost Rs 37,000 to Rs 38,000.   

Posted on: 2012-07-26 08:30 

New age Bajaj Pulsar set for September release

KATHMANDU, JUL 25 - 2012

The smoking hot new age Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS is all set to take on the country’s roads. HH Bajaj, the sole authorised distributor of Bajaj two-wheelers in Nepal, is planning to roll out the two-wheeler flaunting a distinctly new avatar by the end of August. However, the company will officially launch the two-wheeler during the seventh edition of the NADA Auto Show slated to be held in September.

HH Bajaj has stated that it will continue selling the current models of the Pulsar even after the arrival of the new variant. Currently, the company stocks the Pulsar 220 cc, 180 cc, 150 cc and 135 cc motorcycles. The Pulsar 200 NS is expected to give stiff competition to the Yamaha R 15, Honda CBR 250, Hero Honda Karizma ZMR and Ktm Duke 200.    

“Bajaj Pulsar is one of the most loved two-wheeler brands in Nepal, and we are pretty excited to launch the Pulsar 200 NS here,” said Chiranjibi Shah, deputy general manager of HH Bajaj. “The new Pulsar has got a distinctively new appeal and incorporates sporty features. The two-wheeler has also been upgraded technically.”

Sharma added that the new motorcycle features triple-spark technology, unlike preceding variants which had twin-spark technology, giving the two-wheeler unprecedented performance, efficiency and lower emission.

“Combustion of fuel in a triple-spark engine is 27 percent faster than in a twin-spark engine and 50 percent faster than in a single-spark engine,” Sharma said.

The NS in the name of the motorcycle stands for “Naked Sports”. The body of the stylish machine has been sculpted with careful attention to detail from the foot pegs to the grips on the handle bar and even in the backlit switches. According to the company, every aspect of the bike has been crafted to ensure an aggressive and muscular look.

The new offering from Bajaj features an SOHC - 4V, liquid-cooled engine which is mated with a six-speed manual transmission system. The power-train can produce a maximum power output of 23.52 ps at 9,500 rpm and a peak torque of 18.3 nm at 8,000 rpm. The Pulsar 200 NS which has a top speed of 136 kmph can go from 0-60 in 3.61 seconds and from 1-100 kmph in 9.83 seconds.

The machine features telescopic front fork with antifriction bush dia 37 front and nitrox-mono shock absorber with piggy back gas canister rear suspension. To make the braking system more efficient, the two-wheeler uses a petal disc braking system with floating calliper in the front and rear brakes. The Pulsar 200 NS, weighing 145 kg, has a ground clearance of 167 mm. Its fuel tank can store 12 l of gasoline.

According to Sharma, the company sells around 1,500 Pulsar motorcycles monthly.

“We are aiming to increase the figure by 500 units after the launch of this new variant,” he added. HH Bajaj has stated that the new motorcycle is likely to cost around Rs 300,000. It will be available in black, red blue and yellow colours. 

Posted on: 2012-07-25 08:31 

Iran expects to hold more nuclear talks: foreign minister

VIENNA , JUL 30 - 2012

Iran expects to hold more talks with world powers on its nuclear program following an inconclusive round of negotiations in Istanbul earlier this month, its foreign minister said in a newspaper interview published on Monday.

The failure of the talks to secure a breakthrough over Tehran's uranium enrichment, which the West fears is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, has raised international concerns that Israel may carry out a military strike.

"I can't say it with certainty but if everything proceeds normally then there should be further negotiations," Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi told Austria's Der Standard.

"A breakdown (in talks) is in nobody's interests. The gaps can only be closed through talking."

Salehi said, however, that Iran's right to uranium enrichment had to be recognized from the outset. "It's a matter of principle," he said.

Tehran denies it is attempting to develop atomic weapons, saying its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier this month that Iran's proposals made in talks with the so-called P5+1 group of the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany were "non-starters".

Israel is widely thought to be the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons capability and, citing threats made by Iran's leaders to destroy it, has made it clear it would attack the Islamic state if diplomacy failed.

Salehi said Iran did not want to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway at the neck of the Gulf through which 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil exports pass.

"The Persian Gulf is a lifeline for Iran and for the region and for the international community. We are rational. We do not want to cut off this lifeline and cause suffering," he said.

"But if we are forced, then Iran must do everything to defend its sovereignty and its national interests."

Military analysts have cast doubt on Iran's willingness to block the slender waterway, given the massive U.S.-led retaliation it would likely incur.

Posted on: 2012-07-30 04:50 

Policy hurdles leave huge gap between organ demand and supply

JUL 30 - In March, the Chan-digarh-based Ivy hospital reportedly closed its doors to Nepali patients seeking kidney transplants. The hospital, a popular destination for Nepali kidney patients, was asked to act harsh by the local administration after complaints of ‘illegal’ transplants, especially among Nepalis.

The Nepali policy on organ transplant is limited to transplants of the kidney and the eye (cornea). Among the two, only eyes, upon consent, are harvested from donors after death. Kidneys had to be donated by the living people. However, the Ministry of Health and Population has recently consented to post-death harvest of donor kidneys. Although there is little statistics on Nepali kidney seekers migrating to India, many doctors in the field claim that 150 people on an average get transplants in various Indian cities annually. This number is almost the same as that of transplants performed by the Bir Hospital and the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), the two authorised transplant centres in the country, combined.

Following a series of kidney transplants performed in the Capital, notably at then Everest Nursing Home with help of Indian doctors, the government came up with the Human Body Organ Transplantation (Regulation and Prohibition) Act 1998 to prevent India’s illegal organ trade from seeping into Nepal.

The Act attempted to address shortcomings in India’s law on organ transplant and adapt it to the national context. Four years later, the Kidney Transplantation (Regulation and Prohibition) Rules 2002 was passed, curbing much of the illicit kidney trade and transplant by specifying strict conditions under which a transplant should take place.

“The Organ Transplan-tation Act specified who is eligible to donate a kidney. It is probably due to this provision that people resort to illegal means,” said Dr Praveen Mishra, secretary at the Ministry of Health and Population.

The 1998 Act allows only ‘close relatives’ to donate kidneys given that they are medically fit. A ‘close relative’ is defined as a son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister, uncle, nephew, niece, grandfather, grandmother and legally adopted family members. Although India provides for an ‘authorisation committee’ that will approve kidney donations from unrelated donors on grounds of ‘attachment or affection’, Nepal has no such provision and it’s up to the doctor involved to decide. Legally, if a patient is unable to find a donor who fits into the ‘close relative’ criteria, there is no way to obtain a kidney transplant. These are the people who go abroad for transplants despite having international-standard transplant centres in the country, according to Dr Rishi Kafle, director of the National Kidney Centre.

Director General of the Department of Health Services Dr Mingmar Sherpa said that a recent meeting of the Organ Transplantation Coordination Committee had floated the idea of voluntary donations and organ harvest from cadavers.

According to Dr Pukar Chandra Shrestha, around 100 brain deaths occur annually at Bir Hospital alone, and a brain-dead person is eligible to donate eight organs—a pair of eyes, a pair of kidneys, a pair of lungs, a heart and a pancreas. The Human Organ Transplant Centre in Bhaktapur could be vital infrastructure for the purpose. For 3,000 kidney 

failures every year in the country, the supply of the delicate organ is a meagre 100. An estimated 1,000 livers are in need annually. For some 3 million diabetic patients, 100,000 pancreases are in need.

Reimagining the newsroom

Most of my journalist friends in Nepal seem to operate under the impression that multimedia journalism is a distant thing of the future, yet to make much of an impact in the country—a “passing trend”, they might even call it. But from what I’ve observed during the seven years that I’ve worked in journalism, and in my association with several international media organisations, it would be exceedingly foolish to underestimate the power of new media. So I ask disbelievers to look deeper, at the many instances one can find of how new multimedia tools are already being incorporated into not just professional but personal lives today, helping many of us connect with each other and the wider world. Multimedia is here, and it is staying.

MEDIA REDEFINED

Change is everywhere you look. From print to radio, television and online, the media is in a constant state of flux, adapting, evolving. The traditional newsroom no longer exists; the flow of information has increased by a million-fold, mostly thanks to social media. Not only does one now have more and more opportunities to find stories, but the means of telling these stories have changed irreversibly, not limited to text alone, or pictures, audio or video, but an amalgamation of all these, including infographics, that can be used to provide in-depth accounts on any particular topic. It also allows much more engagement and interaction with audiences compared to traditional media.

Among the many elements of journalism that have witnessed changes in the past decade or so is the relationship between storytellers and their mediums. Journalists who were, in the past, confined to simply typing up news reports and filing these are now being challenged to experiment in the ways they present their stories. Previously, when journalists were asked what they did, they would have generally responded by saying that they were either a print or TV journalist. But those distinctions have become more and more blurred in today’s dynamic media environment, where professionals are increasingly required to possess multiple-skills that span across different mediums.

NEW TOOLS

What is exciting about this particular time in history is the multitude of apps and other tools that are now available in the market, which give rise to a whole host of possibilities for journalists. Skype is one such tool that can facilitate newsmaking, making it easier to connect with people and conduct interviews, as are video-enabled DSLR cameras, allowing just about anyone to shoot quality videos, edit them and upload them online. Most recently, the iPad has proven a great boon to journalists worldwide, and many major news organisations including BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera are now offering customised iPad applications, which incorporate news, photos, videos, interactive diagrams, 3D objects, and much more.

Social media has proven to be another popular contemporary tool, owing largely to the way it allows precious interaction between storytellers and readers, a luxury that wasn’t available before. 

Converting the one-way flow of news to make it more democratic—in that readers are now able to have a say in what they would like to see being reported, and to critique information that they do not approve of—these new tools have demystified the journalistic profession to a degree, made it more accessible and transparent. 

Journalists in developed countries are found mining social media to a great extent, both in digging up and sharing information, a trend that is growing in Nepal as well. According to research on ‘Journalists and Social Media’ done by the Center for Media Research, 97 percent of journalists in the country are on Facebook. Likewise, 40 percent of journalists use Twitter and 38 percent of them use YouTube, mostly for viewing purposes only. This might sound encouraging, but individual journalists aside, the Nepali media, as a whole, has been relatively slow to catch up on the latest offerings of technology. Although most media houses now have an online presence, and a Facebook page, these are largely treated as tag-ons, second in priority. In short, the platform hasn’t so far been engaged to its full potential.

When I was reporting on the April 2006 movement, social media was just beginning to rear its head in Nepal and had yet to catch on. But, as we’ve seen happen with political developments in these last few years, if something of that scale were to occur again, Twitter and Facebook would instantly be flooded with status updates, photos, videos, links, and extensive discussions. According to the Nepal Telecommunications Authority, 18.28 percent of Nepal’s population currently have access to or use the Internet, and SocialBakers.com reports that there are approximately 1.6 million Facebook users in the country. It is important for journalists today to have their finger on the pulse, and—although yet to be made accessible across the entire country—social media does represent a growing sphere where current affairs, trends, opinions and controversies are increasingly played out. 

STORYTELLING IN THE FUTURE

Newsrooms today mustn’t think of multimedia skills as an added advantage when hiring professionals; they need to make these skills mandatory, and even train older journalists in emerging tools and techniques. After all, we can’t deny or aim to revert the evolution of the media; changes must be encouraged.

The Nepali media has, for long, laboured under a feeling of inferiority when compared to news organisations abroad, especially when it comes to technology, which would arrive here many years after being established elsewhere, thereby slowing down our ability to provide quality and competitive content. 

But what the Internet, and the easy availability of recording and shooting equipment in the market, has given us, is a rare opportunity to attempt to level the playing-field. Media houses need to capitalise immediately on this small window of opportunity, because once left behind, we will forever be scrambling to catch up.

Curiouser and curiouser

Something extraordinary has happened over the last decade. It has taken us exactly that long to become aware of the massive amounts of information the world contains, and to configure our innate curiosity to seek what technology can do. 

Today, technology is being deconstructed to the personal. When man landed on the moon in 1969, technology had a grander aim. Visions of human colonies on Mars could become reality, it was thought. Today, we find ourselves humbled; inter-planetary travel is taking longer than anticipated, and shallower economic pockets mean space research has all but been restricted to observation. Instead, technology has become an anthropological marvel; it now relates to how societies interact with each other, how individuals connect with each other. A home without a computer—once a behemoth so massive that five mb of data required a machine as big as a room to store it—is a rarity; soon, a pair of glasses will be all that you need to access the virtual world. 

Such progress has heralded a different phase of civilisation, where information is deified. Proving true the adage that ‘knowledge is power’, Wikileaks changed the way the game is played. But Assange did not herald this movement; it was the Internet that challenged the notion that information is the monopoly of the state. Some are still pushing it further; the ‘hacktivist’ group Anonymous, for instance. Human behaviour is modified by the Internet; a Facebook campaign over rising food prices can overthrow a government; a Twitter photo of a young girl shot by a sniper can bring thousands together. Information has moved out of the hands of the government—very soon, ‘classified’ will become the new cliché. And a population, connected by the invisible packets of data, will transmit what was earlier local to the global. 

Like the binary code that data is transmitted as, our lives too will become dual. Bring out the social media activist on Facebook, while continuing to work as an accountant at a bank. Already, we are close to a schizophrenic life, where the boundaries of the digital and the real begin to merge. A memory comes attached with a tweet, or the number of  ‘like’s it generated. A ‘like’ becomes an emotion of joy, an event to be cherished.

The duality of the real and the digital also allows for a sense of empowerment. Social media champions its own heroes, and new villains are sought every passing day. On the Internet, everyone is a Marxist. But an egalitarian society must find its own champions to further a cause. Hash tags highlight the flavour of the day, and 140-character voices find their space in the real world. Sometimes, the empowerment is false. A war criminal cannot be apprehended by the sheer volume of shares, nor can the presumption of familiarity with an alien culture. But the curiosity it creates more than compensates for these failings. We are more aware than we ever were in the history of human evolution, and that surely is good enough a reason to push ourselves further. 

Naturally, state structures are afraid. Traditional power structures operate on the basis of the notion that the governed will always know less than the governors, hence the attempts to control the nature—and at times, the volume—of information reaching a population. The Internet operates outside such restrictions, its traffic moving along a super-highway of bits and bytes. Proxies exist to break even the most stringent of walls. Even the most hermetic of societies, North Korea, finds it difficult to tie its population in its web of lies any longer. 

This deconstruction of technology has changed the way humans interact with each other. Facebook’s 900 million users probably have more conversations online than in real life, and the sheer volume of tweets—340 million a day—beggars belief. An increased presence in the virtual world is also a catalyst for a shift in the way we conduct business, propelling societies to invest more and more in this parallel creation. As this decade goes by, our online worlds will continue to merge into our real selves, and it would be foolish to disregard the prospect that one’s online presence will soon officiate as the only identity. 

What will thrust this forward will be our own curiosity. Like Carroll’s rabbit-hole, it will take us to frontiers of information rarely seen before, and make us question where we are exactly. Like a vast expressway, but of ideas and networks instead of automobiles, each moment online will reveal a new facet of humanity, a new milestone to pause and gaze. The journey seems to have only begun.