Introduction To Nepal

NAMASTE

2008

1

“MOTHER AND MOTHERLAND ARE GREATER THEN HEAVEN”

INTRODUCTION Nepal Adhirajya (Government of Nepal) is a Himalayan country which is in Asia. Its bordering countries are India and China. It is bordered by India from East, South and west. China borders from the North. Nepal is a land locked country. Nepal is also known as the home of Mr.Everest. People of Nepal also believe that Mr.Everest is the god of the sky and they call “Sagarmatha”. Nepal is also a birth place of Gautam Buddha and it is official Hindu country in the world. Nepal contains the 8 of worlds 10 highest peak in the world. The total area of Nepal is 140,800 sq km. People are different in Nepal according to the physical features. Nepal is divided in three different geographical parts; Himalayan Region, Hilly Region and Terai Region. As you see the name you can probably figure out the land feature of each region.

HIMALAYAN REGION Himalayan Region is the top part of Nepal where the mountains are located. It is stretched out from East to West and 10% of Nepal’s population live in Himalayan Region including farmers and traders. Transportation is not possible by cars or buses, only by airplane or horses/donkeys. The main cargo source in Himalayan region are Yaks (The Himalayan Yaks). People or tourist who is new to the location may have altitude sickness which can be severe until they go back to lower altitude. People give them some natural herbs so that they don’t feel any dizziness. Himalayan region is also one of the most beautiful regions. One of the highest mountains in the world Mt.Everest and other 10 mountains covers this region of Nepal. The climate in this region is extremely cold and snow fall takes place every winter. In summer you still feel cold due to the high altitude and high winds. People often drink tea or coffee which is made by ghee and lots of sugar. The life in Himalayan region is way different than other two regions of Nepal. Lamb soup is the 2

main soup of that region. Most people in this region are Buddhist and we can see lots of Buddhist temple in this region.

HILLY REGION (THE MIDDLE HILLS) About 50% of the Nepal’s population lives in this region. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. The high landscape makes it almost impossible to build roads and other transportation sources. Some parts are developed near the capital cities but most parts are not. In some places you have to walk for hours and days to get to your destination, though the hilly region is less developed but it is rich in natural resources. The thick forest is helpful to the people for firewood, fodder and materials. But the increasing population has made very difficult for these natural resources to survive. They were forced to cut down trees make houses also known as Deforestation. The capital city Kathmandu Valley is also situated in the middle hills. Another largest city is the Pokhara Valley. It is situated at the central Nepal. The climate in this region is moderate in summer and extremely cold in winter. Farmers in this region have a very difficult life. They have problem in growing the crops sometime and they have problem in bringing the grown crops in the market. Sometimes they put all the crops in a basket called “Doko” and bring it in the city to 3

sell it. They have to carry the basket in their backs and bring it all the way from their village to the city. Sometimes their children help them. Though farmers have some difficulty in growing and bringing the vegetables in the city this is the only region which has natural vegetation so popular.

Village out of Kathmandu Valley

TERAI REGION (THE TERAI) Terai region is flat and narrow part of Nepal and southern border with India. It is the most developed region too because the flat lands help the transportation to be better. About 40% of Nepal’s population lives in terai region. Terai region is covered with thick forests. But past 10 years due to the Civil War in Nepal most of the population has migrated to the capital city or to other safest place but still we cannot see any harm in economy of that region. In this region people should be careful about mosquito bites because the mosquito bites has killed thousands of people and children in this region. WHO (World Health Organization) planned to spray DDT (pesticides to kill mosquitoes). 40% of the agriculture is done in Terai Region. The transportation facility is very good. Most people 4

want to live in Terai region because everything is cheap and you can get a luxurious life in less money but the only problem is that you don’t have good hospitals and educational facilities. The climate is extremely hot in summer and spring and moderate cold during the winter.

5

According to the population pyramid of U.S. Census Bureau the above pyramid shows the population of Nepal during the 1990 and the 2000. In 10 years period the population has increased. The people from age 0-14 are higher than in 1990. The pyramid of the year 2000 shows the increase in birth rate but decrease in death rate. Which shows that Nepal is still a developing country? Though there is increase in the population in the year 2000 it’s still not showing some positive results.

Here is the population pyramid of Nepal of the year 2050. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that population of Nepal will somehow be better in the year 2050, but still it will still be in the list of developing countries.

The population pyramid of 2008 shows the current population of Nepal which is about 28,901,790. The reason Nepal is developing country is that people are less educated. They want as many children they want. People are not educated about the contraception and family planning because the government does not have ability to control and manage the growing population. The government is still seeking to slow down the rate of increase in population. The increase in population also harmed natural resources like land. Land is also the backbone of Nepal. “More population more land in use”.

7

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. It was listed the 11 th poorest country among 121 countries in 1989. The reason is because lack of resource endowment, landlocked position, lack of institutions, weak infrastructure and lack of policies. Nepal was effected very badly if the economy of India and Tibet dint run well. People who want to migrate from one country to another usually choose the pathway of India. During the 1951, Nepal was in little contact with other countries rather than India, China and Britain. The exported goods from other countries were very difficult to bring in Kathmandu city. They used railroad, ropeways and trucks but to the other places it was just a dream. But from 1951 Nepal is expanding its contact with other countries although the lack of progress still remains.

Nepal is a

landlocked country and to export its goods to other countries Nepal used a transit way through India.

8

Agricultural land in Terai Region.

About 75% of Nepal’s people are farmers and engage in agriculture. The agriculture also differs from the regions of Nepal. Terai region is the main agricultural region of Nepal. About 85% of Terai’s people population engages in farming. Rice is the main agriculture in Nepal. It feeds almost 90% of Nepal’s population. Other food crops include pulses, wheat, sugarcane and oilseeds. The forests from Terai region provides with sal wood, valuable bamboos and rattan.

In lower mountains (hilly region) agricultural products are grown

according to the season. Rice is produced during the summer and wheat, barley, oilseeds and potatoes are grown in winter. Corns are raised in higher altitude (Himalayan Region). Transportation has a major effect on the economy. In most of the places of Nepal Air service is only the choice. In most places people have to carry their own stuffs and walk days to reach their destinations. Transportation difficulties have hindered the social life and the economy of the country. The foods and vegetables are exported my van and trucks to the capital and it’s also distributed in other cities as well. But as I said some vegetables cannot be delivered in time due to the transportation failures. The government of Nepal has restricted business license and registration requirements to encourage trade and foreign investment. The production of textiles and raw materials are 9

exported to the foreign countries. The unit of currency is the Nepalese rupee (NPR). Nepal’s GDP per capita is $1,500. It has increase up by 3.4 percent. Poverty has persisted in Nepal and the causes are;

 Low economic growth  Inadequate social and economic structure  High population growth  Caste discrimination  Lack of good governance.

10

In Nepal climate differs from region to region. Normally in Mountainous region the climate is extremely cold, in hilly region the mountain is moderate and in the Terai (plains) region the weather is extremely hot in summer and extremely cold in winter. If you want to visit Nepal, March-April and October-November are the best times. You can see clear mountains and good weather for trekking. Most of the year in Kathmandu city the climate is neither hot nor cold even though it is situated at the altitude of 4,297ft above sea level. In summer the temperature ranges from 68-81 degree F and 19-27 degree F in winter... Altitude also affects the rainfall and precipitation. Eastern Nepal receives more than 1,500 mm of rainfall annually, Kathmandu valley is about 1,200mm and in western Nepal about 1,000mm.

Climate plays a very vital role in the vegetation in Nepal. Sometimes in Terai (plain) region, rainfall don’t occur for a long period of time which makes the farmers very sad plus the price of the vegetables rises in the markets. The vegetations are mostly grown in the Terai (plain) region. But Nepal’s vegetation is mainly classified into four zones; tropical, subtropical, temperature and Alpine. In Terai region (plains) there is a majority in 11

plantation of Dalberigia sisso, Eucalyptus and Tectona grandis. Plantation in hilly regions contains of Pinups roxburgii, Pinups wallichiana, Pinups patula and Alnus nepalensis.

The plantation of Tea is high in eastern Nepal. The race of the tea plantation occurred when private sector began to involve. It has been competitive and more aggressive. More than 15,901 hectors of land has been used in the tea plantation with 38 tea producing factories and more than 12.6 million kg of tea production. Two types of Tea are grown in the eastern part;  CTC Tea-Black Tea  Orthodox Tea-Mountain Tea. Nepal is rich in Himalayan herbs, herbal products and mainly in medical herbs. Himalayan region is the home of herbs consisting of more than 3500 types of herbs. These herbs are grown naturally in the forests of Himalayan region and are used for many purposes especially for ayurvedic treatments and these herbs are exported to worldwide.

12

Even

though

Nepal

is

a

landlocked country, it is the second largest country in the world to have more water resource. Nepal is also rich in natural and medical herbs found in mountain region. In Nepal there are coal, iron ore, Magnesite, copper, cobalt, limestone, pyrite and mica. Its water resources are so big that it helps to provide immense potential for hydroelectric development. If the country manages to develop and export the hydroelectricity to India that would became a support for the country’s economy. The main cause of Nepal being rich in water resources is because it has mountains even though it is a landlocked country. Most of Nepal’s rivers have mountains as their source. Nepal is also rich in its forest resources. Nearly 1/3 rd of the Nepal’s area is forested. But since the last decade, due to the Civil war in Nepal, deforestation has increased a lot. Timber is one of the most valuable resources in Nepal, but almost all timber is exported to India for economic profit. The timber Cooperation of Nepal supply furniture in Kathmandu Valley.

Scenic beauty is also said to be one of the Nepal’s natural resources. Mt.Everest is famous thing to see in Nepal. Thousands of tourists come

13

to Nepal to see its Natural beauties and sceneries. People spend a lot of money in trekking, hunting, mountain climbing and many of other stuff.

The 39th longest river named “Ganges” starts from the mountains of Nepal. These rivers also have a huge impact on the economy of the country. Tourist from all around the world comes to Nepal for rafting in these dangerous rivers. The major rivers of Nepal are; Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali. Karnali is said to be the longest river in Nepal which lie across east to west running from North to South. There are also many lakes in Nepal such as; Shyphoksundo Tal(lake), Gosaikunda Lake, Tilicho Lake, Phewa Lake and Rara lake.

14

Nepal has a total land of 15 million hectors and 75 percent of the country is covered by mountains. The distribution and the land uses in Nepal differ according to the different region. Paddy, Arable, Grazing and other land uses are also different according to the regions.

POPULATION PREASSURE ON LAND USE Nepal’s increasing population has affected the land use very much. People are buying lands and building houses and settling there. The land in Nepal is vanishing slowly but people don’t realize that. In some small parts of Kathmandu Valley, some lands are used for agriculture. But most of them are either useless or just not working. Since the civil war in Nepal, almost all people from other small cities have migrated to some safer cities or Kathmandu Valley. They started their settlement, that’s why there is less land in Nepal.

15

Urban Settlement

The Civil war in Nepal caused by the “Communist Party of Nepal” (CPN) has affected a lot on people’s settlement. People are being migrated from small villages to towns, towns to cities and from cities to other countries. People in urban cities like; Kathmandu, Butwal, Bhairahawa, Pokhara, Nepalgunj, Biratnagar are also migrating. Migration and Urbanizations are the two problems in Nepal. Nepal has not been through Industrial Revolution so it’s a Developing Country. In most of the places in Nepal there are shortage of public facilities such as; Education, Hospital, Entertainment, Job opportunities and many other things. People migrate to urban cities because there are all the facilities they needed. During the Civil War in Nepal, people migrated from hills to plains and from plains to the capital cities. The CPN army forced young and teen aged boys to join their army and take them away. Young boys and girls fearing the same thing migrated to the capital city for safety. People who were settled in their villages for a long time had to sell their lands, houses and farms just to migrate in a bigger city and live there. Now that the civil war has ended people are returning back home but now they have been used to live in a great comfort, only few people have gone back to their house to live but most of them want to stay in the urban area.

16

Rural Settlement

Almost

78

percent

of

places in Nepal are Rural. Some parts are developed but still there is lack of public needs. It’s almost the same reason why the people are moving away from the rural areas. But the advantage of living in a rural area is that you don’t have any pressure of work. The people who like in rural areas are mostly farmers and people who cannot afford to live in cities.

17

The transportation facility is also very poor in Kathmandu Valley and in other main cities. All the buses are of private companies, or higher by companies or private. People pay up to Rs.12 for a ride and student pay Rs.7. Sometimes students are charged with Rs.12 if they don’t have student’s id even if they are in school uniform. The system is very weak but the government is trying to solve each and every of them.

Roads

Nepal’s total road network and density are very low and only 43 percent of the population has access to the roads. More than 60% of the road network is in low-land Terai region. The total road was 17,282 km in 1998. From 2003-2005 additional 575kms of road was built to connect the capital with the national network to 18

improve access to the rural areas and market centers. The poor condition of the road network hampers the social services in the hill and mountain district and it also affects the countries social economy. In the plain (Terai) the roads are straight and big but in hilly and mountainous region the roads are narrow and have lots of bends.

Air Transportation

Nepal has 42 domestic airports and one international airport. Civil aviation plays a very important role in linking the hilly and mountainous parts of the country. Most of the airports are just green long fields without modern navigation system. In some parts of Nepal air transportation is the only choice to get to their destination. The name of the International Airport of Nepal is “Tribuvan International Airport” in Kathmandu. The air transport has been very helpful for some people. The capital Kathmandu has links with other cities such as; New Delhi, Kolkata, Hongkong, Karachi, Dubai, Lhasa, Paro, Dhaka, Colombo, Singapore and other major cities.

19

Railroads

The country has total railway line of 57 km. The Nepal Railways Company (NRC) owns 53 km of rail line which is composed of two sections; 32 km from Jaynagar, India to Janakpur, Nepal and 21 km from Janakpur, Nepal to Bijalpur, India. The Indian Railway manages the 6km railway line from Birgunj to Raxaul.

The railway was used

by an average number of 1.5 million passengers annually from 1985 to 1989.

Nepal-India Railway

20

Challenges  Lack of integrated section policies and an effective implementation strategy.  Inefficient structure, poor monitoring and lack of accountability of public.  Weak resources of domestic and heavy dependence on foreign assistance in the road sector.  60% of the road development expenditure is received from donors.  Poor accessibility in the remote hill and in the mountainous districts of the country.  Poor maintenance system of motor vehicles which causes an increasing number of polluting vehicles and road accident.  Unreliability of transit service.

21

Nepal was constitutionally declared as “Hindu” country in the world. In Nepal, there are majority of Hindu and Buddhist. The two religions never had conflict between each other. Hindu going to Buddhist’s temple and Buddhists going to Hindu temple was normal and never created the problem. In 1991 89.9 percent of people identified them as Hindu.

Muslims comprised only 5.7 percent and 2.7 percent other

religion including Christianity. In Nepal, religion is not only beliefs; it is the complex relationship between traditions, festivals and faiths. There are groups of caste in Nepal, they are; Brahmin, Chettri, Dallits, Gurung, Rai, Magar, Kirats, Newars and Tharus. The Kirats ruled the western part of Nepal and the Newars ruled the Kathmandu Valley while Gurung and Magars occupied mid-western Nepal. There is caste system in Nepal. In Nepal caste is also known as race or ethnicity. There are four caste in Nepal; Bhramin, Chetteri, Baisya and Sudra. The Sudra’s also known as Dalit or Sarki, they were given name by their profession. Dalit are the people who work with steel and make steel products where as Sarki’s are people who work and make leather products like shoes, belts etc. These Dalit’s and Sarki’s are discriminated in the society. They aren’t allowed to use the same tap water as others, they aren’t allowed to enter the temple, they aren’t allowed to touch others, and they aren’t allowed to enter the house of other caste. Festivals

There are more than 10 festivals in Nepal and 3 of are mainly celebrated. The festivals are as follows;  Buddha Jayanti- It is celebrated to mark the birthday of Lord Buddha and it falls on full moon night of May/June. 22

 Janai Purnima- It is the festival of Sacred Threat. All the Hindu people tie a sacred thread on their wrist. It is believed that by tying thread in the wrist, we will be protected from evil powers. This is also celebrated on the full moon day.  Gaijatra- In this festival cows are worshiped and believed that the god of death known as Yamraj will be feared. It falls on August-September.  Shree Krishna Janmastami- It marks the celebration of the birth of Lord Sri Krishna. It falls on August-September.  Dashain (Dashera) - It is celebrated in the late September to early October. This is the biggest festival of the year. It is also celebrated on the full moon day.  Tihar- This is the festival of lights and most joyful festival of Hinduism. In this festival Hindu worship the godess of wealth.

23

Presently, Nepal is in a very difficult condition due to its political reasons. Recently the CPN’S overthrew the king. Nepal is being through many problems from society, economic, political and even environmental. Nepal’s agricultural problems are not faced right now, it like alternate. If it don’t rains for a whole month than that is considered as a problem, but if everything is fine then its good. Drinking water has become the main problem in the country. People through a lot of garbage in the rivers near the capital city or any crowded city. This caused the drinking water to be affected by many diseases such as; cholera, typhoid and other severe diseases and viruses. Many children have died caused by the water pollution. There is another thing; in some tap water the chemical arsenic is mixed. People drink that water and become very sick, some of them are cured but most of them die. Talking about the economy, Nepal is facing economic problems. Most of the people are unemployed and some migrate to other countries and some join Military forces or the CPN’s. Nepal’s current GDP per capita is about $1,000.

24

25

26