Author: Gaurav Pokharel

Gone were the days when hippies romanticized Nepal as a cannabis paradise. Drawn by the Himalayan serenity, warm hospitality, low cost of living—and above all, the easy availability of marijuana—Kathmandu became a fascinating escape. Until 1979 A.D., cannabis was not illegal in Nepal. It was cultivated openly and grew wild in the hills and villages. Today, marijuana lies at the heart of a national debate over whether Nepal should legalize it for medicinal use. Even as lawmakers debate legalization in Parliament, police forces have stepped up their crackdown. Cannabis cultivation, sale, and possession remain punishable offences. In districts such as Dhading and…

Gaurav Pokharel KATHMANDU – What was initially described as an informal visit by Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk to Nepal on Friday unfolded with all the hallmarks of a formal state-level trip—minus the official designation. Though the visit was previously understood to be a brief private stopover en route from India, a delegation of senior Nepali government officials, led by Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba, greeted the monarch at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport. Also present were Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai and other high-ranking bureaucrats. Yet notably absent from the king’s entourage was Queen Jetsun Pema, whose presence had…

Gaurav Pokharel in Kathmandu and Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi – Thu 30 Nov 2023 14.25 GMT Rights activists say marriage of Maya Gurung, a transgender woman, and Surendra Pandey is ‘historic day’ An LGBTQ+ couple in Nepal have said they want to “scream to the world that we are husband and wife at last” after becoming the first in south Asia to have their marriage legally recognised. Maya Gurung, 38, a transgender woman, and Surendra Pandey, 27, were given a legal certificate in Nepal’s Lamjung district on Wednesday. Gurung said: “I cannot even say how happy I am right now. We were fighting for…

“I heard the noise and rushed to the house. But when I got there, the two-storey house was completely destroyed.” GAURAV POKHAREL “When I woke up at 11:46 pm as I felt the shocks, I heard a bleak voice of our neighbour shouting, ‘save me, save me’,” 26-year-old Bimala BK of Chiuri village in Nalgad Municipality-1 of Nepal’s Jajarkot district told The Quint. Her neighbour, 55-year-old Hire Kami, was buried under the rubble of his house after an earthquake of 6.4 magnitude hit western Nepal at midnight of 3 November. “However, it was not possible to see him in the dark, so we…

Gaurav Pokharel in Kathmandu and Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi Dhanbahadur Chaudhari now dreams of rivers of blood. Although he returned home to Nepal this week, flashes of the scenes he left behind in Israel won’t leave him alone, and for days he has barely been able to sleep. Chaudhari, 25, was among almost 50 students from Nepal who were staying on a kibbutz in Alumim, the border area between Israel and Gaza, when it came under attack from Hamas militants on 7 October. Since the current conflict broke out that day, at least 4,200 people have died in Israel and Palestine. Ten of the…

There are more than 2000 VIP’s in Nepal, the burden of this so-called class is so heavy that common people have to face problems from temples to hospitals and from roads to skyways. An investigative report about VIP culture in vogue; September 5, 2023 KATHMANDU On May 3, 2019, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari was scheduled to be at the House of Representatives to present the annual policy and programme. Citing the VVIP arrival, Kathmandu’s traffic police halted all vehicular movement for half an hour in Maharajgunj, Durbarmarg, Singhadarbar and Baneshwor. That created chaos in the city as there were traffic jams on all…

In recent years, there is a lot of competition to become the inspector general of the Nepal Police. The competition is so toxic that aspiring candidates often fight with each other and even go to the homes of senior politicians to ensure they become the next police chief. Before the Council of Ministers appointed Basanta Bahadur Kunwar as the new IGP, most of the prospective candidates were busy staking their claims. They were visiting the prime minister in Baluwatar and other senior leaders like Sher Bahadur Deuba and KP Sharma Oli with the hopes of turning the tables in their favour. But…

The Constitution of Nepal, 2015 has not given executive powers to the President. In Article 66 (2) of the Constitution, it is said that any work done by the President shall be done with the recommendation and consent of the Council of Ministers. There is a constitutional provision that such recommendation and consent must be submitted through the Prime Minister. Khim Lal Devkota, a member of the Constituent Assembly at that time, says that in the first session of the Parliament, there had been enough discussion about the power of the President. “When the interim Constitution was made in 2007…

By: Gaurav Pokharel Edited By: Pathikrit Sen Gupta News18.com Last Updated: FEBRUARY 08, 2023, 00:43 IST The investigation committee formed by the government has said that the power of the plane may have suddenly decreased. Although the reason behind this is being investigated, it is suspected that there may have been an error by the pilot Kamal KC and his assistant The government has formed a five-member probe committee to investigate the crash – Nepal’s deadliest aviation accident in over 30 years. (File photo/AP) Kathmandu – It has been learnt from the preliminary examination that the “propeller feathering” might have been the cause…

By: Gaurav Pokharel Edited By: Manjiri Joshi News18.com Last Updated: JANUARY 15, 2023, 21:41 IST Premnath Thakur, head of Tribhuvan International Airport, said that he was surprised by the accident as they had already given permission for landing. “The pilot did not inform that there was any problem,” he said Vikas Basyal of Seti Khonch in Pokhara was basking in the sun outside his house around 10.30 am on Sunday. He noticed an aircraft of Yeti Airlines flying above him and suddenly heard a loud thud. “I realized the plane had crashed. I opened the gate and ran towards the site, the plane…