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Railway service in Nepal started in 1927, with the first train under the Nepal Government Railway (NGR) running on a 762 mm narrow gauge. The British Indian government had built a 39 km railway line from Raxaul in India to Amalekhgunj; the 28-km Jayanagar-Janakpur railway was built in the second phase.

In 1937, the British Indian government started the operation of a train from Jayanagar in India to Vijalpura in Mahottari to transport back herbs, timber, and minerals from Nepal. The train was also narrow gauge. The locomotive of the same coal train is rusting away.

The federal government brought two sets of trains to Janakpur from India on September 20, and their arrival was widely hailed. But the coal engines of the old narrow-gauge trains, which have a long history of operation in Nepal, are turning into scarp.

The locomotives named Brahma, Vishnu, Ram Sita, Gorakhnath, Pashupatinath, Mahavir and Sita are rusting away at the open station of Janakpurdham-Jayanagar railway track section of Janakandani rural municipality, Khajuri. After the Janakpur-Jayanagar railway service was shut seven years ago, its employees were deployed to protect railway property.

But according to Dhanik Lal Das, a local, the 16 former employees, instead of looking after the old railways, have been stealthily selling their spare parts.

Old locomotives, bogies and other equipment have been getting worse for wear. Some parts of the narrow gauge trains, considered rare in the world, have been stolen. Janakandani village chairman Abdul Warikh Sheikh says that the old narrow-gauge engines should be housed in a cultural museum.

“We have written to the federal government requesting the building of a museum,” Sheikh says. “We are yet to get a reply. As we are not allowed to interfere with the federal government's physical infrastructure without permission, we have been unable to build a museum and preserve antique engines on our own.”

“The government of Nepal has brought new trains, which is a welcome move,” says cultural expert Ravrosh Kapadi 'Bhamrar'. “But devaluation of old valuables is an attack on our culture.” We are fascinated with innovations abroad but unable to look after our own antiques, Kapadi adds, “which could otherwise be a great attraction for tourists from around the world.”

Guru Bhattarai, general manager of Nepal Railway Company, recently informed on his Facebook page that budget had already been allocated to build and preserve narrow-gauge railway museum.

As the global Covid-19 pandemic closes in on its anniversary, with over 38 million already infected and a million dead, directly or indirectly, no one has been untouched by the scourge. But some communities are more vulnerable to its effects, like those suffering from drug addiction and those on the path of recovery from it.

Global news agencies report that the pandemic has hit the people struggling with substance abuse hard, as interventions get more difficult and the general sense of despair prevails. BBC had reported under the headline “Coronavirus: Lockdown leaves addicts ‘close to relapse’” in May this year, citing problems like social-distancing restrictions that have made it difficult for many counseling services to operate.

With infections continuing to rise and social distancing measures still in place in most countries, the worst fears are coming true. Data from the Washington, D.C. based Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP) shows a significant spike in the number of fatal overdoses during the pandemic. According to its data, drug overdoses are rising by roughly 18 percent year-on-year in the US alone. The report also states that over 60 percent counties participating in the information-gathering project reported increases in drug overdoses.

Globally, dependency on drugs and even alcohol is also increasing as per various media reports, even though there are no concrete research data. According to the American Medical Association, over 40 states in the US have reported increases in opioid-related deaths during the pandemic, even as the US experienced a record 71,000 such deaths in 2019.

Another research report titled “Covid-19 and addiction” published in the science and health resource Elsevier by Indian medical researchers concludes that, “Covid-19 and addiction are the two pandemics which are on the verge of collision causing major public health threat… the resumption of de-addiction services and easier accessibility of prescription drugs are needs of the hour.”

In Nepal, good data on those with Substance Abuse Disorders (SUDs) and recovering addicts is hard to come by as well. But most of APEX’s contacts working in drug rehabilitation say relapse cases have been increasing during the pandemic. It does not help that Dashain, traditionally the time of the year that sees biggest growth in drug use and relapse, is at hand.

“We generally identify three conditions a recovering drug user might relapse,” explains Basanta Kunwar, former Senior Superintendent of Police and currently the director of Narconon Nepal Rehab Facility. According to Kunwar, relapses are usually caused by chemical craving (craving for addictive substances), environmental craving (craving to recreate the environment drugs are taken), and absence of life objectives. One or more of these problems make a recovering addict go back into drug-abuse.

“The Covid-19 pandemic is singularly unsuited for recovering drug users,” Kunwar says. “We have been unable to host live counseling sessions. Nor do those recovering from abuse have much to keep themselves busy with. There is fear and frustration everywhere.”

Drug rehabilitation is a lengthy process. But rehabilitation approaches comprise of carefully sequenced plans. The pandemic makes it tough to follow this sequence. The crucial social support programs and therapy treatments are on hold because of physical distancing norms. Also, families of recovering addicts are struggling to maintain a structured environment needed for them to remain sober.

“Only 15 percent of those undergoing Narconon’s rigorous programs relapse,” Kunwar says. “But we expect the percentage to increase this year.”

Bishal Tamrakar, 27, who first successfully undertook a drug recovery program when he was 17, accepts that the present time is dangerous for recovering addicts. “I just came to know that two of my friends have already relapsed during the pandemic,” says Tamrakar who has been clean for four years since his last seven-month intervention program at a local rehabilitation center.

“In these depressing and boring times, recovering drug users might easily resort to smoking marijuana or drinking alcohol,” Tamrakar says. “What you must keep in mind is that they usually consume these substances in huge amounts, and when they stop working, they resort to stronger drugs.” Tamrakar says the festive season has always been risky for recovering addicts as they start using ‘light substances’ for merriment without realizing that they could relapse into addiction.

Riddhi Rana, director of Maya Nepal drug/alcohol treatment and rehabilitation center, also anticipates “an explosion” in relapses during the pandemic-time festivities.

Suyash Rajbhandari, director of the narcotics anonymous (NA) based The Recovering Group, worried too. “We call this the high season for drug users and this year, the number of relapses are sure to go up,” says Rajbhandari. “There’s been 60 percent relapse rate among those associated with us.”

The proverb—an idle mind is the devil's workshop—is especially true in the case of drug users, Rajbhandari says. “For us, loneliness is bad company and the current situation has left most of us utterly alone,” he adds.

Most modules in the 12-step intervention program used by The Recovering Group are not being executed. The group requires recovering addicts to do regular follow-ups and attend NA meetings even after they leave the center. It also used to run a day-care center where recovering addicts could keep themselves occupied during the intervention.

The meetings have shifted online due to social distancing protocols and lockdowns, and many program participants fail to attend the virtual meets. Most recovering drug users were unable to rejoin regular meeting and counseling sessions even after the end of the lockdowns; they are not allowed to use motorbikes for up to a year after they leave the center, and public transport stresses them out.

The pandemic has rendered many recovering addicts and their families helpless. The environment now has more triggers and stressors that push them towards drugs. Loneliness, unemployment, uncertainty, too much time to dwell on the past—they really are up against it.

“It is not their fault,” Rajbhandari says. “The recovering drug users are susceptible to even small triggers or stressors while they are on the long and difficult road to recovery. Right now, there are just too many triggers around. At this time, we need to be even more understanding and accommodating of those struggling to put their addiction behind.”

The pandemic-hit Nepal is on the verge of another Dashain, and the fear is that the greatest festival of Hindus may lose some of its charm this year.

Rikesh Acharya, 30, an accountant from Sunsari currently living in a rented house in Kathmandu, is in no mood to return to his hometown this Dashain. Even in the national capital, he plans on putting Tika only in one or two places. “Social distancing and other anti-corona safety measures will take away much fun,” he says.

Laxmi Subedi, 56, a social worker who runs an orphanage home in Kathmandu, also plans to stay put in her house. But she has a bigger worry. “Alas! There will be no shopping,” she rues.

Nabin Bhandari, a 21-year-old student in Kathmandu, is a native of Gulmi district. He does plan to go back to his ancestral village, yet he too feels jaded at the prospect of a Dashain without the regular Melas and Saraya Naach.

For Shantiraj Rai, 27, a Kathmandu-based journalist from Okhaldhunga, Dashain this time will be a simple affair. He plans to travel to Okhaldhunga on his own bike. “I surely won’t take a public vehicle this year,” he says.

A native of Bhaktapur, Ritu Shrestha, 22, a lab technician, is not travelling at all. Nor does she have any plans. “How can I plan anything when the number of Covid-positive cases are increasing by the day?” she asks. 

Many Nepalis living abroad return home during Dashain. But not many are coming this year.

Manisha Dulal, 26, a student in Australia, says she feels for her parents who won’t get to bless their children this Dashain. “All my brothers and sisters are here in Australia. This is not going to be a happy occasion for my parents in Nepal,” she rues. Taking chartered flights is an option. But Dulal is against chartered flights, which she says are both uncertain and expensive.  

For its part, the Department of Transportation Management hopes to open bookings for long-route buses starting mid-October. The department estimates only a fourth of the normal Dashain traffic will leave for their ancestral homes this year. In the previous years, over two million people did. Nor do people plan on travelling abroad for fun.

Saroj Baral, 53, a teacher from Inaruwa, Sunsari, says this time will be ‘an economic Dashain’ as he hasn’t gotten his salary for the past six months. “In previous years, my brothers and relatives used to come visit us on the day of Fulpati and we used to celebrate together. This time I have no such plans,” he adds. He suspects that unlike in the previous years when relatives expected others to come visit them, this year they may be hoping that no one comes to spread the virus.  

Mathura Dhakal, 41, a housewife and shopkeeper in Kavre, does not think the pandemic will much alter Dashain celebration in her village. What she will miss though is travelling to Kathmandu for shopping.

Tanka Prasad Naral, a 44-year-old businessman, is relieved he has his own house in Kathmandu where he can celebrate instead of having to travel to his native Kavre. “When we travel, all family members travel together, which is risky during the pandemic,” he says. Meanwhile, drastic decrease in income will make this Dashain less expensive, he adds.

An APEX Facebook post asking what people thought about capital punishment for rape saw replies in its favor. One respondent was upset enough to inquire, “Are you kidding, a rapist is allowed to take everything from a woman and we are actually debating whether he deserves capital punishment?” A related poll had 84 percent respondents voting yes for death for rapists. Recently, many women parliamentarians formed a loose network to lobby for stricter rape laws, including the provision of death penalty.

According to Nepal Police data, 1,480 rape cases were recorded in the fiscal year 2017/18 while the number rose to 2,144 in 2019/20. A vast majority seems to believe that for a crime as heinous as rape, the only fit punishment is sentencing the culprit to death. Nothing less will do.

But people clamoring for capital punishment are being driven by their emotions, say those who are against death-penalty’s reinstatement. Those in its favor fail to see how it will not be an effective deterrent for rape. But it might as well be argued that the attitude of eye for an eye, which is essentially what sentencing someone to death is, will only negate the years of progress we have made as a democratic society.

Better implementation of laws

Sabitra Dhakal, a human rights activist, believes capital punishment will institutionalize violence. Besides being a gross rights violation, sentencing someone to death, however horrifying the crime, is a regressive approach for a society and its legal system.

According to her, capital punishment isn’t a solution also because it puts more power in the hands of those who are already powerful and victimizes those who don’t have the means to get a good legal representation.

“Rather than bringing another legislation, the laws we now have should be better implemented,” says Dhakal, adding that some women parliamentarians, by asking for capital punishment, are looking for an easy way out. The alternative, Dhakal says, which comprises of a societal and systemic overhaul, seemingly requires too much work.

Nepal is a signatory of the UN convention, the ICCPR, which ensures people’s civil and political rights. One of its protocols is the abolition of death penalty. That aside, our constitution prohibits it as well. The guiding thought here is that capital punishment is a barbaric act.

Anecdotal evidences suggest death penalty doesn’t stop crimes, or more specifically in this case, capital punishment won’t put an end to rapes—rather the opposite.

We don’t have to look far either.

On 14 September 2020, a 19-year-old Dalit woman was gang-raped by four men in Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh, India. The woman died two weeks later. This incident came mere six months after the four convicts in Nirbhaya gang rape-and-murder were hung to death in March 2020.

Counsellor Geeta Neupane of the Women’s Foundation of Nepal strongly opposes the death penalty, which, she says, is a systemic instigator of violence contributing to a chain reaction of revenge. Neupane reiterates Dhakal’s sentiments when she says the best way to tackle rape would be stronger implementation of existing laws.

“We have stern laws for rapes and other atrocious offences. It’s just that there are many loopholes and corruption. Unfortunately, there is politics in everything,” says Neupane.

Efficient and effective legal system

Advocate Rahul Chapagain believes Nepal isn’t mature enough to handle capital punishment. If a country allows death penalty then all its other regulatory bodies—the investigative agencies, medical teams, and judiciary—need to be efficient and effective as well. Otherwise, it will be difficult to establish a crime and determine whether the accused is actually guilty.  

“Rape cases are handled negligently in Nepal. There is no proper evidence collection and preservation, in terms of medical examination and photographs. What you usually have is a complaint and a writeup by the police stating the types of superficial wounds the victim had on her body,” says Chapagain.

This, he adds, makes it next to impossible for the justice system to ascertain that a crime has been committed and that the accused is the culprit beyond reasonable doubt.

According to advocate Ishan Raj Onta, media trials pose another grave challenge. Apart from having meticulous regulatory bodies, the media must also exercise control and be governed by a certain code of conduct. Sadly, that isn’t always the case.

“The media is quick to portray someone as guilty even in an ongoing investigation. This can cloud people’s judgement. How can capital punishment be a recourse in such a scenario?” he asks.

Another argument against reinstating capital punishment is that our justice system is retributive and reformative—operating under the principle that criminals too need to be given a second chance. The idea behind life imprisonment or a jail sentence in general is not only to punish someone but to make the prisoner realize his/her mistakes and change.

Raunaq Singh Adhikari, an advocate with Kantipur Law Associates, believes people—hardened criminals included—can change, given a chance. Besides, right to life is a fundamental right that no one can take away from you. Adhikari adds that fear of punishment, however harsh, cannot make someone think rationally and morally when impulse takes over.

Punishment alone won’t stop rape

Activist Dhakal says capital punishment is reactive. What we should instead focus on are preventive measures if our goal is to cut back on and eventually stop the incidents of rapes and murders.

“It’s important to understand that punishment alone doesn’t address the root cause of crime,” says Onta. He adds that if the idea is to dish out maximum suffering to the perpetrator, as those lobbying for capital punishment claim, then death penalty actually doesn’t serve the purpose.

“Wouldn’t you rather have the culprit jailed for life? Capital punishment means his suffering will end in a few minutes,” he says.

However, Onta says that curbing rape isn’t something that should be dealt with in isolation. There many other factors to be kept in mind.

“Rape isn’t a new issue. It’s been there since the start of civilization. If we are to ever put an end to it, the reform must start from home and very early on,” he says.

Onta attributes rapes and gender-based violence to the society’s stringent gender roles. In our patriarchal society, it’s not uncommon for men to feel inherently superior.

Sanjita Timsina, a senior program coordinator at WOREC Nepal, says the way society looks at women—as the weaker sex—is largely the reason behind rapes. Raping someone shows you have no respect for that person. It’s a power play, she says. Chapagain agrees, claiming he has witnessed instances where the culprit seemed surprised to know he had committed a crime.  

“It might sound strange but many men who rape seem to have no idea that it’s wrong to force yourself on someone. There’s simply no awareness. Many have the mindset that women need to comply with their wishes and demands, that they should be subservient,” he says.

To tackle this, boys and girls, Onta says, should be allowed to socialize and intermingle as early as possible without being made to behave a certain way because of their gender.

Neupane, the counsellor, adds it all boils down to raising your sons a little differently, telling them to respect the opposite sex, and teaching them the values of equality and acceptance in their formative years.  

Certainty of punishment rather than severity

Apart from exploring long-term solutions, our legal system should also better protect women and rape victims.

It’s sad that victims often get blamed for the crimes—‘She must have said or done something to instigate violence’, ‘She shouldn’t have been out alone at that hour’, ‘And why wasn’t she “modestly” dressed?’ It’s this victim-blaming mindset that leads, first, to less reporting of the crime, and second, makes life after rape all the more miserable for the victim as well as her family. A fast track hearing process that doesn’t subject the victim to harassment and making the law more women-friendly could be the way out.

Advocate Aparmita Shakya says there will continue to be rapes so long as rapists don’t fear or hold the country’s law enforcement mechanism in high regard, and think they will get away with no more than a slap on their wrist.

“It’s not the severity of the sentence but the assurance that punishment will be meted out, and on time, that will deter rapes,” she says.

Manju Khatiwada, undersecretary, National Human Rights Commission, agrees with Shakya and reemphasizes the need for an unbiased legal system that guarantees punishment.

“Criminals often have a kind of ‘I-know-people-in-right-places’, and ‘I-can-get-away-with-this’ attitude, which are made worse by the fact that our legal system takes a long time to prosecute the guilty,” says Khatiwada.

She adds that she is against capital punishment not only because it violates basic human rights but also because there have been many cases, elsewhere in the world, where people have been wrongly punished.

“The loss of an innocent human life is irreparable,” she says. “Killing every person who rapes a woman isn’t the solution. For that will fuel hatred and create an unruly society.”

Take responsibility of our women

Pushpa Bhusal, a federal parliamentarian, says the country has to create a favorable environment for rape victims to report the crime and assure them justice. It’s unsettling to see how Nepal has failed its women, she says.

“We need better mechanisms because the ones we now have aren’t working,” she says, explaining the rationale behind forming a loose taskforce to look into laws on rapes and gender-based violence.

“One of our arguments is that if the victim is a minor then the rapist should get capital punishment. But it’s not a stand-alone argument. We are first urging the country to do everything in its power to ensure women’s safety. But if nothing can stop rapes, then reinstating the death penalty can be an alternative,” she says.

But Timsina of WOREC Nepal is sure we don’t have to go that far. “One thing we can do is throw out the 35-day limitation on lodging an FIR,” she says. What usually happens because of this limitation, Timsina says, is that there is a lot of mediation in that time. The victim is often put under pressure to keep quiet and given many assurances. Things get drastically worse for rape victims when the statute of limitation expires.

The solution, experts believe, lies not in increasing the harshness of punishment but in establishing a system where each department that looks into the crime does its job fairly, on time, and with unwavering focus. Another important aspect would be to create conditions where the rape victim isn’t stigmatized and justice is assured.

As Onta puts it, curbing rapes is a philosophical discourse with many social and legal aspects to it. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.