| Puru Subedi |
Posted
on 17-Feb-02 06:46 PM
Hi Ashu Ji, Sounds like you still remember me!
Sorry. I was not able to get those articles electronically even after contacting the publisher. I do have them in hard copy if you or anyone else is interested. The article "Tigers and Terrorists" was written by Julie Lawson of Victoria Canada.
On the first part of the report, she describes her experience in riding couple of elephant safaris in Royal Chitwan National Park and seeing Bengal tiger etc...Then she travels to Syangja District where her cousin is project manager of Kali Gandaki "A" Hydroelectric Project. Here is where her report gets interesting...While she was on her way to Syangja, Maoists break away from peace talks and attack army...She suddenly had to take different route when Maoist bombed a bridge on her route...Even on this route, she finds "hazardous piles of rocks and fallen trees deliberately placed, apparently, by the Maoists".
Here is an extract from the article where she notes how things are done in Nepal:
"......A long drive in Nepal - with or without the fear of terrorists - provides fascinating glimpses into how things are done.
Building a House? Dump sand and gravel on the road in front of the site and mix the concrete by hand. The traffic will drive around it until you're done.
Truck broken down? Leave it on one lane of the highway and repair it on the spot.
Need a center lane? Place a string on the road and hold it down with rocks. Then have several men squat in the middle of the road with line stencils, paint brushes and buckets of white paint.
Road Repair? Dig a hole in the shoulder and light a fire. Then place a forty-five gallon drum above the fire to heat the tar.
Not all obstacles were put on the road by the Maoists. A wheelbarrow meant that potholes were being filled with dirt. Piles of debris indicated that someone up ahead was cleaning ditches.
An entire lane blocked by loads of rock and sand meant a wall building crew was at work.
Added to all this were the streams of people moving along the road, bearing branches or weeds on their hands or backs, to be used as fuel or folder....."
She ends her article with following note:
"....And it was here that we saw the sun rise over the entire range of the Himalaya, from Dhulagiri clear through to Mount Everest. The experience was enough to make us forget, momentarily, the news that the terriosts had bombed the Coca Cola factory in Kathmandu and had called for general strike.....
Such is traveling, in spite of the best laid plans. As our Nepali guides said on our trek - "little bit up, little bit down." But with surprises around every corner"
Hope you get the idea about the content of the article.
-PS
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