Water Resources in Nepal

God has been very kind to our country to provide her unlimited natural resources. Nepal is the second richest country in water resources in the world. We can see many rivers, rivulares, brooks, streams, fall, lakes and small springs. Among them, rivers are the most important water resources in Nepal.

The major rivers in Nepal are Mechi, Koshi, Bagmati, Narayani, Gandaki, Kanali and Mahakali. Among them, the Koshi is the largest, the Narayani is the deepest and the Karnali is the longest rivers in Nepal. The major lakes are Mahendra Tal, Phewa Tal and Begnas Tal. Similarly there are innumerable brooks, streams and springs. Snow-capped mountain peaks are the permanent water resources of rivers, lakes and rivulates.
Our life is closely related to the water resources. All of them play a vital role in the development of the country. We have produced hydroelectricity in many places using the water of the rivers, rivulates and streams. We use water for irrigation, cooking, washing and drinking. They are also important for transportation and entertainment. Nowadays, many people enjoy rafting in rivers and booting on lakes. Rivers also play the role of regional and national boundries of the country. The agriculture of Nepal can be improved by providing adequate irrigation.
Speciallu the rivers which floe through or near the cities are getting polluted. Similarly, the lakes and small stream have got polluted because of the different activities of human beings. Urbanization and industrialization are the main causes of pollution of water resources. We can see that 'Phewa Tal' in Pokhera is getting polluted. Nowadays, the Bagmati and the Bishnumati in Kathmandu are no more rivers; rather they seem to be dirty drainages. The resources of water are getteing badly affacted. Because of rapid deforestation, water amount in rivers has been decresing.

Wild Animals in Nepal

The animals which live in the jungle are called wild animals. Some of them are tigers, lions, leopards, foxes, monkeys, deer, squirrels and so on. They can be categorized into various species and groups. Some of them are carnivorous, some are herbivorous and some others are omnivorous. Most of them are directly or indirectly advantageous fpr us.

The animals that live on land are known as terrestrial animals. They are elephants, tigers, lions etc. The other kinds of animals are arboreal such as monkeys, squirrels, chameleon etc. They spend most of their time on trees. Generally, birds are called aerial animals. They can fly in the air. The animals which live in water are cartegorized as aquatic animals. They are fishes, crabs, dolphins etc. Similarly the animals such as alligators, tortoises, ffrogs etc. are called amphibians. Thus the animals are categorized as terrestrial, arboreal, arial, aquatic and amphibian according to their living places.

The animals can also be categorized on the basis of what they eat. The animals which feed on (live on) grass and plants are called herbivorous animals. They are goats, cows, buffaloes, sheep and so on. The animals that feed on only flesh of other animals and birds fall under the category of carnivorous. They are tigers, lions, foxes etc. The animals that live on both plants and flesh of other animals are known as omnivorous.

Nowadays most of the wild animals are declining. Some of the animals are endengered. An animal can not survive if its habit is destroyed. The jungle, the living place of wild animals, is fast being destroyed because of diffrent activities of human beings. People clear the jungle for agriculture and settlement. They cut down the trees for firewood, timber and buildings materials. Furthermore, people kill the wild animals for various purposes. The main cause of their disappearance is uncontrokked and over-population growth. We can preserve wild animals by preserving the forest, running afforestation programmes, opening wildlife reserves and national parks and marketing strict rules to ban the hunting of the wild animals and birds.

Wild animals are absolutely advantageous for us. Firstly, to preserve them, we have to preserve the jungle. If we preserve the jungle, the natural calamities such as flood, landslides, desertification and soil erosion etc. can be redued. We can preserve other natural resources too. Similarly, we can lure foreign tourists if we provide them opportunities to see the wild animals. By the result, we can earn foreign currency from them. Our ecology and enviromment can be kept in balance by preserving wild animals.

Village Development in Nepal

Nepal is a country of vilages. Most of the area of the country is occupied by the villages. There are 3915 VDC's, 53 municipalities, 4 sub-metropolitian cities and one metropolitian city. According to 2058 census, 85.20% of the Nepalese people live in the rural areas. The rest of the people (14.20%) live in the urban regions. In Nepal, the development of the villages is the development of the nation.
Nepal is an agro-based country. Most of the villagers are farmers. Mordern facilities are not available in the villages. The facilities of transport, communication, electricity, entertainment etc have not been proivided to all the villages yet. The farmers need basic facilities such as irrigation, improved seeds, modern fertilizers, provision of market etc. Even these facilities have not been adequately provided yet. Nowadays, the beautiful green villages are being changed into open lands because of deforestation. Many natural disasters like landslides, over-flood etc. terrify the village people. Villagers are found to be honest, co-operative, hard working, trust-worthy and peace-loving. Because of some reasons, villagers are emigrating to cities. If this process goes unchanged, the villages can be vacant.
The development of the nation depends on the development of villages. In order to develop them, all the possible facilities should be provided there. Firstly, the facilities of transportation, communication, electricity, irrigation, improved seeds, fertilizers etc. should be provided to all the people. Similarly, other facilities like education, government serveces, job opportunities, factories etc. should be decentralized. Government should give high priority on agricultural development. If the villages are developed, we can enjoy the flavour of real development. Then the people, who are living in the urban areas wish to go to villages for their permanent settlement. The people living in the villages do not want to emigrate to cities. Then the problem of over population, pollution and unemployment in cities can be reduced.
In order to develop villages, all the facilities should be provided to the villagers. The government and all the other sectors concerned should give high priority on village development. If villages are well developed, they will be better places than town in all aspects.

Afforestation in Nepal

Green forest is the wealth of Nepal. We have a Nepali saying "Hariyo Bana Nepalko Dhana". Because of various activities activities of the people, our jungle is fast being destroyed. Afforestation is the process of planting trees and converting the open lands into forest. In Nepal, afforestation is the most important measure to preserve the forest.
Our forests are being rapidly destroyed. We clear the jungle for various purposes. Mainly, we cut down the trees for firewood, timber and building materials. Our domestic animals can destroy the plants which are newly growing. Wild fire also destroys the jungle. We clear the jungle for cultivation and settlement. Our government has invested more money to preserve the forest and afforestate the barren and open lands. Some NGO's are also working to preserve and increase the forest. The programme of 'Public Forest' is very effective and successful in rural areas. People are compeletely eager to be involved in the afforestation programmes. They plant the trees and preserve the jungle voluntarily. Thus, people are mobilizeed in the preservation of the forest.
We can get many adventages from the jungle. Trees purify the polluted air. The forest provides us with firewood, timber, furniture materials, building materials, grass, herbs and other medicinals plants. Wild animals and birds can be preserved in the jungle. It ceraainly reduces the natural disasters such as landslides, drought, soil erosion and desertification. Afforestation programmes preserve our forests. Therefore afforestation is very important in Nepal.
Afforestation programmes should be made more effective to preserve the forest. All the people concerned should be involved in the programmes of afforestation. The government has to make concrete plans to afforestate and reforestate the barren and open lands to preserve the ecology and environment.

Air Services in Nepal

Nepal is landlocked and mountainous country. Air services are very important here. Air services play the prime role in the field of tourism in Nepal. Development of the country is also based on air facilities in Nepal.

The first airlines in Nepal is R.N.A.C. which stands for Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation. It was established on July 1, 1958. Since then, it has been providing air services reguraly. Nowadays, there are many other private airlines working in Nepal. They were established after the implementation of Multiparty democracy in 2046 B.S. All the airlines are providing air facilities R.N.A.C. has its both national (domestic) and international flights, but all the private airlines have only domestic flights. They are only profit making airlines; but R.N.A.C. prefers providing services to profit making.

Airlines have been playing important roles to carry and people from one place to another quickly and easily. Many remote regions are connected with towns by airlines. These regions totally depend on air services to supply daily needs textbooks, medicines and so on. Most of the tourist sectors are situated in remote regions. Tourists want to visit these places. They go there by planes or helicopters. If we provide adequate air facilities to the tourists, tourism will be promoted. Tourism is one of the main sectors to earn foreign currency. Air services have also made Nepal known to most of the parts of the world. Simarly, air services have strengthened national unity by bringing different parts of country together. They also help us in reducing the problem of unemployment. Many youths have been employed in airlines and other offices belonging to tourism. Because of the abovementioned contributions of the air services, they are of great significance in Nepal.

Despote the facilities and contribution of airlines, the poor of Nepal cannot get benefit from these services. The poor fare of planes and helicopters is really expensive. the poor cannot afford them. The government should give high priority to provide air facilities to all the people of the remote aresas which depend on air facilities.

The Himalayas of Nepal

Nepal is a Himalayan country. The Himalayas are in the north. They extend from the east to the west. About foutry percent of the total land is in the Himalayas. The higher Himalayas are covered with snow. In sanskrit, Himalayas means the abode of snow. That is why they are called Himalayas. Most of the highest peaks in the world are in the Himalayas. Mt. Everest, which is the highest peak in the world, lies in the Himalayas.


There is no human settlement is in the higher Himalayas. People live in the lower Himalayas. These places are thinly populated. These places are forested. There are different kinds of soft trees in this region. Rhododendron, the national flower of Nepal is here. People are mostly farmers. The rare animals like goats, sheeps and yak are found here.

The Himalayas have adverse effect for the development of the country. These places are not suitable for cultivation. That is why, the large part of the country is useless. These places are inaccessible. There is no facility of transport. Life is difficult here.

However the Himalayas have some adventages too. They protect us from enemy. They work as a boarder line between Nepal and China. A huge amount of money is saved which we had to spend for making boarder line if there had been no Himalayas. They also protect us from the cold winds blowing from central Asia. They stop vapour blowing from the bay of Bangal and cause rain. The origin of rivers are the Himalayas. The rivers are full of water all the years round. They are useful for many purposes like irrigation, electricity. The climate is good. Foreigners are attracted with the scene of Himalayas. The tourist trade is developing. We can earn a lot of foreign currency from the tourists. There are mines, trees, medicinal herb in the slopes of the lower Himalayas.

Although the Himalayas are obstacle for development, they has many adventages have Nepal is introduced all over the world because of the presence of the Himalayas. We feel proud of being the brave of Nepal, the land of the Himalayas.

Traveling in Nepal

Until the advent of democracy in 2007 Bikram era Nepal was a very background country. There did not use to be any motorable roads in any part of the country. Neither were there any mechinical modes of travelling except for a few in the Kathmandu va

lley. People in those days, therefore, had to walk from one place to another. It was very tiring and troublesome for them to go on long journeys. Next to legs they used some animals as their means of travelling. Only the rich could use the horse, the elephant and carts for travelling. At that time travelling on foot or on a horseback might mean to be on the verge of danger. Often such a traveller could have been robbed of his valuables while travelling through a dense jungle.
But things have changed now due to the use of the inventions of transport engineering, an applied science which has a practical use. Today horses and carts have lost

their importance in the developed areas of Nepal. Now we can travel even long distances by bus, by car or by plane. The holy town of Janakpur is connected with Jayanagar by a railway of thirty kilometers. We can reach the temple of Manaksmana by cable car today. In a mountainous country like Nepal road building is not only slow but also expensive. So the pony and yak are useful means of transport in the mountainous areas.

The Tihar Festival

Nepal is only Hindu country in the world. We observe several festivals throughout the year. Dashain is the most important of them. Right in a fortnight after Dashain the festival of Tihar or Dipawali takes place. It is celebrated in the month of October.

This festival is knoen as 'Panchak' also as it lasts for five days. Children as well as the youth rejoice with fireworks or firecrackers in the evenings. On Laxmi Puja evening rows of burning candles at every house catch our eyes. Hence, Tihar is called the festivalof light as well. Each day of the 'Panchak' has its own siginificance.

During the festival we worship the 'crow' the animal 'dog' and the 'ox' and the 'coe' for their special service to us. On the
fifth day sisters worship their brothers putting colourful 'Teekas' on their foreheads and floral garlands around their necks. This is called the 'Brother's Day' ot 'Bhai Teeka'. This festival strengthens the holy relationship betwee brothers and sisters.

The Dashain Festival

We celebrate several festivals throughout the year. most of the people in Nepal are Hindus. So the festivals of Hindus are predomiant all over the country. Because of religious harmony, people belonging to other religious beliefs also equally celebrate their festivals here. It is possible only because of the broder outlook of the Hindus and their scriptures. The Dashain festival is the greatest festival of Hindus. It generally takes place in the month of September. This festival is observed for ten days.

We worship many gods and goddesses. One of them is goddess Durga. She is believed to be the goddess of power and justice. During the festival people worship and pray to her for power and prosperity. According to the legend, Durga kikked a wicked and powerful monster called 'Mahisasur'. People sacrifice goats, ducks and buffaloes and offer flowers in her mighty name. The tenth day is the most important day of this festival. It is known as 'Teeka' or 'Vijaya Dashami'. On this day the junier take red 'Teeka' on the forehead as blessings from the senior, Greetings are exchanged. The death of the great demon symbolies the victory of divine power over the devil one.

We should learn from this festival that spiritual devotion alone can cast aside all the evil thoughts within us. In the name of festivals we should not spend so lavishly that we can never pay back our loans.

A Place of Historical Importance

As Prithvi Narayan Shah, the great king, had to unitify al the petty states and make a greater country of Nepal nearly teo hundred and thirty years ago, there are several places of historical importance in the country. Some of such places as Gorkha, Kathmandu, Patan, Bhaktapur and Kirtipur have their recorded history. Many others do not have any. They are yet to be discovered and brought to light.
To the north east of my native town, Dharan there is a small hillside called 'Vijayapur'. It is said that it is a place of historical importance hut not wellknown yet. There are three famous temples on the Dantakali temple and temple of Budha Subba. Each of them has its pre-historical background.
We can observe the ruins of a place which is situated on the far northen side of this hllock. The king of this place is believed to have ruled the whole eastern plains and some hills of north. He was decended from the rai dynasty. The local people of the area believe that Prithivi Narayan Shah invaded the capital with a large number of his skilled soldiers and got a glorious victory over it in course of his unification campaign. 'Vijya' means victory. So the small hill was named 'Vijayapur'. I am of the opinion that if the area of the ruined place is excavated, many more things of historical importance can be found out. Such a beautiful place as Vijayapur deserves to be developed as a centre of attraction for tourists.

A Place of Relogious Significance

There are a number of religious places in Nepal. Some famous ones are Pashupati and Dakshinakali regions in the Kathmandu vally, the Khaptada mountain in far-western region and Janakpur in the central region. Similarly, Barahshetra is in the eastern region. But I like to write about Lumbini at the moment Lumbini lies in the wesrern region. It is situated 136 km south of Bhairawa.
Lumbhini is famous in Asia becuse at this place Lord Gautam Buddha was born in 563 BC. Lord Buddha founded Buddhism. Most people of Nepal, China, Burma, Srilinka, Thiland, Laos, Combodia and Japan follow Buddihism. Hence, Lumbhini has been a place of peace and pilgrimae. Some international archaeologists have discovered many important remains connected with Buddha's life. One of them is the tall pillar, which was put up by the Indin Emperor Ashoka in 250 BC. We can still see there the remains of the Sacred Garden and Maya Devi Temple. Lord Buddha is known as the star of Asia.
Lumbini's religious significance has been multiplied by the construction of the world's bibbest monastery. It was built by the devotees of Japan. An international airport is under construction near Lumbini with the co-operation of the Japanese government. Foreign Buddhists as well as tourists can now directly land on the Lumbini International Airport and visit the place. It will definitely add many bricks to tourism in Nepal.

Capital City of Nepal

The capital city of Nepal is Kathmandu. It lies in the estern part of the country. It occupies the small area but dense population. Many parts of country come here for their different purposes like education, occupation, treatment etc. As it is the capital city of our country, there are many schools, colleges, hospitals etc. It is also rich in historical aspects. There are many temples like Pashupatinath, Swyambhu, Budhanilkhanta etc, so it is also called the temple of the city.It is also rich ic cultural aspects also. Many kinds of people live here like Hindu, Buddhists, Christhian, Muslim etc. Many religious people live here in peace.
Nowadays, it is being polluted day by day because of the increase in population. The holy river of kathmandu like Bagmati and Bishumati is badly polluted. The waste materials and harmful chemicals are thrown in the river. Because of the peoples activities it face the soil pollution, sound pollution, water pollution etc. Many industries were established here so it badly affect the environment. Because of the increase in population many kinds of criminal activities were increased day by day. Many peoples were unemployment here.
Kathmandu is the only one metropolitian city of our country. Many tourists are come here for visit. There are also many stars hotels like Yak and Yeti, Hyaat etc. There are also many museum. So we can learn the history of Nepal by them.

Tourism in Nepal

Man is a conscious animal. He always likes to see and learn something new. He gets tired of living in one place alone for a long time. He desires to travel to foreign countries to visit places, people and things of intrest threre. Such a person who is travelling for pleasure is called a tourist. Tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world visit Nepal every year. Hence, tourism is the backbone of our economy as it is the best source of Nepal's income.

Nepal is a beautiful Himalayan country. The snow capped summits, green mountains, emerald rivers, singing falls and fountains, tranquil lakes, the flora and the fauna, and majestic temples and monasteries all equally attract visitiors. The people of Nepal belong to various communities or social groups. Almost each community has their own language and culture. Some tourists spend a preety long time in Nepal studying the typical culture and language of a community. International mountaineers come here to successfully scale Himalayan peaks like Everest and Annapurna.

The Rivers of Nepal

A large natural stream of water flowing in a channel is called a river. Some rivers are formed by rivuletes running down the mountainside. The rivers of Nepal such as the Koshi have their sources in the Himalayas.

The rivers of Nepal serve several purposes. We get hydroelectricity from them. Our country is rich and well known in water resources. Hence, we can generate sufficient amount of electricity that can be used for our all round development. Many tourists are attaracted to our country because of our rushing rivers. They love rafting along a rushing river like the Trishuli.

Because of reckless use, our rivers are being polluted day by day. In large cities like kathmandu garbage as well as sewage are disposed in the Bagmati river. Dead bodies of bigger animals badly pollute the rivers. As a result of such pollution several diseases break out in the area.

We can best utilze our rives by making more and more hydro-electricifty projects. We should plant many more trees on either side of a river in order to protect it. Public awarness should be raised against pollution. It is our rivers that can change our destiny in years to come.

The Forests of Nepal

As we know Nepal was very rich in forest resources some deceads ago. The 'Charkoshe Jhadi' was preety dense from the east to the west of Nepal. People cleared the jungle for cultivation and settlement. Many sumugglers looted and sold out our expensive forest products taking advantage of the political turmoils that occurred from time to time.

However, things have chfanged now. The Ministry of forest has done a lot in terms of the preservation of forests. Timber comes from trees. We use it for building houses, bridges, furniture etc. It is a major source of our national income. Wild animals and birds live in the forest. Trees can help stop flooding in the plains and land sliding in the plains and land sliding in the hills. Domestic animals feed on the grass and leaves of the jungle.

Deforestation causes pollution in the environment. If we plant many more trees and preserve them, we can solve this global problem without much difficulty. The oxygen we inhale is the oxygen exheld by trees. A man needs at least three trees to get enough oxygen. Our green forests attract tourists also.

The government should make every attempt to save and preserve the forest resources of our country. The existing community forests and private sector forests are hopefully growing well. Public awarness playas a vital role in this regard. We can thus materialize once again the old saying that green forest is the feature of Nepal.

Cottage Industries in Nepal

Many of the small scale industries can be run in houses or cottage both in towns and villages.Such industries are known as cottage industries.They do not require expensive heavy machinery and a large number of workers. We can start such industries with a small invwstment which can be profitable.

The cottage industries of nepal comprise the making of Nepali paper,metal works,shoe making,carpet-making,spinning and so on.There have been such industries at different places of the country for years.Beceause of the development of large scale industries in recent years,cottage industries are affacted to some extend.But they still exist in a satisfactory number across the country.

In a developing country like Nepal,cottage industries contribute a lot to the country's economy.They supply us with our needs and provide employment to some extent. They also help preserve our traditional arts and handicrafts.Products of our industries such as 'khukuries' and 'curious' give our identity to foreign tourists.

The Farmers of Nepal

Farming is the main occupation of the Nepalese people. About ninety percent of the people here are farmers and peasants. Hence, the country's economy is basically dependent on agriculture.Farmers as well as peasants live in the villages of the hills and plains.Their costumes,languages and social practices differ from place to place.

Most of the farmers in Nepal are not in good condition.In spite of hard work in the land,they cannot get even enough to eat.They are surrounded by problems all the time.Peasents' condition is worse.They live in dirty huts and put on rags in the name of clothes.They are ignorantof the importance of good sniation and clean drinking water.Sick farmrs cannot get proper treatment in time.Many of them have to drop out their children from school beceause of proverty.Some of them are too poor to send their children to school.

Agriculture in Nepal

Agriculture on the whole implies farming crops,fruits and raising animals.It is the main source of our economy.In Nepal nearly ninety percent of the total population depend on agriculture. The hillsand mountains cover almost sixty eight precent of land,and the plains cover nearly seventeen percent.Farmers mostly grow rice and wheat in the plains.Maize,Millet and wheat are mainly grown in the high land.

The existing situation of agriculture products in our country is not that satisfacrory.The country has to import certain foods from India and some othe countries.Our annual production is less than what is expected.The farmers of Nepal face many problems which can only be solved in an organized way.Attempts have often been made by the government to increase our agricltural produce.The planning commission has made both short and long term plans for this.

Nepal

Nepal is a landlocked country.It lies between two big countries India and China.It lies at the lap of the himalayas.Thegreen forests,rivers,streams,mountains,small hills,tamples etc are here main attaraction.There are fourteen zones in nepal among them ten of them are named by rivers.Nepal is the second biggest country in water resources after Brazil.Nepal is rich in forest resources also.The highest peak of the world Mount Everest lies in nepal. Many other mountains like Kanchanganga,Annapurna,Machhepuchhre,Makalu etc also lies in Nepal.Nepal is rich in cultural heritiage also.There are many riligions,casts live in the small country Nepal.Many holy places like Pashupatinath,Lumbhini,Shyambhu etc lies in Nepal.Although nepal is rich in natural resources it is poor in economically beceause of the unstability of the political situation.There are many parties which can not work properly for the development of the country.There are 75 districts,14 zones, and 5 development regions in Nepal.