Word: nepal
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Despite the dire situation, South Asia's leaders seem more focused on doling out blame than tackling the problem. Indian politicians like to accuse Nepal of releasing too much water. Nepal says India clogs drainage with its badly managed flood-control system, and Bangladesh's leaders blame both countries for inundating them. All three nations see more antiflood infrastructure as the solution. Bihar's water resources minister Jagdanand Singh backs an extraordinary project popular across the political spectrum to build thousands of kilometers of canals that would link every river in the country. In theory, the network would allow engineers...
...more apparent than South Asia. Here, every June to September, bulging rain clouds drawn in by the back draft of India's scorching summer roll in off the Bay of Bengal, prick themselves on the Himalayas and disgorge the monsoon. This year, the rains have been unusually concentrated. In Nepal, a nation that has felled 60% of its forests in just 40 years, the waters gushed from the mountains in flash floods. By the end of last week, 255 km of roads, 76 bridges, 61 schools and 220 people had been swept away. The water then surged into the northeastern...
When King Gyanendra reinstated Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba last week, it seemed that Nepal's bumpy political merry-go-round had come full circle. The King first sacked Deuba in October 2002, accusing the Prime Minister of "incompetence" for failing to unite Nepal's fractious political parties and crush the kingdom's bloody Maoist insurgency. Since then, Gyanendra has appointed?and seen depart?two more Prime Ministers, endured months of violent protests against his royalist government, and watched the Maoist rebellion claim as many as 3,000 lives. Thus his decision to return Deuba to power was widely viewed...
...within hours of Deuba's appointment, Nepal's political leaders reverted to their usual bickering. The nation's communist parties, disappointed that their candidate hadn't been tapped for the top job, waffled over whether to support Deuba's government. And Nepal's Congress Party (of which Deuba heads a breakaway faction) refused to cooperate with the new Prime Minister, with one leader even vowing to continue antigovernment protests...
...Such are the squabbles that have given Nepal 14 governments in as many years. Indeed, some suspect the true purpose of Gyanendra's move may be to vindicate himself by reminding his people of just how inept their politicians are. Nonetheless, after 20 months of deadlock between the King and Nepal's political parties, many feel that any change is welcome. "At last, something has moved," sighs one South Asian diplomat. And not a moment too soon: Maoist leaders say they are preparing for a "nationwide attack" against the government in the near future. Deuba must make peace with...