Some respite for Sagarmatha, trying times for the Judiciary

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Courtesy: welcomenepal.com

The report
The world's tallest peak, Mount Sagarmatha*, will surely get some respite if the government chooses to implement the report of a taskforce formed under Joint Secretary Ghanashyam Upadhyaya, it appears. 
According to a report in the Kantipur daily, the taskforce report submitted to Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Yogesh Bhattarai, has proposed that only climbers, who have scaled six-thousanders and seven-thousanders, should be allowed to attempt the tallest peak. 
The report, to be made public at the ministry at 1 pm on Wednesday, quoted a source as saying that a climber should have scaled a peak of around 6,500 metres before seeking to climb Sagarmatha. 
This comes in the wake of increasing concerns worldwide about traffic jams at the world's tallest peak that has not only put climbers at risk but is also contributing to the degradation of the fragile Himalayan environment. 
Indeed, rush on the part of some mountaineers to set one record after the other and the mountaineering industry's bid to capitalise on it is also giving an impression as if it's man versus the tallest peak. 
Humanity need not interpret that Sagarmatha is challenging their greatness. Some of us, like yours truly, can marvel at the beauty of the peak, write some lines, draw an image or scale a hillock in their neighbourhood without having to mention the time and date of the ascent and how you felt reaching your own Sagarmatha!        
Mountaineering agencies may not be that happy with the report's recommendations, but if implemented, the move will surely improve the image of Nepal at a time when it is preparing to observe the Visit Nepal Year 2020.

PS:  Yours truly prefers to call the peak Sagarmatha, the Nepali word which means the mountain whose head touches the sky. Yours truly sees no reason why the peak should be named after a person.

Judiciary in crisis?
One may argue whether the political system that we have in the country is a real, functioning democracy. Indeed, secret foreign visits of our political leaders, reports of their hush-hush talks with the top sleuth of our 'dear neighbour', their tendency of keeping such exchanges under wraps, corruption at the policy level and opaque ways of government functioning make one wonder if we indeed have a democratic polity in place. 
Amid this, what transpired at a recent meeting of former chief justices makes one wonder if the whole thing is in crisis.   
The Nagarik daily reports about an alarming verdict of sorts coming from the ex-CJs: The judiciary is in a crisis. 
It further points that appointments and activities of the judiciary have landed the crucial state organ at such a pass. They stressed the need to take initiatives for improving the image of the judiciary by working together with concerned agencies, alarming that time to do so was running fast. 
The report quotes the former CJ Kedar Nath Upadhyaya as appealing former CJs to improve the image of the judiciary. 
"There's a need to move ahead in consultation with all concerned agencies. We should make our point straight and clear before the Chief Justice, Justices, Judicial Council, Nepal Bar (Association) and Supreme Court Bar (Association)." 
"Who is responsible for these anomalies (in the judiciary)? Why has become the judiciary so weak, where have the lapses occurred. We should speak our minds clearly." Another former CJ, Ram Kumar Prasad Shah, said the image of the judiciary has suffered due to flawed appointment of judges and flawed decisions. He pointed the need to form a study team to identify mistakes in verdicts on the basis of jurisprudence. Former CJ Dilip Kumar Poudel also said they still can play an important role in resolving problems facing the judiciary. 
Powered by a majority in the Parliament, the Executive enjoys monopoly over the legitimate use of force and often shows authoritarian tendencies. As the sole interpreter of the Constitution, the Judiciary is the only body that can rein in the Executive, especially when the Opposition is weak, by exercising its moral authority. 
Reining in the Executive will be a tough task for the Judiciary, especially at a time when its own house does not seem to be in order, if what the former CJs said is anything to go by. What effect will all this have on civil liberties is anyone's guess.
Text: Devendra Gautam

Before you leave, a visual treat for you from the amateur shot (that's me).... Thanks a tonne for visiting my page. Comments (decent ones) are welcome. Visit Nepal again and again and again. Also visit this page again and again and again.    

A  magnificent view of the high skies and city landscape from Basantapur, Kathmandu


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