With the arrival of the spring season in the midst of the blooming flowers spreading its sweet fragrance, the country is warming up again in stark contrast of the bitter cold that it went through in winter. But it is going to hot up with the arrival of the monsoon, leading to floods and landslides as well. The floods and landslide that occurred in September last year drowned several settlements, especially those situated along the river banks.
The senior citizens, particularly the octogenarians, tirelessly speak of the devastating floods of 1952, which were followed by yet another damaging one in 1953. Despite the fact that the next giant flood happened in 1970 and the killer one last year in 2024, history has shown how two large floods can occur one year after another. What will happen if a similar kind of flood and landslide were to stage a comeback this year as well? Given that the maintenance works have been moving virtually at a snail's speed, it will certainly pave the way for a bigger disaster in the forthcoming monsoon season.
What are the factors that have led to wildfires, floods and landslides around the globe? The people and connoisseurs like scientists have been invariably ascribing them to climate change. Several greenhouse gases are responsible for this dangerous phenomenon, but carbon dioxide (Co2) enjoys the ironic distinction of taking the lead. It is thus obvious that we should prevent caron dioxide from forming in all the activities that we undertake.
But this is easier said than done, as a French Scientist Joseph Fourier had already predicted climate change way back in 1824 when we were building the Dharahara in Nepal. But the world turned a deaf year to him, using cement and steel in construction, instead of materials like bamboo, first in the West and slowly in the East, including in Nepal. This is so because one ton of cement produces one ton of carbon dioxide during its production. Its sweetheart – steel – which always remains clasped to it, is even worse as it produces two tons. Bamboo, in turn, absorbs one ton of carbon dioxide during its growth.
This is the reason why our ancestors used bamboo from the cradle to the cemetery. A bamboo cradle is used for children. When a person dies, the corpse is tied to a bamboo framework for cremation. They used temporary materials for building houses because they did not aim for anything permanent in view of the temporary nature of himself. One would take birth, and after some time leave this world after being crushed by the jaws of the inevitable death.
Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth to the extent of 1 metre per day. It is omnipresent in many countries, and in Nepal it is seen in 74 of the 77 districts in the country. No wonder then that it is known as a poor man's lumber in China, a brother in Vietnam and people's friend in India. It does not need prime land and ends up growing on marginal land.
It is because of this multidimensional property of bamboos that a three-day national conference was held on Wednesday last week in Diktel, the headquarters of Khotang district. It is near Halesi, which attracts several Hindu and Buddhist devotees from as far away as India, particularly during Shivaratri, which coincided with the conference's opening. It was attended by people from several walks of life, including academicians, researchers and bamboo entrepreneurs.
The programme began with the customary morning procession around the city, which was followed by a grand inauguration of the exhibition displaying several bamboo-related products, such as a bamboo balm that can erase the wrinkles of the skin. Its hallmark was the presentation of 35 papers, most of which held the audience spellbound, particularly the one by former secretary Prof. Dr. Annapurna Das. However, it was a bachelor's student, Deepa Tamang, who stole the show by presenting incredibly well on the bamboo leaves of a particular species used as food for the red panda in Langtang National Park.
A paper presented by the columnist showed how it can be used for retrofitting stone masonry buildings in mud mortar, which are dotted all around the country, for making temporary shelters and also for permanent ones if reinforced with red laterite soil due to its compressive strength comparable to brick cement mortar in 1:4 ratio. Its only Achilles heel is the vulnerability to termites, which can be prevented by the use of indigenous and modern means.
The conference ended with a 35-point declaration seeking to make Diktel the bamboo capital, the establishment of a Bamboo Research and Education Centre ,duly pledging to hold such a conference every three years in the future.
One would be naturally inclined to ask as to who made this almost impossible event happen in a far-flung place like Diktel. In fact, there were several persons who worked day and night on a war footing to prepare for the event even though they were not visible like the heart which keeps the body moving day and night even after the cessation of other functional organs. Like the cherry on the cake was its visionary leader, Tirtha Prasad Bhattarai, the Mayor of Diktel, Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality, where this programme was held with inspirational support from the ever energetic and tireless Ganesh Shaha, the former minister of science and technology.
People in Nepal may be fed up with the performance of the federal and the provincial governments, but it is not necessarily so with the local governments as they have at times worked innovatively as in this conference. This event has certainly added yet another feather in the cap of the local government.
