Amidst political and economic turmoil, there are many good things going on in our country, so why not talk something worth:-) No matter, how meager be the news, please do share here!. Though we all are insisted to believe "Good news is no news".

Thanking You all
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"To eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death."

Banking Sector Growing despite the conflict


In the latest in its series of economic roundtables, Himalmedia’s Business Bahas went in-depth into the banking sector.

The banking sector is doing well despite the conflict, but it would do even better if the insurgency was resolved and investment opportunities expanded. Banking is a role model for other sectors of the economy because of proper regulatory mechanisms and transparency are in place.

Invited participants zeroed in on the challenges and prospects thrown up by the conflict. Will the short-term focus on consumer banking and remittances give way to bigger things? Speakers agreed this was only possible if the conflict is resolved.

Radhesh Pant
CEO, Bank of Kathmandu
• Nepal’s banks are serving barely 15 percent of the population, and growth has been affected by the conflict. But despite this the banking sector has found ways to expand the market through consumer banking and remittances. Even tough investments may be down, profits have not dropped and part of the reason for that is transparency. Because of the tight regulation of the Nepal Rastra Bank, banks can’t hide poor performance like other sectors.
• If it hadn’t been for the conflict, the banks would now have had a network of channels right to the rural areas. We would have branches in village after village. The rural population would have access to loans and bank services would have expanded.
• On non-performing loans, the biggest problem is that big business buys off politicians (so they don’t have to pay loans). 
 
Sudhir Khatri
CEO, Development Credit Bank
• I agree, banking is regulated and transparent. Proof of this is that in other sectors profits can be hidden and balance sheets show losses which is not reflected in the lavish lifestyles of so-called ‘bankrupt’ industries.
• If you want to open a commercial bank today, you need paid-up capital of Rs 1 billion, but how much capital does an industrialist need to open an industry? It’s all bank loans.
• Because we haven’t yet developed a ‘corporate culture’ I don’t think there will be consolidation in the banking sector with mergers. Basel won’t harm us, it will benefit banking. Nowhere else in South Asia except Nepal do you have 12 percent liquidity. We have already hit rock bottom, there is nowhere to go but up. 
 
Narendra Bhattarai
Managing Director, NCC Bank
• Banks are only a small part of the entire economy. So banks can’t be an island of normalcy when everything around is abnormal. Even so, the banking sector has a few good things going for it. Our economy is dominated by the informal sector and the banks have made inroads into it in the past 15 years. Insurgency-driven urbanisation has changed consumer patterns and lifestyles and the banks have benefited. Even in the midst of the conflict, banks did well because more Nepalis started migrating overseas for work and remittances grew. This entire conflict-driven cycle is factor in the growth of the banking sector. However, the overall situation is not good. The conflict has also affected business, villages are empty, and this hurts the national economy. The profit banks are reaping now is temporary.
• The reasons banks are doing well is because the informal economy is converting to formal, the growth of transparency and remittances. Besides, Nepal Bank Limited and Rastriya Banijya Bank have 40-50 percent market share and their reform in the past five years has had a ripple effect on other banks.
• After the banks entered the remittance business, the competition has brought down the cost of money transfers. And the Rastra Bank has a system where money from remittances are exchanged at a 15 paisa higher rate.
• After the conflict started, there has been no investments in large capital intensive industries. If the situation hadn’t deteriorated there would have been big projects that would have needed financing. Such projects are still viable, but reluctance is due to the risk factor.
• The Rs 1 billion threshold for paid up capital is not logical. How much capital a bank wants is its business. We need to decide whether the Basel-2 deadline of January 2007 is desirable here or whether we need to adapt it for Nepali conditions.  

Parsuram Kunwar
Chief Administrator, Nepal Bank Limited
• Looking at the past five years of bank dividend rates, I would say the banks are not doing too well. Some banks may have done well, but overall the rate of dividends has gone down.
• No one know who in Nepal earns how much from where. If you look at company balance sheets, there is no salary dividend anywhere for the directors yet their lifestyles are disproportionately luxurious. This is why transparency is important.
• Even if it wasn’t for the conflict, consumer banking would have come to Nepal. And it’s not that there was no opportunity elsewhere so consumer banking grew. Even in India, banks that are doing well in other areas are attracted to consumer banking. 
 
Suman Joshi
CEO, Laxmi Bank
• Te main reason banks are on a sound footing is because of good governance and risk management in the past three-four years. Internally the banks have cleaned up their act. All this has helped.
• Because of the lack of transparency we don’t know exactly how much profit companies in Nepal are making, but many are actually doing quite well. Even till five years ago, a middle-income Nepali family had to think twice before getting a home loan. Today, it is accepted practice. This brings a culture which requires a borrower to think about repaying loans, so they start working harder and productivity goes up. So it is a chain reaction that helps the economy in the long run. The banks have adapted to the abnormal situation and learnt to survive.
• It is too hypothetical to plan for 2010 when we don’t know if we can resolve the conflict by then. If the insurgency is still going on then, would international banks want to come here? There will be no big infrastructure and no big projects. The problem is non-economic, unless that is resolved we can’t look at the economic side of things and plan for them. We may make-do with remittances and consumer financing for a while but this won’t be the long-term solution.

Surendra Bhandari
CEO, Kumari Bank
• Despite the conflict there are trends in the economy that have indirectly helped the banking sector. They may be temporary benefits, but it’s not as if the banks are going to go under. Investments in garments, carpets, hotels have dried up because of the conflict.
• In the old days, big debtors used their connections not to pay loans and the banks used to focus on smaller debtors. But the Rastra Bank is strict now, banks are forced to declare non-forming loans when a time limit is crossed and this can hit the bank’s bottomline.

Surendraman Pradhan
Chief, Banking Administration Division, Nepal Rastra Bank
• I agree that one factor in the strength of the banking sector is Rastra Bank regulations. Until you have cash collection you can’t show it as income. It’s not just for show.
• But the banks have indirectly benefited from the conflict, mainly because of rapid urbanisation. This has sent real estate prices soaring, and this has had an impact on property collaterals Customers are paying back their loans so the bank doesn’t seize property and auction it. 
 
Basudevram Joshi
Banker, Nepal Rastra Bank
• Overall, the economy has shrunk by up to three percent. If this hadn’t happened the economy would have expanded and there would be more capital mobility. So banks have nowhere to invest and are floating on high liquidity and this has kept interest rates low. In addition, there have been problems on loan repayment because of the conflict. For example the Rastriya Banijya Bank has Rs 1 billion invested in hotels. These loans can be repaid only if tourism bounces back, and for that we need the conflict resolved.
• Big debtors know how to use the court system and file a writ petition, the court easily issues a stay order. If you look at NBL and RBB, most of the bad loans are of this type. This can drag on indefinitely in the courts and the banks just have to sit back and wait twiddling their thumbs. 
 
Anil Shah
CEO, Nabil Bank
• Bank now have to be accountable towards Nepali overseas workers because the money they send home is such a large part of our business. Banks have been forced to provide more reliable, more accessible and affordable money transfers. They have appointed sub-agents in villages so families can easily and safely collect transfers. In addition, workers have access to Rs 100,000 in loans at 8.5 percent interest if they want to go abroad to work.
• Now we want to tell them, why wait till you earn your money to buy a car or home? Why don’t you build your house or buy a car before you go abroad. You can pay while you earn. We at Nabil have also allowed workers to open a special account, after all they are clear about two things: to work and to earn. They know very well which agency gives the best rate for money transfers home.
• At present the major business for banks are remittances and consumer banking. In the future it will be hydropower and physical infrastructure. Today, even if we wanted to invest in Upper Trisuli we’d need $50 million and we won’t have enough money. That is why it is important for us to have big banks and this is possible only through mergers and acquisitions.

http://www.nepalitimes.com/issue/290/Business/11305

धेरै छ गर्नु स्वदेशको सेवा नेपाली बन्न्लाइ
शिर ठाडो पारि नेपाली भन्ने म नै हु भन्नलाइ

गोपाल योन्जन

Thanks Amaging ji, its a great job.

@alu jasto congratulations!! And best of luck, ya and get those bugs fixed.

Nepal invites tourists to visit its villages
Kamala Sarup

Nepal is an attractive tourist spot for those who appreciate nature and adventure. However, the violence that has afflicted much of the country over the past 10 years has adversely affected tourism. Once political stability is attained, the nation needs to look at ways to expand its tourist potential.

As a nation of villages, Nepal is looking at developing "village tourism" as a means of advancing the economy, improving the lives of villagers and mobilizing its unique resources. Tourism could be the meeting place between the global economy and the village economy.

Dr. Surendra Pradhanang is chairman of the Kathmandu Research Center, set up to promote village tourism, a concept he developed in the 1980s. He says there is no reason for Nepal to be included on lists of "poorest countries" and "failed states" if it would take advantage of its assets and promote tourism on a broader scale.

Mountain climbers and trekkers come to Nepal to take advantage of the high mountains and beautiful scenery, and villages located along the popular trails have benefited from tourist dollars. But the majority of people still feel this kind of income is out of their reach.

The country's instability during the Maoist insurgency decreased the numbers of visitors significantly in recent years. In 1999, tourist numbers and revenue were at their highest in the country's history, with some 500,000 tourist arrivals recorded that year. The figure fell to around 300,000 in 2006. There were around 83,000 visitors in the first three months of this year.

Since the peace agreement between the Maoists and the government, tourist figures are recovering. In fact, there have been recent complaints that tourists who want to visit Nepal cannot find enough flights. If peace continues, predictions are that Nepal's tourist industry may fully recover by 2010. It is likely to remain highly concentrated in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Annapurna and Sagarmatha, however.

At present, Nepal's tourist industry is in the hands of an affluent class of individuals who are affiliated with and close to the ruling class and government bodies. Almost all the tourist income goes into the pockets of these people. At the same time, 32 percent of the nation's population lives below the poverty line.

No Nepali government has succeeded in eradicating poverty, hunger, disease or corruption. For years, rumors of corruption surrounded every government-related development project. Corruption is a cancer that continues to eat away at proper governance. Historically, no political leader has been completely free from corruption and unfair practices. Unfortunately, these corrupt people are still in the government or near and dear to the government bodies.

The challenge for the new emerging Nepal is to distribute wealth among the people more equitably, and to open up employment opportunities to the whole population.

Pradhanang's strategy is to bring tourist revenue to the villages by promoting Nepal's simple and natural way of life, allowing visitors to experience a world and a lifestyle completely different from their own. This will enrich both the tourists and their village hosts, broadening their understanding of one another and opening the way for the Nepali people to develop their economy.

Pradhanang warns that inflation is now threatening to devalue Nepal's currency, weakening the people's already limited spending power. The investment environment in Nepal is very fragile due to instability, continued fear of insurgent attacks, strikes and low productivity.

Generating public income is an urgent task, Pradhanang says. His low-cost, high-return village tourism concept is an original and innovative approach to attracting foreign revenue to the country.

"Tourism is mistakenly considered a rich man's business," he says. "The concept of village tourism is a radical change to bring benefit to the common people...If it operates effectively, 'Village Nepal' will create income and employment opportunities from village to village and from village to nation. Hence, the Nepalese can stand on their own legs and brainstorm on their own to carry out the mission of development."

On the downside, many Nepalese are more conscious of politics than economics and development at present. Politics has threatened their livelihoods, while economics is the real framework to ensure individual and collective development. Most importantly, real democracy, producing leaders who have the mandate of the people, must partner with economic planning and development.

Nepal faces many challenges and many opportunities in building a nation. Most important are national integration, unity, peace, infrastructure development and economic growth. It is time to abandon the politics of revenge and adopt a clear program of renovation, restructuring and national development. Every Nepali deserves a role in building the nation, in order to realize the nation's full strength and power.

This article was originally published by United Press International, Asia.Nepali journalist Kamala Sarup associates and writes for mediaforfreedom.com. She is specializes in in-depth reporting and writing on peace, anti-war, women, terrorism, democracy, and development. Some of her publications are: Women's Empowerment in South Asia, Nepal (booklets); Prevention of Trafficking in Women Through Media, (book); Efforts to Prevent Trafficking in for Media Activism (media research). She has also written two collections of stories.

--
http://www.mediaforfreedom.com

keep on posting good news dudes....

Justin Poree band member of Ozomatli  (From USA) one of the most reknowned  multiethnic eight piece bands in the world. The band received the 2002 Grammy Award for 'Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album'..

JUSTIN POREE in DHAKA TOPI (while performing in Ktm)

Nepali Version of BOB MARLEY :-) Good job dude

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/nbrTnBNbNLU&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/nbrTnBNbNLU&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

Nepal version of Bob Marley, Good job dude:-) its been there in YouTube for a year just posted for the new friends

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbrTnBNbNLU

Nepal land of opportunities

Nepal is a kingdom with many potentials and possibilities. Nepal has some of the best tourist highlights in the world and almost every single citizen of this world has heard of the Mount Everest and Buddha. With Lumbini as a called birthplace of Buddha, Nepal has some nice marketing advantages above other countries to present Nepal as an Ideal country for tourism and business. Besides these lucky benefits that are just there, Nepal also has a lot of friends. For some reason the number of foreign NGO's volunteers and other people who care and want to help Nepal to be a country without misery, poverty and suffering is enormous. Having said this it is just a question of how to combine all these positive forces into the goal of making sure that all Nepali have a home, enough to eat each day and no fear for violence.

All the rest of the current items on the political level are not very interesting until these three goals are achieved. Looking at the amount of violence in the country, one should think there must be a lot of people that really care to make something out of Nepal; some even don't mind getting killed for this matter. If you could put all this great effort and energy in what's really important, you realise that is not necessary that a lot of Nepali suffer each day. Let’s stop all the Hu Ha and corruption and let all parties work together to achieve the important goals of eliminating the poverty.

Forget about the all different views of how to politically structure the country. Make a 10 point plan for the next decade together and stick to it. You don't need elections to build up a country. Politics are politics: It's just hassling to defend the politician / parties own status and power. At this moment, Nepal is in the news in a negative way all over the whole world. Mostly the Nepali people are presented as they all support the 7 party alliance and are fed up with the king and his dictorial regime. Blablablabla …. Even in the Nepali newspapers of last few weeks, I didn't read a word about what really is important, only hassle about freedom of speech, democracy and the boycotting of the elections.

Why not just let the election go true and try to make them as honest as possible and fight within the new set of borders to make things better. Why make such a big deal about elections and political structure when there are a lot of people suffering in this country. I wish that all parties involved just want to make an end to this. So they should point at those rules and visions that are obstacles to achieve this. As far as I can see it, I just see the current events as silly. It doesn’t make any sense to let this problem escalate so much. With the nasty benefit that poverty and misery only increases. Read in some blogs

http://www.world-visions.net/nepal-land-of-opportunities.htm

Karnali Bridge :We need more bridges like this

Top Ten 'Once In A Lifetime' Trips of the world

1 - Champagne Flight to the North Pole
2 - Travel to Timbuktu (Mali) and Back
3 - Sea Kayak the Panama Canal
4 - Stay With a Mongolian Family in the Gobi Desert
5 - Cage Dive with Great White Sharks in South Africa
6 - Camel Caravan Across the Sahara Desert
7 - Trek to Mount Everest Base Camp- NEPAL
8 - Take a Hot Springs Bath in Iceland
9 - Balloon Safari Over the Serengeti (Tanzania)
10 - Walk Rainforest Tree Canopies in the Amazon

http://nepaltraveladvisory.blogspot.com/2005/03/trek-to-ebc-holds-7th-position-in-top.html

Phiri Sherpa, 72, has seen a lot in her lifetime.

Dr Sanduk Ruit performing a cataract operation

She has watched tourism and mountaineering change the Solukhumbu region in Nepal where she was born.

Annual famines ended with the introduction of potato farming.

Sir Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust helped provide world class education and health services in her village.

Because of all these factors, Phiri's family is well off by Nepali standards.

But now - despite being physically robust and full of intellectual vigour - Phiri's world is severely restricted.

She can no longer see the changes around her, thanks to cataracts in both eyes.

"The left one has been black for four years," she says pointing to a permanently closed eye in a wrinkled face. "I lost sight in the other last year."

'Now I'll see my grandchildren'

It is a common problem in rural Nepal. Up to 70% of cases of blindness there are due to cataracts.

Phiri is one of the lucky Nepalis.

Phiri Sherpa had both her cataracts removed

Her family has arranged for her to have her cataracts removed at the Tilganga Eye Centre in Kathmandu - an unique institution established in June 1994.

"There can be no rich or poor, no children of a lesser god," says the centre's founder and medical director," Dr Sanduk Ruit.

"Everyone deserves good vision, and everyone deserves access to the best quality eye care."

That is why Dr Ruit and his fellow medical staff - all Nepalis or Tibetans - spend much of their time providing free or subsidised eye care at the centre or in a dozen or more field surgeries every year.

Hundreds of thousands of Nepalis and people from neighbouring countries have benefited from the work of the Tilganga surgical team.

One of them is 60-year-old Maya Devi, in for her second cataract removal in mid-October.

She and her family raised the $80 cost for the first operation and had the second done for free.

She was one of 30 patients treated in Dr Ruit's operating theatre that day.

Maya Devi had two cataract operations-one for free

As her bandages were removed the following day, she smiled as she read an eye chart for the first time in years.

"Now I'll see my grandchildren. They won't have to help me find my food anymore," Maya Devi told me.

The Tilganga's work doesn't stop at routine eye surgery.

Cornea donors

In the basement of the modern hospital is an even more state of the art facility, The Fred Hollows Intraocular Lens Laboratory.

The late Dr Fred Hollows of Australia was a friend and colleague to Dr Ruit and the two men shared the philosophy that drives the Tilganga centre.

In the laboratory, more than 300,000 tiny plastic lenses are produced by technicians in bio-safety suits.

Hygiene is crucial because export of lenses to Australia, Europe, Latin America and other countries provide much of Tilganga's income.

Poor patients need not pay for getting a lens from the laboratory.

A final example of the Tilganga Eye Centre's pioneering approach is found at Pashupatinath temple on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

Here, Nepali Hindus bring their dead relatives for an auspicious cremation.

And lately, Tilganga technicians have been increasingly successful in persuading orthodox Hindu families to donate the corneas from their dead relatives eyes before the funeral pyres are lit.

In a small room next to the sacred river Bagmati, Roshan Dhungana is carefully cutting the cornea from the left eye of a deceased elderly lady.

Her family stand watching, nervous at first but increasingly pleased that the simple operation does not harm the face of their loved one.

"It's marvellous," says the dead woman's son, "she still looks at peace and now her eyesight will live on."

Eye technician at Pashupatinath temple removes cornea from a dead woman

The proudest boast of the people who run the Tilganga Eye Bank is that their work has made Nepal self sufficient in corneas for transplant, something that few other countries in the world can claim.

But Dr Ruit isn't complacent.

Eye problems don't go away. Blindness is still one of the most common aggravating factors of the cycle of poverty in places like Nepal.

"We have to keep doing this," he says, referring to the activities of the Tilganga Eye Centre.

"We have to keep reaching out to the poor, training more local surgeons and technicians and being as self-reliant as possible. Only then can we say we've turned the corner in conquering unnecessary blindness."

Published in READERS DIGEST, Asia's largest selling monthly magazine

Miracles by the Thousands

Dr Sanduk Ruit has restored the eyesight of many of Asia's poorest people, rescuing them from a lifetime of misery 

Ram Shrestha is a heavily built man with a weather-beaten face and a scraggly moustache. But as he lies under green sterile drapes on an operating table in Kathmandu's Tilganga Eye Center, all I can see of him is his right eye. Painted with a brownish yellow disinfectant and illuminated by a small spotlight, it stares sightlessly at the ceiling.

For several years, Shrestha has been afflicted by cataracts, a disease that clouds the eye's lens, progressively dimming vision. Eight months ago the 54-year-old Nepali farmer went completely blind and could no longer work his land.

Peering through an operating microscope, surgical instruments in his gloved hands, Dr Sanduk Ruit makes a small incision in the side of Shrestha's eye. Going in deeper, he reaches the diseased lens and gently teases it out. As the milky blob slithers down Shrestha's cheek, Ruit then inserts a similarly sized clear plastic-like lens in its place. Five minutes is all it has taken.

Shrestha's eye is bandaged and he sits to one side while Ruit starts operating on another cataract patient. Ruit then repeats the procedure on Shrestha's left eye.

Tomorrow morning Shrestha will return to have his bandages removed, and discover if Ruit has successfully performed another small miracle.

In the last 23 years, Dr Sanduk Ruit has personally conducted nearly 70,000 cataract surgeries, often saving more than 100 people a day from blindness. And by developing simpler and cheaper...

To access the complete story, you have to be a registered member of RDAsia website.

From The Manila Times

Nepalese eye doctor is first 2007 Reader’s Digest Asian of the Year

FOR his humanitarian and extraordinary achievements, Reader’s Digest Asia has named Dr. Sanduk Ruit the first RD Asian of the Year for 2007.

He is recognized by RD Asia editors for his humanitarian work in helping thousands of blind people in Asia see.

In the last 23 years, Dr. Ruit has been performing miracles. He has helped restore the eyesight of many Asia’s poorest people, rescuing them from a lifetime of misery. The 52-year-old doctor has personally conducted close to 70,000 cataract surgeries, often saving more than 100 people a day from blindness.

By developing simpler and cheaper techniques, he has brought the cataract procedure within reach of thousands in Asia who could not otherwise have access to it. Dr. Ruit travels across to teach his methods. He likes to go to countries with the greatest need.

The Reader’s Digest Asian of the Year is selected by the Asian editors of the magazine as the person who best embodies the contemporary expression of Asia’s values and traditions.

“We wanted somebody who is working to shape the future of Asia, somebody we can look up to, somebody we can be proud of,” says Jim Plouffe, the editor in chief of the English magazine in Asia.

Dr. Ruit will be receiving the award and a check of $5,000 in an official ceremony to be held in India.

“I feel greatly encouraged by this award and it will help me further my prospects of the fight against blindness particularly in this part of the world. I have plans to go for surgical camps and training the locals in North Korea, Myanmar and China. I will probably use the award money in future cataract research, which is close to my heart,” says Dr. Ruit.

A full account of the life and achievements of Dr. Sanduk Ruit “Miracles by the Thousands” is published simultaneously in all the January Asian editions of Reader’s Digest to inspire millions across Asia.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/jan/17/yehey/opinion/20070117opi7.html  

Only Nepalis are allowed for security jobs in Malaysia

Nepalese ex-servicemen and Gurkhas are the only foreigners allowed to work as security guards in Malaysia. 

He was referring to the arrest of a Pakistanis are definitely not on the list, said Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Johari Baharom.

Pakistani security guard in connection with the rape and murder of Utar student Tang Lai Meng, 20, who was found with her hands tied behind her back at her rented house in Bandar Mahkota, Cheras, last Thursday. 

Johari said security guard agencies which flout the ruling risk losing their licences. The ruling also applies to companies which set up in-house security units. 

Anyone caught flouting the regulation faces a RM10,000 fine or three years' jail, or both. 

“Foreigners cannot be hired as security guards. Only Malaysians can be hired. 

“Many companies still do it because foreig-ners are willing to work without holidays,” Johari said, adding that the firm which employed the Pakistani guard would be investigated. 

Johari said the number of foreign guards was limited to 5% of a company's total workforce. 

Considered a “class above the rest,” Gurkhas, who come from Nepal and parts of North India, are known for their bravery, discipline and loyalty. 

Security Services Association of Malaysia president Datuk Rahmat Ismail said guards were hired through a company or directly by an individual. 

”Guards hired through a company will wear the company’s uniform while those hired directly or ‘in-house’ would probably not be properly attired,” he said. 

He said it was possible for guards (whether foreign or not) to be hired without referring to any authority and to detect them was difficult with more than 100,000 guards nationwide. 

“Locals will not work because the wage is too low and when there are so many foreign workers everywhere, cheap labour is readily available,” he said. 

Immigration Department enforcement chief Datuk Ishak Mohamed said any foreigner, other than Nepalese, working as security guards would be contravening his work permit. 

He urged the public to call 03-8880 1555 if they knew of such foreigners working illegally.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/7/nation/18515765&sec=nation

Great performance by Nepal against Asian powerhouse Oman

ओमानसित नेपालको स्वाभाविक पराजय

कात्तिक ११ गते विश्वकप छनोट खेलमा नेपाल र ओमानबीच भएको फुटबल हेर्ने दर्शकहरूले दशरथ रङ्गशाला भरभिराउ थियो । टेलिभजनमा 'लाइभ' प्रसारण हेर्नेहरू पनि त्यत्तिकै थिए । त्यति मात्र होइन, कालो झन्डाको सामना पनि गर्नुपर्‍यो, खेल नेतृत्वले ।

"कालो झन्डाले फुटबल क्षेत्रलाई कुनै असर गर्दैन," एन्फा अध्यक्ष्ा गणेश थापा भन्छन्, "हाम्रो उद्देश्य नेपाली फुटबललाई अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय स्तरमा पुर्‍याउनु हो ।" गृह मैदानमा नेपाल ओमानसित पराजित त भयो तर सम्मानजनक रूपमा । त्यसैले पनि यसलाई एउटा उपलब्धिका रूपमा लिँदा फरक पर्दैन । सन् २००२ को छनोट खेलमा उत्कृष्ट प्रदर्शन गर्न नसके पनि नेपालले एकखाले सम्भावना देखाएको थियो । त्यसपछिका दिनमा नेपालले आफ्नो साख भने र्झन दिएको छैन ।

यसअघि असोज २१ गते मस्कटको सुल्तान रङ्गशालामा ओमानसँगको पहिलो खेलमा ओमानलेे खेलको दोस्रो हाफमा गोल गरेपछि नेपाल निकै आक्रामक शैलीमा देखिएको थियो । खेलको पाँचौँ मिनेटमा ओमानका फ्वाजी ब्राइटले हानेको गोल पराजयको मूल कारण बन्न पुग्यो ।

विगतमा एक सय ८५ औँ स्थानमा रहेको नेपालले ७९ औँ स्थानमा रहेको ओमानलाई खेलमा आच्छुआच्छु पारेको थियो । तर, ओमानका गोलरक्षक अल हब्सीका अगाडि नेपालको केही जोड चलेन । नेपाल २-० ले पराजित भयो । खेल अवधिभर नेपालका रतिेश थापाले ओमानलाई पछार्न धेरै प्रयास गरेका थिए तर सफल भएनन् । यद्यपि, उनको प्रदर्शन भने सानदार रह्योे । त्यस्तै नीराजन रायमाझीको दौडाइ र बल प्रहार गर्ने शैलीले पनि प्रशंसकहरूलाई लोभ्याइरह्यो । भर्खरै मात्र अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय खेलमा प्रवेश गरेका सञ्जीव बुढाथोकीले सोचेभन्दा राम्रो प्रदर्शन गरेका थिए । त्यस्तै, सन्दीप राई, चुनबहादुर थापा, विशाल समाल, सन्तोष साहुखल, नीराजन रायमाझी तथा अनिल गुरुङको प्रदर्शन स्तरीय थियो ।

नेपालको प्रदर्शनबाट सुरुमा ओमानका प्रशिक्षक पनि केही आत्तिएका थिए । तर, कम समयको प्रशिक्षण र कमजोर तयारीका साथ ओमानसँग भिडिरहेको नेपालले कुनै अप्रत्यासित परण्िााम भने दिएन । यद्यपि, नेपाली टोलीका प्रशिक्षक श्याम थापा आफ्नो टोलीको प्रदर्शनबाट मख्ख छन् । २००६ मा भएको छनोट खेलमा सहभागिता जनाउन नपाएको नेपालका लागि यो एउटा ठूलो अवसर पनि थियो ।

गत महिना पाकिस्तानमा भएको एएफसी प्रेसिडेन्ट कपको फाइनलसम्म सहभागिता जनाएका राष्ट्रिय टीमका कप्तान रमेश बुढाथोकी, विजय गुरुङ र सुरेन्द्र थापाको अभावले खेलमा केही कमजोरी हुन पुगेको एन्फा अध्यक्ष थापा बताउँछन् । तीनै जना अभ्यास खेलका क्रममा घाइते हुनु नेपाली टोलीका लागि विडम्बना नै हुनपुग्यो ।

उता, राष्ट्रिय टोलीको नेतृत्व पहिलोपटक सम्हालेका राकेश श्रेष्ठ भने यसलाई फलदायी नै मान्छन् । भन्छन्, "खेलमा विजय र पराजयको ठूलो अर्थ भए पनि हाम्रो टोलीलाई कमजोर भने मान्न मिल्दैन ।"

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