Welcome to Gobinda Prasad Pokharel’s Personal Blog

Gobinda Pokharel is Nepal based researcher, educator, translator, and science writer with a keen interest in Climate Change, Wetland, ecology, biodiversity, water resources, space exploration, science policy, and health. He holds MSc in Environmental Science from Tribhuvan University. Previously, he looked after the science and environment bureau at Kantipur National Daily for over five years. Actively participating in various climate and conservation research projects, he has been honored with numerous National Science Awards from esteemed institutions including the Ministry for Education, Science and Technology, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), and the Department of Environment of Nepal.

Addressing monkey menace in Nepal

The ongoing issue of the monkey menace in Nepal has sparked debate among policymakers and stakeholders on conflict mitigation.

Some advocate for budget allocation as a solution, thinking funding will reduce the problem. Others suggest alternative farming practices, while some argue that vasectomy procedures for male monkeys could be more effective.

At present, there is no doubt that the common Rhesus Monkeys (also known as the Red Monkey) have become a serious threat to the farmers of Midhills in Nepal. Raiding behavior has forced villagers to migrate.

I covered this story in Ekantipur Daily on June 29, 2023.

The link to More More in the Link
Heading was : बजेट छुट्याएकै भरमा बाँदर आतंक कम हुन्छ ?
Link: https://ekantipur.com/news/2023/06/29/168804239632766532.html

Question arises as EIA report claims absence of fish species in Budhigandaki Hydropower project area

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the 81 MW Budhigandaki Hydropower Project claims that there is no any fish in the project area. This has raised concerns among the experts.

The EIA report which was approved by the Ministry of Energy and awaiting approval from the Ministry of Forests and Environment of Nepal is in debate and has created skepticism.

I talked to the experts and they said that given the project’s altitude and temperature range, fish species should be present. They also criticized the study’s methodology saying that insufficient sampling might have led to inaccurate findings.

Experts says that there need a proper measures such as fish ladders should be considered if fish are indeed present.

This story was published in Kantipur Daily on 8th June of 2023 AD. This story was published in Print Version on the Next Day in Kantipur Daily.

News Heading: ८१ मेगावाटको बुढीगण्डकी आयोजना क्षेत्रमा छैनन् माछा ?
News Link : https://ekantipur.com/news/2023/06/08/16862260011883243.html

Rising snake bites in Nepal: A cause for concern

Gobinda Prasad Pokharel

On May 16th, two young brothers, 13-year-old Grish Pahadi and 3-year-old Grishma Pahadi, tragically lost their lives due to snake bites in Dudhauli Municipality-1 Kurthauli of Sindhuli. The snake bit Grish on his left finger and Grishma on his left leg while they were sleeping in their cement block house with a tiled roof.

With the beginning of April, the cases of snakebite have started to increase in Terai and central hilly areas of Nepal. Shukraraj Tropical Hospital in Kathmandu has also seen an increase in snakebite patients over the past month. According to the hospital’s director, Dr. Manisha Rawal, the number of patients is gradually increasing from 1-2 per day to 3–4 per day. On Monday alone, three snakebite patients were being treated at the hospital. Dr. Rawal informed me that patients come from districts surrounding Kathmandu such as Kavre, Bhaktapur, Nuwakot, Dhading, and Gorkha.

Snakebite cases in Nepal are most common from April to October, and experts predict that the number will continue to rise with the onset of summer. Snake researcher Kamal Devkota explains that there are many reasons for the increase in snake bites during these months. Snakes come out when the ground heats up during the summer when it rains during monsoon season and water enters in the holes.  Additionally, this is also the time for planting crops, and snakes come out for breeding in April or May.

Most snakebite cases in Nepal occur in the Terai region. A study lead by Professor Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, rector of the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, found that out of every 100,000 people in Terai, 261 are bitten by snakes each year, and 22 of them die. Snake bites are most common in rural areas and among farmers and poor people. Studies have shown that snake bites are more likely to occur when sleeping outside the house, going to fields or forests, or sleeping on the floor inside the house.

According to Dr. Sharma’s study, approximately 3,000 people die from snake bites each year in Nepal, with an estimated 37,661 cases occurring annually in 23 districts of Terai. The World Health Organization had previously stated that 20,000 cases of snakebite occur in Nepal each year, with 1,000 deaths resulting from them.

There are currently 84 species of snakes in Nepal, with about 21 being poisonous. Among them, Cobra, Karait, Roussell’s Viper, King Cobra, and Coral Snake (Karkat Naag) are the most venomous.

Read more on the originally published article in Ekantipur on 6th June of 2023.

Queen’s rest of the life in the Zoo

This story is about a Man-Eater tigress that have been rescued in the western part of Nepal in Kanchanpur district. This tigress has killed a 42 years old female while she was cutting fodder near a local canal. The woman was dragged by the tiger at the time of cutting grass. Her body was found in a swampy place on the next day of the attack.

National Park office deployed four elephants in search of the tiger with wildlife technician in order to dart the Man eater. Previously the tiger has also killed a man in Indian Side according to the officials.

The Story of Maharani Tigress was published in Front Page of Kantipur Daily n 24th April of 2024 with my byline

The tiger was later captured and it was taken to the Central Zoo of Nepal. The 5 years old tigress will be kept with a male tiger in the zoo. The male tiger was given name Maharaja, The king. As she will be in the captivity with Maharaja, she was given name Maharani, the Queen.

I wrote this story and was published in Ekantipur online on 23rd April of 2023. Later a print version was published on the 24th April in Kantipur Daily.

The details of the story is in the link :
https://ekantipur.com/news/2023/04/23/168225756197388677.html

Starship- The vehicle to Mars

This story tells about the mars rover. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX is preparing a vehicle which will take the human beings into mars. Currently he is experimenting this spacecraft.

I wrote this featured story which was published in Kantipur Daily Paper on 12th April, 2023.

News Cutting Starship Mission published in Kantipur Daily

This story tells about the Mars Mission and Elon Musk investment and research activities of his Space Company and the current development of the spacecraft.

Read the original story published in Ekantipur at : https://ekantipur.com/news/2023/05/12/168385617969334674.html

Premonsoon rainfall like winter in Nepal

Gobinda Prasad Pokharel

This year, Nepal experienced a dry winter. Nepal experienced a dry winter from October 24th, 2022, to February 26th, 2023. Researchers have warned of the rise in wildfires and decrease in productivity due to less rainfall in the winter. With the start of the pre-monsoon, we are experiencing rainfall all over the country.

March, April, and May are the pre-monsoon months in Nepal. At this time, local winds are more active, resulting in precipitation, thunderstorms, and lightning in the evening and afternoon for several hours. The intensity of rainfall is high during the premonsoon, which lasts for only a few hours. If it rains in Bhaktapur, it may or maynot rain in Kathmandu during the premonsoon within a small distance. So, the rainfall is not uniform across the country during the premonsoon.

In the past few days, there has been low and moderate rainfall across the country. The rain has positive impacts for the farmers. The characteristics of the recent rainfall did not match those of the pre-monsoon. It feels like winter rainfall with low and moderate rainfall and cold temperatures.

he total 248 rainfall measurement stations, 113 recorded rainfall. Similarly, on March 19th, 177 stations recorded rainfall, 210 on the 20th March and on September 22, 71 stations recorded rainfall. A maximum of 93.5mm of precipitation was recorded in those stations. Nepal’s average premonsoon precipitation record data (1991–2020) is 226.2mm.

This year’s El Nino has affected the winter rainfall in Nepal. After El Nino ended, Nepal experienced westerlies during the premonsoon. That’s why were are experiencing cold in this march due to this effect and character of rainfall.

More in My News Published in the ekantipur of 23rd March. The print version of this story is published on the 24th of March of 2023 at Page 11 in Kantipur Daily.

 

 

Naming of captive elephant in Nepal

Gobinda Prasad Pokharel

A captive elephant inside an Elephant Breeding and Training Center in Chitwan, Nepal, gave birth to a calf after 3 hours of cesarean. This is the first time, in the case of Nepal, that a captive pachyderm gave birth after a c-section.

The calf was given a name, BijayaGaj, in honor of the veterinary doctor who led the surgery on the pachyderm. The birth of an elephant after a c-section is considered rare when the health conditions of the mother and calf are normal. Past cases show the deaths of the mother and calf after a c-section for these mega herbivores. However, the calf and the mother are taken care of with full consideration because of the conservationists’ fear that the calf might get infected by the disease.

The captive calf of this Asian elephant has a high probability of transmission of diseases like elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses, which can cause hemorrhagic disease and lead to death. On the other hand, there are high chances of disease transmission in the mother’s wound, where the outer part of the skin is still open.

The doctor stitched the inner part of the skin of the wound. The wound is about one foot (30.48 cm) after the surgery. On the other hand, the mother did not identify her calf. It is not considering its child and did not allow it to come nearby. The male calf is given skimmed milk with a ratio of 1:12 liters of water. Conservationists fear the adoption of the calf by its mother. They doubt that this may be due to a cesarean.

In Nepal, the name of the calf born inside the breeding center was given by the members of the royal family. Following the abolition of the monarchy and implementation of the new federal system in Nepal, the naming of calves in honor of a place, a special day, a conservationist, and so on, has started.

Previously, the calf was given the titles of king, queen, prince, and princess, along with the other members of the royal family, by the Royal Palace. These days, the name is given by the Chief Conservation Officer of the National Park in a ritual ceremony. A special ritual is followed in naming the calf on the 12 days following its birth. During the naming ceremony of the calf, guests are invited to see the function and are offered food inside the breeding center.

I wrote this in Ekantipur and Kantipur Daily both on 19th March of 2023 in the given heading :
गणतन्त्रले बदलेको हात्तीको नामकरण

Lesser Adjutant Storks are Declining in Nepal

Lesser Adjutant Storks of Nepal are declining due to haphazard Land Plotting, Unplanned Urbanization, cutting down of tree species, habitat destruction, etc.
This story is based on a Field Visit to Urlabari Municipality of Province 1 of Nepal. A previous study showed that there used to be 15 colonies but now there are only colonies left in my visit.
I cross-checked the identification done by Dr. Hem bahadur Katwal, he also verify that the current colony number is 2 in this region.
I write the status of these species in Urlabari and acrosss  the country based on previous research studies and recent papers on this farmland bird.
My news report on this species is published in Kantipur Online on 30th October 2022.

Nepal’s Spider species reached 386

This story was published in Kantipur Daily and Ekantipur Online in 8th August of 2022. It higtlights the issues of spider species of Nepal.

Spiders are less explored species in Nepal. The news story the types and the number of spider species based on in a newly published impact factor peer-reviewed journal.


The research paper published in 1995 by zoology professor Vasant Kumar Thapa, 144 species of spiders were found in Nepal. From the data published by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation in 2018, it is mentioned that there are 175 species of spiders in Nepal.


In the checklist of South Asia, it is mentioned that 222 species are found in Nepal. This research shows the spider speceis are 386 species are found in Nepal. This research also shows that the recorded 386 species of 34 families and 135 different genera. Among these spider species found in Nepal, 251 have been recorded only from Nepal.

In this story I have written about the ecology, behaviour, importance and the special things about the Spider. The story published in Kantipur is the first of its kind that Nepali Media has covered a full page details about Spider in Nepali Language in Nepal.

News heading In Kantipur Daily: किसानका साथी माकुरा
News Story Link: https://ekantipur.com/news/2022/08/07/165987352208773859.html