Nepali Youth using Technology for Earthquake Rehabilitation & Reconstruction

By Sanyukta Shrestha

Presented at Nepal’s Earthquake One Year On: Resilience, Relief and Remembering organised by Britain-Nepal Academic Council, School of Oriental and African Sciences (SOAS), London

18th May 2016.

With the passing days and months after the April 2015 earthquake, people gradually started leaving those Facebook group chats one after the other. The chat rooms which once grew exponentially with the addition of every friend who could potentially help, slowly turned quiet. The social media groups that frequently bore names like “Rescue Team”, “Earthquake Help” or “Relief Coordination Group” and so on, would bring information about some hotel or school building offering space for hundreds of people, or a source of free food citing some wholesale supplier’s contact details. All different kinds of information; some about the needs, others about the resources, – and the question was, who would connect the dots and how.

Connecting the dots

From the official report of the government to the headlines in mainstream media, everyone spoke at length about the unparalleled role of Nepali youth in post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction, both on ground and from the diaspora. Less was discussed about the various technological innovations that the technical-minded youth put together in fighting with the prevailing ills of nature. It were groups like these that most software developers like me found themselves in.

While Internet giants were already playing some exemplary roles like the Google Person Finder and Facebook Safety Check, launched immediately after the first tremors hit international headlines, they indeed were a great boost to the computing generation of Nepali youth ranging from non-resident professionals to the fresh local graduates with great enthusiasm to make their knowledge into use for their country in dire needs.

The PlatformsOne of the simplest among those was an interface to capture updates from Hospitals about the latest data on casualties and the medical facilities available. It gathered some important information on severity of the injuries, type of physician needed, type and quantity of blood needed, etc. Another was an earthquake resource sheet prepared to map the need for water, food, shelter and medical resources. It maintained a big pictorial database of the types of relief needed over earthquake-hit regions, mainly useful for those ready with relief materials to be distributed but did not know what is to be distributed and where.

While there was a similar project under construction by Stanford University, Nepali youth responded pretty quickly in releasing different kinds of effective earthquake mapping interfaces for information on earthquake damage, relief needs, people trapped, missing person, blocked roads, shelter area, or recovery needs. One could also get alerts after registering one’s local city. Research and Monitoring software were also developed for the assessment of immediate humanitarian needs of people affected by the earthquake whilst collecting real-time data during field surveys.

Moreover, an ideathalon which conducted by Nepali software engineers from USA, UK and Nepal. Following an open call for ideas of technical projects from college-level students, 200 proposals from various technical backgrounds were received from all over Nepal. The winners went on to the next phase of apprenticeship and development of their projects which got implemented in earthquake-hit areas.

The Undercover Youth in Social Media

By 2014, Facebook users in Nepal had reached a soaring 4.5 million compared to just nearly 1 million until 3 years back. Some of the early hands-on information from Sindhupalchowk had arrived from Facebook status and photos posts while users were traveling to district offices for supplies. It went viral easily as popular actors like Nischal Basnet were updating the news from their destroyed houses in Sindhupalchowk, while popular tweeters like Kunda Dixit were one of the first to update about inner settlements of Bhaktapur.

While all these news updates were making rounds, thanks to non-resident Nepalese circulating it as much as they could, the Nepalgovernment was trying hard to centralize the incoming international support including those from non-resident Nepalese. As the government had failed beyond comprehension in the much-debated constitution-building process for almost a decade, and demonstrated no sign of responsibility in reaching up to public even after weeks of the major earthquake, a large group of undercover youth were active in diverting the relief materials from the airport to those teams who were distributing relief items on the ground-level, from as far as Barpak to the inner cities of Sankhu.

Nepal government had created a clear competition among its embassies around the world, publishing the list of funds they had collected from donors in their countries in the name of transparency. Embassy offices from London to the Saudi Arab published special notices promoting their contact details for donation, while the ambassadors were also reaching out to Nepali communities in the diaspora as a total role reversal not seen before then. As there was no track record of the government in mobilizing funds transparently, and that was what it was most criticized for, there was a clear mistrust in general public, except for those who were either already trying hard to influence the embassy authorities for personal agenda, or in the blind faith in strengthening an institution which had been internationally slashed for top corruption charges and systematic irregularities.

The way the undercover youth group (UYG) carried out its activities was in quite an integrated fashion yet very simple. They would collect and circulate information over social media, list out both needs and supplies over chat groups where members were added and removed as per need, and someone will be appointed with those information at the airport to receive incoming supplies, at the district offices to facilitate and guide the volunteers until they reached the locations which were worst hit by the earthquake, and update the progress to rest of the team.

Some of the above software tools were also utilized by this undercover youth group in tracking down the supplies and needs in question. Many of the members of UYG would be active participants and the rest would be silent observers. Those inactive would be removed regularly in order to make space within the limited 100 and something capacity of Facebook message groups. They would not do anything illegal but made sure whatever information they had about the needs would be fulfilled, and they would do their best in influencing potential donors who would otherwise contribute to either international charities who pay fat salaries to their staff, or the government which was repeatedly failing to gain their trust through events like the infamous distribution of tents to the member of parliaments when the general public were in much worse situation.

A year on

A year on from the April 2015 earthquake, the kind of news we are getting from Nepal, be it the NRs 22 lakh worth of expired relief medicine being burried under earth in Nawalparasi after the government failed to mobilize in time, or the 160 tonnes of WFP’s rice grains that got rotten in the store houses of Sindhupalchowk, have left less ground to disqualify what UYG did immediately after the earthquake, while the government was issuing statements that publicly declared personal distribution of aids as almost illegal.
After a year, the government has finally released a 5 year plan for rehabilitation and reconstruction while the local youth groups in some of the areas like Sankhu and Bungamati have even voluntarily reconstructed he major settlements and heritage sites. While the 5 year plan excels in creating 36 internal departments with only one section that engages the community, called “Training and Capacity Building Section”, it does not make use of the youth intelligence and skills as much as it could. Given the kind of mainstream media we have in Nepal, which blindly follows celebrity culture and the show-off earthquake voluntarism, I felt the need to present this collection of information on Nepali youth whose potential is as much in every sector as it is in the technical, which they have proved in the year gone by.

Dhungedhara : A Nepali Technology to Supply Water

By Sanyukta Shrestha

Published in DREAMS Magazine, August 2015

I was born to a household opposite a big marshy pond. When I was about six, local people dug it up to reveal a beautiful water conduit with hundreds of ancient sculptures lying around. I then realised why the town was called Naxal-DhungeDhara.

As I turned twenty, a pond next to Thamel, some 2 Km west from Naxal, was dug up to reveal another dhungedhara in working condition and accompanied by a number of Lichhavi period artefacts including a 397 years old inscription! I realised that my neighbourhood could be just one such example and a huge number of other dhungedharas could be well under the ponds or even the ground level waiting to be unearthed.

(Photo: Naxal-DhungeDhara, Kathmandu. Sanyukta Shrestha, 2013)

A more classic case being the excavation of HandiGaun in 1989 AD, which unearthed a dhungedhara dated 726 AD. Furthermore, the meaning of “BhotaHiti” would have lost in oblivion had there not been discovered four water conduits with an inscription dated 596 AD, according to historian Shanker Man Rajvamshi.

Furthermore, wherever the settlement of Newars expanded outside of Kathmandu, along with their festivals and food, they took their architectural expertise with them. That is the sole reason why dhungedharas are not a rare sight as far away as TeenDhara of Gorkha.

Technology & Challenges

Rainwater is absorbed from the ground to form natural sources that provide water to dhungedharas. In order not to depend entirely on rainwater, channels called rajkulo were built to supply water from rivers to the sources of dhungedhara. Also, several ponds were built around the dhungedhara so that water can seep through the land around it.

(Photo: The present state of GairiDhara, Kathmandu. Sanyukta Shrestha, 2013)

Speciality

The speciality of dhungedharas is in their use of gravity in channelling the water; systematic flow-control to regulate the amount, advanced drainage to avoid blockages, water-purification and waterproofing.

While modern basement constructions struggle to keep it waterproof, we can see implementation of advanced waterproofing technology in dhungedharas, – it is only the pout that delivers water without any leakage below ground level. How Nepali architecture was as advanced by the 5th century is unexplainable today!

The Architecture

Besides being primarily stone-built, the use of gold is common in royal versions like the ones found inside the palaces of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, alongside some public constructions like SunDhara located in each of the above three towns; an interesting exception being Dhalko‘s wooden dhara.

(Photo: Sundhara, Kathmandu. Bikkil Sthapit, 2014)

The basic architecture of a dhungedhara includes HitiMangah or the main spout structure, and HitiGah or the conduit’s basin. The HitiMangah further forms the most common trinity with a cult image above and a relief of Bhagirath below it. This fundamental combination is often housed within a sunken courtyard perhaps to facilitate the flow of water utilising gravitational pull. Often a paati, or resting platform, can be seen outside many dhungedhara complexes, to be used by travellers.

While common number of spouts per dhungedhara are either one or three, extension to four or five are also found. With one each to sample, Godavari‘s NauDhara, Balaju‘s BaiseyDhara and Muktinath‘s Ek-Saye-Aath-Dhara include nine, twenty-two, and a hundred and eight spouts respectively.

(Photo: Bhagirath as seen under the spout of Naxal-DhungeDhara. Sanyukta Shrestha, 2013)

As a beautiful blend of technology and art, dhungedharas are unique to Nepal as its spouts flank the iconic mythical character frequenting in Nepalese art, – the makara, carrier of Hindu goddess of water, Ganga. The usual presence of Bhagirath underneath these spouts is justified, as he is believed to be the one who brought Ganga from the heaven to earth.

According to a research by Riddhi Pradhan, other animals that are featured in the spouts are cow, goat, elephant, tiger and cock. Two such examples I could trace are the gomukhi (cow-headed) spouts found in Swayambhu‘s Bhuye Kheo and the NarayanHiti of Kathmandu.

History

While the earliest mention of dhungedhara is in an inscription dated 550 AD found in HadiGaun, the oldest among existing dhungedharas is the MangaHiti of Patan built in 570 AD. This unparalleled Nepali technology continued for as long as fifteen centuries, with some 300 more successful constructions between Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, until the last and the largest known among these, Kathmandu‘s SunDhara, was built by Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari Devi in 1828 AD.

(Photo: MaruHiti, Kathmandu. Bikkil Sthapit, 2014)

While the most spoken language in Kathmandu valley kept changing over centuries, from early Lichhavi period through the Malla period, traditional water conduits were firstly called ‘Kirti’ (merit), then ‘Pranali’ (method), then ‘LwoHiti’ (stone tap) and more recently ‘dhungedhara’. As it stands literally, for early Lichhavi era, these conduits were a medium of earning religious and social merit; late Lichhavi period was when its construction became more systematic, and during the Malla period, it was taken to a completely next level of art and technology.

Religious Connection

The water from many dhungedharas has religious significance. While water from the left spout of Patan‘s MangaHiti initiates the character of Hiranyakashipu in Kartik Naach, that from its right spout is needed for the worship of Krishna temple. Likewise, Bhaktapur offers water from its SunDhara to goddess Taleju and serves those joining ShivaRatri from BhimDyoHiti. Also notable is the fact that major pilgrimage sites like Godavari, MataTirtha and Balaju have dhungedharas installed within their premises.

(Photo: MangaHiti, Patan. Bikkil Sthapit, 2014)

Social Beliefs and Myths

As a child, I could never understand this magic but my mum always asserted that dhungedhara’s water is cold in the summer and warm in the winter. She did prove her point by making me go and have a bath but something I failed to attest in the absence of geological surveys, was many people believing dhungedhara’s water to come with medicinal bonus; people drink water from Kathmandu‘s Sundhara as a cure for arthritis, and Bhaktapur‘s GahHiti is supposed to cure goitre.

Being a part of our social life for such a long time, dhungedharas share a significant space in Kathmandu‘s social belief system, whether it is our knowledge, superstition or even myth. About 700m west from Naxal-DhungeDhara, is the legendary NarayanHiti, – a dhungedhara that gives its name to the historic Royal Palace of the last Shah rulers of Nepal. Its spout is perhaps the most mythical of all, bearing a makara turning its head backward!

(Photo: NarayanHiti, Kathmandu. Prawesh Rajkarnikar, 2015)

I grew up listening to this local story:

Having to sacrifice a flawless person in order to run the NarayanHiti spout that had stopped working, King RaghavDev disguised himself after asking his son ManDev to severe this person in disguise. When ManDev was draining his father’s blood from his sword at the spout, the makara on the spouts couldn’t bear it and turned their heads backward.

“That’s why the trunk of NarayanHiti‘s makara is seen reversed, the only one of its kind in Nepal”, my mum would always whisper at the end, even for the hundredth time of re-telling this story.

As a grown up, her story really confused me how history actually repeated itself in the form of 2001 Royal massacre at NarayanHiti Palace just across the road. To me, the so-called ‘reversed’ trunk looks more like an accentuation making space for a smaller cow’s head protruding out of it.

The Future

When I was twenty-five, I moved to the metropolis of London and the everyday sight of dhungedhara would then make up a big part of my overall longing. Carefree kids diving in cold water to escape the mid-day summer heat, the common place for local ladies to have a bath and for the dhobi community to make best use of the courtyard on a business-as-normal day, – all seemed an idea far from the comforts of the first world.

Not that I would not meet Nepalis over here but their idea of development would sound as big as it could get, – engineers planning to build metro trains across the heart of Kathmandu, or IT experts suggesting a load-shedding Nepal to go for e-voting.

After solid two decades of the introduction of piped tap water in Kathmandu, it has fallen flat in catering the urban demand, and the forever setting back Melamchi project has had no other impact than political parties wooing their voters. We have by far lost the indigenous knowledge of all our engineering feats including dhungedharas.

Dhungedharas outside our houses have been running for as long as 1500 years but in the last 35 years of engineering education in Nepal, we have not found it necessary to revive our traditional water conduits despite the valley’s water crisis. This is also how a country loses its identity, – by forgetting its native technologies; pushing it further away from economic independence. It’s not just about heritage, it’s about failing to realise where our strength lies before even thinking of global competition.

 

Acknowledgements:
Prof. Sudarshan Raj Tiwari, Culture Expert Ganesh Ram Lachhi, Historian Shanker Man Rajvamshi, Engineer Prayag Raj Joshi, Researcher Riddhi Pradhan, SanuMaiya Shrestha, Documentarian Alok Siddhi Tuladhar, Artist Udaya Charan Shrestha.

Additional Researcher:
Reetu Joshi

Photographers:
Bikkil Sthapit, Sanyukta Shrestha, Prawesh Rajkarnikar.