ASIA / PACIFIC
Page 4 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
January 7, 2019
Himalayan nation Nepal gets first modern train tracks
NEW TRAIN TRACKS. An old train engine is
seen in Janakpur next to the newly built train tracks
connecting the 21 miles between Janakpur in south-
eastern Nepal and Jay Nagar in the Indian state of
Bihar. The competition between two Asian giants,
India and China, for influence over tiny Nepal is yield-
ing a bonanza in the form of the Himalayan mountain
nation’s first modern railway, and possibly more to
come. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
By Binaj Gurubacharya
The Associated Press
ANAKPUR,
Nepal
—
The
competition between two Asian
giants, India and China, for
influence over tiny Nepal is yielding a
bonanza in the form of the Himalayan
mountain nation’s first modern railway —
and possibly more to come.
New shiny rails connecting the 21 miles
between Janakpur in southeastern Nepal
and Jay Nagar in the Indian state of Bihar
are raising hopes for more business and
pilgrimages.
The railway is India’s latest bid to keep
its foothold in South Asia, a traditional
sphere of influence, as China spends
billions on its massive Belt and Road
Initiative, an infrastructure project that
aims to expand trade across a vast arc of 65
countries from the South Pacific to Africa
and Europe.
Biswombar Sah, a 62-year-old farmer, is
among hundreds of people in Janakpur
visiting the still-under-construction rail
station daily to check on its progress as
workers polish the marble floors, lay tiles
on the platform, and paint local art on the
walls of the waiting room.
“These train tracks are the best thing to
happen to us in a very long time. We are all
thrilled about getting a modern train that
will make travel so much easier and
cheaper,” Sah said.
Once the new $80-million rail line
begins operations, plans call for extending
the railway deeper into Nepal.
For now, only a dusty trail passing
through villages connects Jay Nagar and
Janakpur. It’s mostly used by people
bringing in daily goods on motorcycles and
small trucks.
The British, who ruled India from 1858
to 1947, built a narrow-gauge 2.5-foot wide
track in 1937 to transport timber from
Nepal. That train, with only three rusted
carriages, windows lacking panes, missing
doors, and iffy service — the engine often
broke down for days — quit running in
2014.
Millions of Hindu devotees travel every
year to the Ram Janaki temple in
J
Janakpur, where the Hindu goddess Sita
is believed to have been born and later
married the Hindu god Ram.
Restaurant owner Naresh Chandra Jha
is one of many in Janakpur who view the
railway as a godsend. He’s counting on a
windfall from the pilgrimage trade, and on
saving money thanks to lower transport
costs for his supplies.
“This is the biggest event for Janakpur,”
he said. “It will be a big contribution for
development and boost the number of
religious visitors.”
The new line will be able to handle
bigger trains carrying more passengers
than the old trains, says Binod Ojha, who
was supervising the project from a
makeshift office at the new station. Apart
from tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims,
it also will accommodate cargo —
landlocked Nepal imports all of its oil, food,
and other goods from India, which
accounts for two-thirds of its foreign trade.
“Once we start operating trains, people
will be able to travel from here to New
Delhi or even southern India. We will be
well connected,” Ojha said. “Once trains
begin to bring all these things from India,
the cost will naturally go down. Our daily
expenses will be much cheaper.”
Home to Mount Everest and other peaks
on the roof of the world, Nepal has limited
road networks. Politicians have been
promising for years to build new train lines
across the mountainous country. China
and India are vying for leverage by offering
to build them, and that helped spur work
on the Indian-funded Janakpur-Jay Nagar
line.
Despite great hopes among those
awaiting the new train it’s unclear exactly
when passenger service will start. Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been
expected to travel by train to Janakpur in
December to inaugurate the new line
during a popular Hindu festival but that
plan was cancelled.
India traditionally has had a major
influence in Nepal economically, socially,
and culturally. It surrounds Nepal on
three sides and has open borders. Indian
leaders who head the world’s biggest
democracy are keen to counter what they
view as Nepal’s recent tilt toward China, a
communist-ruled country.
India was instrumental in helping
Nepal establish democracy in 1950 and
bring it back in 1990, when a popular
uprising forced the king to give up
autocratic power and bring in a multiparty
system. But Nepal’s communist party won
control of the government in elections last
year.
Nepal’s prime minister, Khadka Prasad
Oli, signed an agreement during a recent
visit to Beijing on surveying for possible
train links from the Nepal capital of
Kathmandu to the Chinese border in the
north and other parts of the country.
China is building two airports,
highways, city roads, hydropower plants,
and a cement factory. India has also
invested in hydropower plants, transport,
and rail links.
During
Indian
Prime
Minister
Narendra Modi’s visit to Nepal last year
India committed to conducting a survey on
building a rail link from Kathmandu to the
Indian border.
The Indian side may be falling behind in
the influence sweepstakes. At an
investor’s conference last year, China
pledged to invest $8 billion in Nepal
compared to $317 million by India. This
year, according to the Nepal Investment
Board, China has invested $471 million
while India has committed only $51
million.
“Investment from both China and India
are the rising trend. It appears they are
both competing with investments, but it is
a healthy competition which is beneficial
for Nepal,” said Uttam Wagle, a Nepal
Investment Board spokesman.
The new train connection is expected to
give India a boost. And when it comes to
railways, it already has an advantage
since Nepal’s border with China is
mountainous while the frontier with India
is in the plains, said Dhruba Hari
Adhikary, an independent analyst based
in Kathmandu.
“India has overtaken China in terms of
connectivity by train because they have
already laid down the tracks and the
system could function immediately, but
the Chinese plan is still on paper only,”
Adhikary said.
North Korea marks seventh anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death
By Eric Talmadge
The Associated Press
YONGYANG, North Korea —
North Koreans marked the
seventh anniversary of the death
of leader Kim Jong Il with visits to statues
and vows of loyalty to his son and
successor, Kim Jong Un.
As snow fell last month, tens of
thousands of people offered flowers and
paid respects to the late leader at Mansu
Hill in central Pyongyang, the location of
huge bronze statues of the “Dear Leader”
and national founder Kim Il Sung.
The death of Kim Jong Il on December
17, 2011, thrust his son into power when
he was still in his late 20s and a virtual
unknown figure outside of the North.
P
Summer Run
Despite many predictions from outside
experts that he wouldn’t be up to the task,
Kim Jong Un has consolidated his power,
bolstered the country’s economy in the face
of intense international sanctions, and
attained a goal his father and grandfather
could only dream of — he is the first North
Korean leader to possess an arsenal of
nuclear weapons and long-range missiles
capable of reaching the United States.
The North’s official Korean Central
News Agency ran a lengthy commentary
that slammed the United States for
“slander” and “sheer malice” against the
country and for dragging its feet on efforts
to improve relations after Kim’s summit
with U.S. President Donald Trump in
Singapore in June.
Retirement Apartments
• Studio & One-Bedroom Apartments
• Affordable Rent with No Costly
Buy-Ins or Application Fees
7810 SE Foster Road
Portland, OR 97206
503 • 774 • 8885
DICTATOR’S DEATH MARKED. North
Korean soldiers line up while paying respects to the
bronze statues of their late leaders, Kim Il Sung and
Kim Jong Il, at Mansu Hill Grand Monument in Pyong-
yang, North Korea. Many North Koreans marked the
seventh anniversary of the death of leader Kim Jong Il
with visits to the statues and vows of loyalty to his son,
Kim Jong Un. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
The commentary deliberately focused
its criticism on the State Department and
administration officials, not at Trump,
suggesting that Pyongyang remains open
to another summit. Trump has suggested
he could meet Kim again this year.
With Kim’s power base seemingly more
solid than ever, and his recent effort to
establish himself on the world stage
through summits with Trump and others,
North Korea watchers have been on the
lookout for signs that his own personality
cult is being bolstered.
Virtually all homes and public offices in
Mark your calendar!
• Federal Rent Subsidies Available
• Ideal Urban location near shopping,
The Year of the Pig
begins February 5, 2019.
bus lines, restaurants, and more!
The Asian Reporter’s Lunar New Year
special issue will be published on
Monday, February 4, 2019.
• Enjoy our small community
atmosphere that’s relaxed &
friendly!
Display advertising space reservations for
our special Year of the Pig issue are due
Monday, January 21 at 5:00pm.
North Korea feature portraits of the elder
Kims, who are also memorialized in
countless statues, mosaics, and cenotaphs
around the country. North Korean adults
wear pins over their hearts bearing the
likenesses of Kim Il Sung, of Kim Jong Il,
or both.
The North has yet to come out with a
Kim Jong Un pin or to order his image join
the others on every wall, though Kim and
his wife, Ri Sol Ju, have been referred to
with increasingly lofty titles — “chairman”
for Kim and “respected first lady” for Ri. A
special portrait of the young chairman was
unveiled recently at a ceremony to
welcome the visit of Cuba’s president, but
none have appeared in public since. And
unlike his father and grandfather, Kim’s
January 8 birthday has yet to be declared a
national holiday or even marked on
calendars.
None of that should be assumed to be a
sign of weakness, however.
Kim is generally afforded the same
reverential treatment by the state media,
and for maintaining a respectful step
behind his predecessors, he is credited
with showing humility and confidence.
Talmadge is The AP’s Pyongyang bureau chief.