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Article: Water and politics. (relations between Nepal and India)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- June 22, 1991
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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TINY countries are rarely fond of giant neighbours, so take pity on Nepal's prime minister, Giraja Prasad Koirala, and his Congress Party government, the first to be democratically elected in Nepal in 30 years. Napalese from abject poverty 19m Nepalese from abject poverty (income per head is about $170 a year) is to sell hydroelectric power to India. Yet the desire of every Nepalese government is to reduce the country's dependence on its huge southern neighbour.
The dilemma is a consequence of geography. The rivers that cascade from the Nepalese Himalayas could generate 83,000MW of electricity a year, more than is generated in the whole of Africa, for the teeming ...