MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA VENICE OF THE EAST: The Jamal intersection of Kathmandu after a downpour on Tuesday. The chronic flood here could easily be resolved by draining the water into the nearby Rani Pokhari. Kathmandu is perhaps the only capital in the world with no municipal water supply to speak of.

No one expects much to come out of the new round of negotiations between the three big parties that started on Wednesday in which they promised a deal by mid-September. Although the leaders who want a resurrection of the Constituent Assembly were most vocal, there is also a strong lobby against it. The leaders want to agree on a package deal before reconvening the CA briefly to pass a new constitution, but it is hard to see where they can meet when they failed so miserably before.

A proposal to form a technocratic government has also been put forward, but even that seems unlikely to happen because there are so many aspirants for prime ministership. The most likely scenario seems to be the formation of an interim government before Dasain that will announce new elections early next year.

Read also:
High and dry, MADHUKAR UPADHYA in KAVRE
Kavre is suffering a drought in the middle of the monsoon, is this a result of climate change?

Private water for the public, NIRENDRA BASNET
By most international norms, the lack of adequate water supply should have rendered Kathmandu Valley uninhabitable by now

The Melamchi side of Melamchi, DANIEL M MAXWELL in SINDHUPALCHOK
Benefit sharing of Melamchi water revenues with local communities will set the precedent for future mega-projects in Nepal