The wind mill at Tribhuvan University's (TU) Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology (RECAST) is a mockery of the institution itself. There has been no repair or maintenance work done on it in its two decade-long life, and creepers have taken over it.

The only TU institution with the mandate to conduct research work on applied science and technology is defunct because it does not have enough money. TU allocates Rs 9.5 million annually to RECAST, but that is spent on paying the 95 employees. There is no money for research. RECAST employees complain that TU used to provide a minimum of Rs 700,000 ever year for research in science and technology but this year, there isn't even enough money to pay the telephone bills. "When we don't have enough money to pay for utilities, how can we be expected to conduct research programs, even if we wanted to pay for them out of our own pockets?" asks Roshani Shakya, administrative head of RECAST. "Even our simple expenses are being paid for with help from outside projects."

Most of the 28 research posts are empty. A few are staying afloat by working with outside projects in four areas. These include a British Embassy-funded experiment to generate alternative fuel (oil) from the Sajeevan plant, research into the feasibility of solar dryers, the properties of Seabuckthorn juice, and a project looking into plant-based cures for cancer being carried out in coordination with the Thailand-based Asian Institute of Technology.

The rector of TU, Professor Dr Premraj Pant thinks there is nothing abnormal about the fact that the research budget has been slashed at a time when TU itself is cash-strapped. "It's perhaps natural that RECAST also suffers when TU is going through a budget slump, but research work must not stop. TU is discussing the possibilities of outside help to invest in all four research centres," says Professor Dr Mohan Bikram Gyawali, executive director of RECAST. "The third instalment of funding that His Majesty's Government was supposed to give TU has been delayed, hence a delay in the allocation of a research budget," says Dr Pant.