Former BBC journo Surendra Phuyal joins Dineshkhabar as Guest Editor

Dhangadhi : Kathmandu-based journalist Surendra Phuyal, who’s worked in various national and international media for over two decades, is coming to Sudurpaschim Province, where he will spend time with local journalists and share his hacks and skills.
Beginning mid-November, he will be joining Dineshkhabar’s Radio, Online and Digital teams as Guest Editor.

With its popular FM radio, online and social media platforms, Dineshkhabar is the most trusted and most respected media outlet in Far-West or Sudurpaschim Province in Nepal’s western frontiers bordering Indian state of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh

Capping his nearly 14-year association as a bilingual, multimedia journalist and presenter, Phuyal left BBC World Service in mid-April or Nepali New Year’s Day to launch his freelance career, after which he’s remained busy traveling around the country, churning out news, features and multimedia contents for such reputed outlets as the BBC’s Indian language services, Nepali Times, Himal Khabar and Setopati.com.

In his career spanning over two decades, he’s worked at The Kathmandu Post, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette USA (as an Alfred Friendly Fellow), IPS News Agency, among others. The longest association he had was with BBC News Nepali’s Radio, Online and Digital platforms in which he remained active since 2006.

Prior to that, he successfully – and single-handedly -- ran Kantipur Media Group’s first foreign bureau outside Nepal, in the Indian capital, New Delhi, for two years (2004-2006), when peace negotiations were taking place to end the decade-long bloody Maoist insurgency in Nepal that claimed the lives of over 17,000 people and caused incalculable losses to the country’s economy and society.
First such Nepali news bureau of its kind outside the country, that bureau is still running.
As he prepared to leave Kathmandu for Dhangadi, Phuyal told Dineshkhabar: “There’s Nepal outside Kathmandu, too. I’m so looking forward to coming to beautiful Sudurpaschim and share my skills and knowledge with the region’s young journalists.
“I’m much more excited and happier to be visiting Sudurpaschim Province of my beloved country than visiting a foreign city like Delhi or Washington.”
As a journalist, he’s gathered, produced, commissioned and edited numerous news, features and packages on a range of genres including conflict, culture, climate change, epidemics, environment, governance, human rights, politics and regional and international affairs.
An avid traveler, Phuyal has been to over 20 countries around the world, and soon he hopes to trek across Nepal’s Great Himalayan Trail (GHT) that stretches from Mount Kangchenjunga in the East to Mount Saipal in the Far-West.
“As a proud Nepali, I’d better understand my country better -- more than anything else,” he said.
“Traveling and knowing our country and our communities better will be the best education or degree we can ever earn. If we don’t know where on earth we come from and belong to, if we aren’t educated about our natural and cultural heritages, we have learnt nothing – no matter where we go or what we do.”