HELLO NEPAL

The Kathmandu Post 28 June 2015 MISLEADING ANNOUNCEMENT? A few days ago, the government publicly announced the completion of rescue and relief phase in the areas that were devastated by the earthquake about two months ago. I thought that it was sincere announcement and hoped that all the people in the affected areas received relief materials. But, after I read Shradha Ghale’s article (“Misguided priorities” 24 June, Page 6), I realized that I was completely wrong . What a pity it was to find out that the democratically elected government was completely sending a completely false massage to its people and the world. It is sad to know that the people with no connections to local politicians or government officials were the ones to suffer the most. The Dalits, other indigenous groups and people from remote areas were deprived of relief materials. Looking closely at these inequalities during the post-quake response has further exposed the caste, class and gender dispari

The Himalayan Times 26 June 2015 Who to blame? It was not surprising to know that some International Non- government Organizations (INGOs) are working in Nepal after 25 April quake without having official working permission “Over 100 new INGOs operating after April 25 quake, aftershocks (THT, 23 June, Page 1) and the government does not have any clues about their working procedures and areas. What a gross negligence is it on the part of the government and concerned authorities? It was the government who had asked the international community for help soon after killer earthquake rocked the nation. The bureaucratic hurdle in getting official permission is tiresome job. So the INGOs did not bother to do so considering the necessity of their presence out in the affected area as sought by the government. If INGOs are working in the affected areas in their own ways, why does not the Social Welfare Service (WSC) bother to officially enlist them in its roster rather than mak

The Himalayan Times 17 June 2015 Execute the past deal It was really sad to know that Badi community of Badi settlement of Balchaur of Kailali municipality is living in dire situation as reported “Neglected Badi community in a lurch” (THT, 15 June, Page 5). The government had singed an agreement with them about 7 years ago after continuously staging protest for 48 days in Kathmandu to get their demands addressed. There are about 900 people from 200 households living together in temporary shelters. Most of the male members of this community go to India for jobs leaving behind women to look after their families. I was really saddened to know that the women walk 14 kilometres everyday to nearby Chisapani bazaar to grind stones in order to earn their livelihood in spite of the availability of vehicles. Traditionally, Badi women used to be commercial sex workers in and around Nepalgunj bazaar to earn a living. To break this tradition, they had demanded the government

HOPE FOR THE BEST It was really encouraging and good to know that the four major parties finally inked 16-point deal concerning drafting new constitution by mid-July 2015 at such a time when Nepal is passing through a difficult time due to recent killer earthquake. It has been a pleasant surprise. Nonetheless, it is yet to see in the days ahead whether they will be able to materialize their promises. What made them to come to consensus on federating Nepal into eight states that had remained the bone of contention among them for long has not been difficult to guess. The active involvement of non political actors in the rescue and relief operations in the aftermath of devastating earthquake remained to be the lesson for all the political party leaders to learn and realize their sense of responsibilities who completely failed to show their presence at the time of crucial moment. They tried to show their presence in the affected areas at latter days when the people had

The Himalayan Times 11 June 2015 Make the valley a heritage city It was interesting to read Kapil P. Lohani’s article “Relocating the capital” (THT, 8 June, Page 8). This issue should be seriously deliberated and acted by the government and major political parties to shift capital elsewhere considering the recent massive devastation caused by 7.8 rector scale earthquake killing 8700 people and displacing more than 8 million others. Most of the government’s administrative buildings, CA building, Parliament Secretariat, Apex Court, Army Headquarter and hospitals have been badly damaged forcing them to operate their daily services through the makeshifts.   The Kathmandu valley has been overly populated and is gradually transforming into an unplanned city with all sorts of mess. People started to flock to the Valley from all over the country for security reasons soon after the Maoists launched their insurgency and they continue flocking to the capital better job op

The Himalayan Times 5 June 2015 Rotten seed It is yet to see as to when the government and its machinery become responsible in providing quality services to the people. The carelessness of its service outlets continue to persist defaming the government in its assurance of providing quality and timely services to the people. Recently, the media reports continue to draw people’s attention about the substandard foods and seeds provided to the general public in many parts of the country in the name of relief materials. Recently, the rice provided by the government in some of the quake affected areas of Sindhupalchowk district was found to be rotten beyond use. Another news is that of farmers being distributed rotten paddy seeds in Dhading district. The paddy seed was provided by the World Health Organization (WHO). Why is this frequently happening in the name of providing relief materials? Is there any involvement of irregularities? If so, what is the concerned o

The Kathmandu Post 5 June 2015 RISE OF GIRLS It was wonderful to know that the number of girls appearing in the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examination held earlier this year was more than the boys. It was the first time this ever happened in the 80 year since the SLC exams was first held. Likewise, the number of girls appearing in Higher Secondary School (HSS) board exams that began on Wednesday us higher than number of boys (“More girls than boys in +2 test”   3 June, Page 1). Is this not an encouraging trend considering the gradual changes in parents’ perception towards the importance of sending their daughters to schools? One of the reasons for this seems also to be the easy accessibility to education from the primary level in both the urban and rural areas. If this trend continues in the years to come, the nation will benefit out of it in many ways. It is said that if a man gets educated, only one person benefit; but if a women is educated, the whole fam