HELLO NEPAL

The Kathmandu Post 30 October 2016 ACT SENSIBLY The last time the major parties were singing in chorus was in aftermath of the devastating earthquake last year when they were in a rush to promulgate the constitution (“Top leaders decide to work in unison” 27 October, Page 1).  It is not uncommon for the major political parties to come together when they foresee a common problem (or a threat) that could sully their political image or hurt their interests. It has happened during the abolition of monarchy, the promulgation of the new constitution, the devastating earthquake and now the impeachment of Lokman Singh Karki. It is praiseworthy to see them working together for the common cause of the nation and the people. However, they should also be sincere about moving ahead while making such promises as many of such promises have not been kept in the past. Many earthquake victims are still living in make-shift camps. And it has been reported that the top leaders have agree...

The Himalayan Times 25 October 2016 Who cares about it? Nepal is gradually losing its beauty in many ways and sliding down in the index of naturally beautiful country to visit once in a life time. There could be many reasons behind this. One of them is the government’s poor governance, including the effective implementation of its laws, policies, rules and responsibilities which are the mechanisms needed to effectively and efficiently run the country. There is no proper monitoring and supervisions in place in the government owned organizations and semi-organizations. Most of such offices are heavily politicized and are run carelessly. Corruption is rampant and has been institutionalized causing the state to slide down in the global corruption index. Who cares? It was sad to read the news item “Kathmandu Airport ranked one of the worst in the world” (THT, 23 October, Page 1) to read at such a time when the tourist season is fully on. Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) h...

The Himalayan Times 14 October 2016 Mental Health It is encouraging and interesting to see that many NGOs are gradually coming up to serve the mental ill people. However, it seems that the government has not made its much needed effort on this health issue. It has not yet set aside a separate table in its Ministry of Health and Population to deal with mental health issues. There is one single mental hospital which is overburdened with the patients and lacks adequate and appropriate medical facilities. Some of the private hospitals are found providing mental health services with qualified and trained psychiatrists. Mental health is a concept that refers to a human individual's emotional and psychological well-being. It is a state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life. According to the World Health Organization (W...

The Kathmandu Post 23 September 2016 TIME FOR SERIOUSNESS It was encouraging to read the news article (“Serious crimes will be prosecuted: PM” 22 Sept, Page 1) when the country is currently led by Prime Minister Pushpa K. Dahal who headed the decade long insurgency against the state. Speaking at a programme organized to mark the International Day of Peace in the Capital, PM Dahal vowed to bring the perpetrators of serious crime to book. Doing and saying are two different things. Many promises were made to the people by the senior leaders of all the major parties at different times. Most of those promises remain unfulfilled. It is time for the Dahal led government also to complete the peace process. Such an opportunity may not come for him if he does not take it seriously given that he himself is currently at the helm of the government. Everybody knows that the conflict victims are still waiting for justice and fear that there could be blanket amnesty allowing the perpet...

The Himalayan Times 22 Sept. 2016 Resolve the crisis The government does not still seem to be ready to swiftly act on resolving the ongoing political and constitutional problems which had surfaced immediately after promulgation of the new constitution one year ago. For unknown reasons, the major parties wanted to promulgate the new constitution in-spite of taking more time to resolve the critical issues raised by disgruntled parties. As a result, more than 50 innocent people lost their lives due to excessive use of forces. Ordinary people had to excessively suffer from the Indian blockade and Madhes unrest. It was so sad and unfortunate to see the people in the tarai protesting against the new constitution hoisting black flags and burning tyres here and there on the first constitution celebration day as the black day “Black Day observed to protest constitution” (THT, 20 September, Page 7). Here in the capital city, government had celebrated this day with much hi-fi. Pr...

The Kathmandu Post 11 September 2016 TIME RUNNING OUT Time seems to be running fast for the government to implement the new constitution. In the remaining 18 months, all the three tiers of elections should be held without any excuses. Unless the Dahal led coalition government bring out a detailed work plan for the next 18 months and try to strictly follow it, the chances of Nepal to be federated seem dismal. Question may arise here as to what will happen if the government failed to enact the law related to the elections on time. What will happen if the government fails to implement the new constitution by the end of the remaining 18 months? Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, while directing the members of High-level Federalism Implementation and Restructuring Directive Committee in his office, has instructed them to work firmly for the implementation of federalism (“Work firmly to implement federalism: Pm to officials” 7 September, Page 3). But saying and doi...

The Himalayan Times 8 September 2016 Impossible There are many challenges and opportunities for the Prachanda-led coalition government. His government needs to be committed to resolving the political and constitutional problems first that has gripped the nation for long. Unless these problems are sorted out, there does not seem any possibility of holding polls as claimed by the government “Govt. committed to holding local polls, says PM” (THT, 5 September Page 6). So far, there does not seem any indication of resolving the demarcation of Pradeshes which is one of the major demands of the disgruntled parties. On the other hand, the Election Commission (EC) has been claiming that it could hold all the three tier of elections provided it receive the necessary laws on time. EC needs at-least 90 days to prepare for holding the polls. If the government could enact the necessary laws by mid September as claimed by Prime Minister Pushpa K. Dahal, the chances of holding t...

The Kathmandu Post 4 September 2016 PRIDE FOR NEPAL There was a time when not many Nepali women used to show enthusiasm and interest in joining the army and other security forces. Now, the times have changed. Women’s numbers have significantly increased in the security forces. Each force has now separate units for women personnel motivating more of them to join and serve the nation and its people. Once Nepal started sending its women army members to peace keeping mission in Lebanon from 2012, their jobs as peace keepers were found to be outstanding and was praised by the UN. (UN seeks more Napali female peacekeepers” 31 August, Page 1). The Minister for Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat said that it was a matter of pride for Nepal while receiving a visiting UN official in his office. The UN has requested Nepal to increase female participation in peace keeping operations in line with the former’s goal of having more women in its mission globally. It is sa...