HELLO NEPAL

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The Himalayan Times 26 March 2020 Nationwide lockdown The decision of the government to impose a nationwide lockdown for a week starting from today March 24,   is a welcome step, albeit still a bit late, in an effort to control the spread of COVID-19 “Week-long nationwide lockdown from today” (THT, March 24, Page 1). Had it been decided a bit earlier to block northern and southern border points and stop all the international flights, the chances of this deadly virus entering Nepal would have been much lesser. It looks as if the government would not have dared to act on its own to seal the border points if the World Health Organization (WHO) had not advised it to do so “Borders sealed” (THT, March 24, Page 4). Two imported COVID-19 cases-one from China’s Wuhan city and the latest one coming from France - have forced the government to take this bold decision. Although, no other cases have so far been detected in the country, it cannot be easily ruled out tha...

The Himalayan Times 20 March 2020 Take early action  Almost 200,000 people from more than 150 countries have been infected with the deadly COVID-19, since it first appeared in China, killing thousands of people. The governments of many European countries are struggling to protect their citizens by adapting extraordinary precautionary measures. It has also affected some Asian countries. Countries from the Gulf region seem still safe; however, their governments have also started taking necessary measures to keep this deadly virus away from their soil.  There does not seem to be any panic situation in the South Asian Countries including Nepal. However, the recent proposal of the Indian Prime Minister to jointly fight this pandemic disease has been wholeheartedly welcomed by its neighbouring countries. Nepal is lucky not to see any deaths so far from the virus. It could be the reason for the government not to be fully prepared for the worst situation. Let...

The Himalayan Times 12 March 2020 Scary situation Nepal and its people use to suffer heavily from natural calamities, especially during the monsoon. The Tarai gets heavily flooded, displacing thousands of people and destroying agricultural products. Likewise, many people living in the hills lose their homes in land-slides. Such damages caused by natural disasters, directly or indirectly affect the national economy. Now, the spread of the deadly COVID-19 around the globe has threatened both human lives and the national economy. We were lucky, none of the Nepalis evacuated a few days ago from China were infected with COVID-19. Until today, Nepal is safe. However, news has started flowing in about Nepalis testing positive in other countries “Two Nepalis test positive for coronavirus in UAE” (THT, March 27, Page 1). Let us still hope that Nepalis residing in other infected countries such as the UK, France, Italy and USA will be safe from this deadly virus. And, I hop...

The Himalayan Times 5 March 2020 Ambiguous  Following the restoration of democracy in 2047, Nepal is enjoying a parliamentary democracy with the major political parties playing their role in leading the country one after another. They run the country in their own ways, using or misusing their power and authority. Political instability continued to haunt the country, pushing back the nation and its people into hardships. The 10 year-long insurgency initiated by the then Maoists against the state, further pushed the country towards social disintegration and economic imbalance. That grave situation continued to hit the nation until the Maoists decided to join mainstream politics, following the 12-point deal with the then seven-party alliance.   Now, the country seems to be moving ahead towards political stability following the general elections held three years ago. However, the recent internal political activities in the major political parties are not...

The Himalayan Times 27 February 2020 Mockery of constitution  The new constitution of Nepal was not able to win the hearts of all the people for one or the other reasons. The Janajati and Madhesi people had vehemently objected some of the discriminatory articles of the constitution. Quite a few Madhesis even lost their lives during street protest against the new constitution. However, their voices were never heard and have still not been heard. Even the government had to face border obstruction following the promulgation of the new constitution without addressing the grievances of Madhesi people.   The then Madhesi Janadhikar Forum led by Upendra Yadav had even joined the Oli led government after signing a two-point deal concerning constitution amendment, which recently decided to quit the government after the government failed to abide by the deal. That clearly indicates the government was not serious in addressing the concerns of large portion of the...