HELLO NEPAL

The Kathmandu Post 28 May 2017 ENCOURAGING NEWS Many women, especially in the rural areas, are suffering from various types of gynaecological problems due to lack of awareness and availability of obstetrics care in public health service outlets (“UN stresses on ending shame for women with fistula” May 24, Page 2) . Prolapsed uteri and fistulas seems to be the main problems rural women are found living with. Both these problems can be easily prevented before they occur and they can also be easily treated.  Bearing children at an early age, giving birth to many children and lifting heavy objects are some of the main causes of a prolapsed uterus. Women with this problem suffer a lot and don’t disclose their condition because of feelings of insecurity. Some NGOs are doing wonderful works by raising awareness among the rural women and organizing mobile clinics for their treatment. Many women were successfully treated through mobile clinics. Likewise, obstetric f...

The Himalayan Times 25 May 2017 Hoping for improvement After former CIAA chief Lokman Singh Karki was unseated by the Supreme Court verdict declaring him unfit for the post, the corruption watchdog commission was running without chief. Likewise, the Office of the Auditor General was also looking forward to a new AG after the former AG Bhanu Acharya resigned from his post a few months ago. The government has finally filled these two constitutional positions; Deep Basnyat as the CIAA chief and Tanka M. Sharma as the new AG “New CIAA chief, AG sworn in” (THT, May 23, Page 3). The role of CIAA chief in our country seems to be crucial and challenging. However, the political interference and threats continue to make the chief unable to fully exercise his authority letting big fishes swim around freely. There were some cases of political leaders in the past spending time behind the bars charged with corruption. However, we have not heard in recent years that CIAA putting a...

The Kathmandu Post 21 May 2017 ENCOURAGING DEVELOPMENT After almost 20 years, the first phase of the local elections was held on May 14 in three provinces with much enthusiasm. Now, the counting of votes is underway in the district head quarters of all three provinces (“Vote counting tedious, time-consuming affair” Mar 17, Page 1). Voters are anxiously waiting to see if those they voted for get elected.    It is yet to be seen now whether the second phase of local level elections-slated for June 14 – will be held in the remaining four provinces. Also, in accordance to the four point clandestine agreement that took place between the Nepali Congress (NC) and the CPN (Maoist Centre), PM Dahal is handing over the reins of government to Sher Bahadur Deuba within a week (“PM Dahal says will step down within a week” May 16, Page 1). Dahal should be credited this time for fulfilling his commitment by successfully holding the first phase local polls. It will be Deuba’s tu...

The Himalayan Times 18 May 2017 Voters’ enthusiasm Last week and the beginning of this week remained very exciting in the political environment of Nepal.  Finally, the Dahal led government fulfilled its promise by holding first phase of local level elections in three provinces after almost 20 years. Election Commission (EC) also deserves appreciation for its incredible job of holding the elections in a short period of time. Normally, it seeks at-least 120 days for overall preparation.  As said by it, 73 percent of votes were cast with much enthusiasm. Except few a unfortunate incidents, voting took place peacefully. All the voters are now anxiously waiting to hear the final results of vote counting expecting to see their real representatives elected and run the local government with extra-ordinary executive powers. All the TV channels, FM stations and other media are trying their best to transmit the ongoing vote counting results regularly keeping in mind the eag...

The Kathmandu Post 14 May 2017 NOT SURPRISING This is not a criticism of Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar, who made political history by holding the post of Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) 12 times during his political journey (“Gachhadar senior DPM: PM’s Office” May 10, Page 2) . He seems to be a real politician who knows how to play the political game and grab opportunity while the other Madhes based political leaders are still struggling to firmly stand on their feet. But what happened to the four point agreement that his party made with the Dahal led coalition government? The CPN-UML will not let the constitution amendment bill through the House, but if the government fails to amend the constitution as demanded by some parties, then they will not participate in the second phase of the local level elections. If the second phase lections are not held, the authenticity of first phase election will also remain questionable, and the chance of other two elections being conducted by Jan...

                           The Himalayan Times 11 May 2017 Ambitious manifestos The local level elections to be held on 14 May in three provinces after about 20 years have raised curiosity, enthusiasm and expectations among the local population. Nominated candidates for mayors, deputy mayors and other positions are busy with home visits and campaigning to lure voters. Political parties have put in all their efforts to declare ambitious manifestos and development programmes. It seems that their manifests, if sincerely implemented, would turn all the metropolitan, sub-metropolitan and rural municipalities into prosperous cities and towns within the next five years as recently mentioned in the manifesto of Nepali Congress Mayoral candidate for Kathmandu Metropolitan City “Joshi promises “well-managed metropolis” (THT, May 9, Page 3) All the major political parties have made several promises in their polit...

The Kathmandu Post 7 May 2017 MENTAL HEALTH This was an interesting article about being affected with mental illness either in the work place or among those who are without work (“Work revolution is making us mentally ill” May 3, Page 7. Work not only gives us an income, but also a purpose. Unemployment increases the likelihood of depression and anxiety, according to the Royal College of Psychiatrist, London. Its report further says that in the rust-belt states of the US, high rates unemployment, economic decline and social stagnation have led to sharp rising death rates due to drugs, alcohol and suicide. However, there are also reports that the work environment can cause stress and anxiety gradually leading to depression and frustration that ultimately ends up in mental illness. More than six out of 10 of the UK’s working population report sleep-related problems due to stress to such an extent that it affects their work the next day. To minimize this problem, organizatio...

The Himalayan Times 4 May 2017 Misuse It was shocking news that rocked the nation on last Sunday afternoon when the ruling parties registered the impeachment motion against Chief Justice (CJ) Sushila Karki on different grounds “Impeachment motion filed against Chief Justice Karki” (THT, May 1, Page 1). The lawmakers had alleged that she had violated the constitution and laws, failed to discharge duties sincerely, was incompetent, lacked honesty and violated the judicial code of conduct. This was the first time an impeachment motion has been registered against a CJ in Nepal’s judicial history. Surprisingly, this impeachment motion was registered just two days before the SC was supposed to give a final hearing on a case related to DIG Nawaraj Raj Silwal against Prakash Aryal’s appointment as IGP. Several different opinions from different walks of life came into the floor soon after the news spread like a wild fire. Legal and constitutional experts termed the motion agains...