HELLO NEPAL

The Kathmandu Post 28 July 2017 ENCOURAGING DECISION For a number of reasons, new political forces did not perform well in the first phase and second phase of local election. However, Sajha Party’s Kishore Thapa and Bibeksheel’s Ranju Darshana who fought for Kathmandu’s mayoral position, were talk of the town and did surprisingly well. It seems that two parties have learnt from these elections and have realized that they needed to combine forces to gain traction. (“Sajha and Bibeksheel announce unification” July 27, Page 1). The united party has agreed to pursue the agenda of inclusive democracy and welfare economy. Leaders feel that this unification will fill the void of an alternative political force, which could lead the country towards enduring peace and prosperity. Similar principles and visions and an a respectable performance in the first phase of local elections might have played a crucial role in bringing them now closer. However, the new party has to work hard a

The Himalayan Times 27 July 2017 Will RJP-N join poll? Finally, the Nepali Congress through its Central Working Committee (CWC) has decided to put the constitution amendment bill to vote without waiting for other parties’ support “NC to put amendment bill to vote”(THT, July 25, Page 1) which had to be technically done before holding the second phase of local elections. However, NC’s this decision will put other parties especially the UML and some other fringe parties under pressure to think twice before saying “no” to this bill. It will also definitely put pressure on the Rastiya Janata Party (RJP-N) to seriously consider participating in the upcoming third phase of local polls scheduled for September 18 whatever the result of the vote will be. The Ratriya Prajantantra Party (RPP), which has 35 lawmakers in the parliament, seems still undecided whether or not to support the bill. Its role can be crucial for the bill. As demanded by RJP-N, the Dahal led government had with

The Kathmandu Post 21 July 2017 STATUTE AMENDMENT The first and the second phase elections were successfully held in six provinces. Not surprisingly, the UML and the NC won a majority of the seats. It seemed that the people gave another chance to these big political parties believing that they would address their grievances (“All in the same vote” July 19, Page 6). Now, the people from Province 2 are anxiously waiting to cast their votes in the third phase election scheduled for September 18. The government had promised before holding the second phase of local elections that the constitution amendment process will be completed before holding the third phase election so as to enable the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) to participate in the polls. However, looking at the recent political environment, the government seemed to be losing hope of garnering a two-third majority to pass the amendment bill, given the UML’s decision not to budge from its stance that the amend

The Himalayan Times 20 July 2017 Don’t waste time What a funny news item it was to read about the brawling going on between Department of Archaeology (DoA) and Nepal Telecom (NT) regarding the new Dharahara design “NT, DOA split on Dharahara design (THT, July 18, Page 1). Is not it a matter of jokes after coming to know that these two organizations- one government and the other semi government-have been sticking to their own stances on reconstruction of Dharahara. In fact, the previous government had authorized NT to reconstruct Dharahara. It has designed accordingly. Now, DoA seems to be worried about the archaeological value of Dharahara of being lost if NT is allowed to move ahead as per its design. This ongoing tussle has put the Deuba led government in a fix. Why did the previous government authorize NT for the reconstruction of Dharahara without consulting DoA? It is a historical site which demands a proper design keeping its archaeological value. It has been now al

The Kathmandu Post 14 July 2017 DEVELOPMENT GOALS It was encouraging to know that Nepal has secured third position in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Index among the other South Asian nations (“Nepal ranks 3 rd in South Asian Sustainable Development Goals index” July 8, Money). One of the primary objectives of SDGs is to end poverty and hunger. They also aim to promote well-being of all people, sustainable industrialization, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and employment and decent work for all. Other goals include reducing inequality, making cities inclusive, safe and resilient; ensuing sustainable consumption and production patterns and taking urgent actions to combat climate change and its impact. Nepal still needs to put a lot of effort needed to attain other SDGs goals for which it should start formulating its plan and programme focussing on ending hunger (Goal 2), fostering good health and wellbeing (Goal 3), ensuring access to affordable and c

The Himalayan Times 13 July 2017 Hard nut to crack The second phase elections in three provinces were held successfully and the counting of votes is almost over. The UML has won more local levels than any single party. Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-Maoist Centre (CPN-MC) are in second and third positions. Now the focus of the government is gearing towards holding third phase polls in Province 2 on September 18 which is crucial for the ruling, opposition and disgruntled parties in terms of constitution implementation. All the positive and productive efforts should be applied in order to fulfil the requirement for holding this election. For this, the Deuba led government should try its level best to bring Rastiya Janata Party-Nepal (RJPN) on board. One of the three demands is to amend the constitution, which the ruling parties are finding hard to do, “Bid to muster two-third majority in favour of bill” (THT, July 11, Page 1). Garnering two-third majority in the parliament

The Himalayan Times 6 June 2017 Inspiring lady It was inspiring news to read about an 85 year old lady running eight kilometres training course every morning “South Africa’s record-breaking running  “Grand Dame” going strong at 85 (THT, July 4, Page 1). Is it not encouraging knowing an 85 years old lady, a world record holder, from Johannesburg suburbs running a half marathon in just over two hours in her later life? In May, she was invited to compete in Switzerland where she completed a half-marathon in two hours five minutes, setting a world record for her age group. She has no intention of slowing down in the days to come.THT deserves appreciation for bringing out such a motivating news on its first page. Fast walking and light jogging in the morning for about an hour is the best exercise to burn excess calorie, say physicians. This will help to stabilize the blood pressure and lower blood sugar level. For this, one should be equipped with proper walking/jogging shoes

The Kathmandu Post 2 July 2017 WASTE NO TIME According to the Election Commission (EC), local polls were held peacefully and overall 70.5 percent voters cast their votes (“Phase II polls see 70.5 pc voter turnout” June 29, Page 1). This enthusiastic turnout of voters will definitely put pressure on the ruling parties and the opposition to think about ways to bring disgruntled parties on board for the third phase of local elections. The current government and the one before it decided to hold the local level elections in phases with the intention of bringing the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) on board. However, RJP-N leaders will not participate in the polls until their demands are addressed. This confrontation among political parties has come to such a point that there does not seem any alternative except to come to consensus by softening political stances. The Deuba led government has scheduled the third phase in province 2 on September 18. If all the concer

The Himalayan Times 30 June 2017 Shame on the government We have seen in the past that the major political parties, whoever and whenever ascended the political helm, had split the ministries to accommodate their loyal lawmakers in the ministerial chairs. Has any government so far shown any interest to find out whether these ministries were doing their tasks to the satisfaction of the common people? So far, there are more than two dozen ministries designed to serve the nation and its people. Political leaders talk much about the development works being done in the country. It was not a surprising but sad news to read “Humla local reps in capital to revive rice supply” (THT, June 27, Page 1) when the newly elected people’s representatives should have been focussing their effort on other development programmes. Instead, they are in the capital wandering around Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) and other different government offices to resume the supply of rice to their district.