HELLO NEPAL

NO MORE FUN It was extremely painful to read the news report (“PM Oli spends 1.2m in food, entertainment” 25 Nov. Page 2, The Kathmandu Post) at a time when the nation is facing acute shortages of fuel and essential commodities caused by India’s unofficial trade embargo and Madhes unrest. What a shame is this on him who, before occupying Baluwatar, had promised to the people that he would leave no stone unturned to emancipate the nation and its people from the ongoing hardships. He already completed five weeks plus of his highest political helm doing nothing except trying to buy time for suppressing the constitutional and political inequalities being faced by Madhes and Tarai based people, which could be detrimental both for him and the nation. His recent address to the nation was nothing but a bundle of false promises. There were no concrete plans and programmes to tackle the ongoing issues. Black marketing in fuel and other essential items is rampant (“19 pumps char...

The Himalayan Times 26 November 2015 Promises It is definitely a delightful news for the general people of Nepal to know that the country will be completely free from the ongoing load-shedding within a year as reported in “Load-shedding will become history within a year” (THT, 24 Nov, Page 9). It is really encouraging to know about this earlier from PM Oli during his recent address to the nation and now from Top B. Rayamajhi, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister. Such similar assurances were also given by past governments. However, they never materialized, rather the load-shedding hours continued to increase.   According to NEA, the current installed capacity of the nation is around 800 MW which drops down to around 300 MW during dry season. However, the total demands during the peak seasons stands at around 1400 MW which is far beyond the current power outputs being generated in the country. Is it possible to generate additional 1100 MW within one yea...

MENSTRUAL EXILES - Post Report , Kathmandu Nov 22, 2015- The people in the rural areas continue to strictly follow their traditional cultures and practices in-spite of facing many difficulties. As a result, these deep-rooted practices cannot be easily uprooted. Among them, chhaupadi still persists in the rural areas of mid-western and far western districts (‘Chhaupadi practice still continues in Dailekh villages,’ November 18, Page 2). This age-old practice is deeply ingrained in the minds of the rural folks. They hesitate to discontinue this belief as they strongly believe that their family members or animals will either get sick or die if they do not keep menstruating women separately. Some women have even lost their lives while observing this illogical tradition. Many women feel very vulnerable during the first three days of their menstruation. So, they need nutritious food, warm clothes and a clean surrounding. It is very unfortunate and sad to see ...