Apropos of the news story “Under-invoicing in carpet export to China costing Nepal dear” (THT, March 21, Page 1), the invoicing scam goes on unabated. One of the biggest scandals of the Panchayat era revolved around carpets. One Sunder Bhawanani, a carpet broker, was incarcerated for under-invoicing scam bringing much criticism of high-handedness of the then government. There were murmurs of the government trying to muzzle off privatization then. Well, there you go.

The country has made a huge leap from autocratic Panchayat polity to a rule-based, plural federal democratic republic but the carpet under-invoicing survives with even more impunity. The carpet brokers have clearly not mended their ways. The more the country exports, the less it earns, as reported. Privatisation will work only when there are strong rules like in the US. For example, a bank violates sanctions against a rogue country, the bank pays fine in billions of dollars; an iconic auto maker tries to push cars with faulty pollution device, it gets fined in billions of dollars.

We might take a leaf out of the US rule book governing private business for the prosperity of the country. Otherwise the scamsters will overrun the country’s economy. There are serious anomalies in several other areas which the government agencies would not be ignorant about.

How is the government going to tackle them? Or will it meekly submit to the strong will of the scamsters? One of the best sources of government revenues would be the capital gains tax in land changing hands multiple times. An aana of land is bought for lakhs and sold in crores. Surely the land revenue officials, who might be hand in gloves with the brokers, would and should be aware of the profit involved. As for carpets, people will watch government action.

Such scams have the tendency of pushing out the genuine exporters and give our products and country a bad name.

Manohar Shrestha, Kathmandu

Rhino’s death

This is with reference to the news story “The last male northern white rhino dies” (THT, March 22, Page 6). It is very saddening that the rare species like white rhino is completely on the verge of extinction.

The news about the death of last male northern white rhino hit the newspapers and media across the world. The news about the death of thisrhino has inundated the world’s media not less like the death of an international celebrity. I feel really sad to learn the pathetic situation of a handful of rhinos that are living in the Chitwan National Park.

We have lost some rhinos over the last two decades. The poachers who have killed such precious species had political connections and, therefore, they found their political safe haven to get away even after being arrested.

I hope it is still prudent to look after those rhinos to draw the world’s attention to  promotion of tourism and the like.

Shiva Neupane, Melbourne