Apropos of the news story “Once Over: Rhino kills elderly” (THT, April 30, Page), the government must look into various steps to end tragic human-wildlife conflicts in urban metropolises like Chitwan and Kathmandu in the country. In order to mitigate conflicts between man and animal, the government has to do a lot more to stop the former from encroaching upon the animal kingdom that forces the latter to wander into urban sprawls. One of the first things that the government can do is to immediately halt people from sneaking into forest for collecting fodder in the sub-metropolitan cities throughout the country. The government should be able to at least distribute gas cylinders and drinking water jars, two of the most basic necessities for human sustenance, to the marginalized people living literally on the edge of the buffer zone of the Chitwan and other national parks. Secondly, it should carry out various steps including film communications such as “Living with leopards” and “Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai’s experience,” made by a Nepali film maker on the efforts of the park authorities to mitigate growing leopard-people conflict in Mumbai metropolis. The film, which could be relevant for Kathmandu landscape that is witnessing increasing leopard intrusion, can be viewed on YouTube. The government needs to act to avoid human and animal fatalities stemming from competition for space.

Manohar Shrestha, Kathmandu

Evil practice

This is with reference to the news story “Woman tortured for not bringing dowry” (THT, April 28, Page 5). This is very sad news that women are tortured in some way or the other for not bringing dowry. According to the law, asking for dowry is a crime. Dowry system has been so deeply rooted in our society that it is difficult to curb through legal measures. Before the marriage of a daughter families are worried about the dowry expense. This trend has affected the society and more adversely women. They are physically and mentally tortured directly or indirectly for not bringing dowry. This tradition has incorrectly defined a marriage. Marriage is the bond between two intimate souls. Marriage is a bond of life time between the two persons and their parents. This relation has been perverted because of the dowry system. We must uproot this tradition which has ruined the life and expectation of many women from different social and financial backgrounds. Everyone must raise awareness about the evil practice that is prevalent in some parts of the country, especially in Tarai and Madhes. Political parties and their leaders in the region can help eradicate the dowry system. Law itself will do little unless the society itself comes forward against this social evil that financially ruins the life of bride’s parents. Effective implementation of laws is compulsory for the protection of women’s right to live in dignity.

Susmita Humagain, Kathmandu