Tragic collapse

It was tragic that 10 people were killed when the roof of a building of the Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, collapsed on October 20 (THT, Oct. 21).

Although the college authorities said the roof collapsed after a thunderbolt hit it, locals

allege that it was due to construction flaws. It is good that the college has announced compensation to the families of those killed.Whatever the reasons, the death of innocent people is unfortunate. It is the duty of the school authorities to guarantee the safety of those working or living in its compound. The schools and colleges need to pay extra attention while constructing their buildings.

Savitri Gurung, Thimi

Quality

I want to thank THT for its anchor story “Your sweet tooth could cause cancer” (THT, Oct. 21). People seldom pay attention to things like this which affect their lives. The quality of sweets is a serious matter and the customers need to be extremely careful.

It is good that the government has decided to take action. Those engaged in this business should not sell stale sweets.

Sweets are not only consumed in the country but they also have an international market. Take, for instance, India, which exports sweets to the US and Australia. Nepal too has the capacity to export sweets but the government must strictly supervise the quality and make it mandatory for sweet-makers to print the date of packing on their products.

Chandan Das, Kathmandu University

Building code

The government has planned to broaden some of the busy roads of the city with a massive plan, and this has created the problem of reclaiming private land. It seems that the government has not yet learnt from its own experience of constructing narrow roads on the

outskirts of Ring Road, which is seeing a rapid unplanned urbanisation. To avoid a similar situation, the government need not spend a lot of money but should be a little more farsighted. The agencies concerned need to strictly enforce a building code which will provide that all roads are at least 20 metres in width or whatever is a good space for a two or

four-lane vehicular movement.

This can be ensured by making it mandatory for a builder to approach this measurement to be eligible for basic facilities like electricity, water, telephone connection and black topping of the road itself. I hope the authorities concerned, who will also have to suffer the

consequences of traffic congestion, mull over the suggestion.

C Tuladhar, via e-mail

Family time

This is in response to Abhinaya Jayaswal’s letter “Value time” (THT, Oct. 21). I agree that students have suffered a lot because of too many holidays and frequent strikes and bandhs.

However, there are many students in the schools and colleges in Kathmandu who live out of the Valley.

It would be difficult for them to go home during the festivals of Dashain and Tihar if there were no holidays. As Dashain and Tihar are the two main festivals of the Nepalis, it is also the best time for the students to be with their families and share experiences.

Bikalpa Gautam, via e-mail