Food for thought

Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani must be thanked for his response to Ken Ohashi’s speech given at the Management Association of Nepal’s annual convention recently. It is praiseworthy to comprehend the hardest remark any foreign national has made on Nepalis till now.

We Nepalis take pride in Mount Everest, Lumbini and other historical places but have failed to grasp their implications for our behaviour. It is indeed true that the cause of the current ruin of Nepal is its feudalistic society.

The elite few have dominated the deprived masses for ages. Governance to them has been a lucrative game of power. Only people’s welfare can make a country prosperous.

Individual prosperity at the cost of the nation is a cause of pain and punishment. May Ohashi’s remarks ring bell in every citizen and lead to introspection.

Bikash Shah, Balkhu, via e-mail

Paralysed

NEA’s daily power cuts for five hours and the Maoists’ blockade have crippled normal life and industrial operations. If the government does not take timely action then the industries will have no option but to pull down the shutters.

A complete halt to vehicular movement has held up raw materials for production, and the consignments which have arrived at the Customs but not been cleared are causing an additional loss. Prices of essential commodities have shot up and many of these may soon vanish from the market, if such a situation continues. The government should take immediate steps before things go out of hand.

TG Ramaswamy, Hetauda

Exposé

This refers to the news titled “Staff grilled, Qatar Airways warns of pullout” published in THT on March 14. The reporter has made a bold effort to expose the controversy relating to Qatar Airways staff over the recruitment of Nepalis for its operations in Doha.

Indeed, the most deserving candidates should be recruited and not those with connection. It is surprising that such a leading airline functions that way. Severe action should be taken against those breaching Nepal’s labour laws.

Nelly Young, Australia

Take stock

Now is the time for global action against small arms as events were recently held in the country to draw the government’s attention towards the human lives claimed by the proliferation of small arms. Firearms pose a major threat to public safety. Widespread

availability of cheap, portable weapons increases violent crime, armed conflict and the use of child soldiers. The conflict and internal violence in the entire region has been made worse by the easy supply of small arms.

Nepal made a commitment to implement the UN Programme of Action on small arms (UN PoA) when it was adopted in 2001. But since 2001, the government has neither designated a focal point for small arms nor established a National Commission to address the problem. Nepal has submitted only one report to the UN on PoA implementation, while some countries have reported every year. Nepal has not yet ratified UN Firearms Protocol, the treaty to regulate the manufacture, export and import of firearms.

Nitu Kedia, Kathmandu