Necessity of consensus Birendra P. Mishra sees no outlet for the Maoists, and for the other political parties except for a consensus “Consensus to confrontation” (THT, October 30). Unfortunately, the necessity of consensus does not seem to be making any headway in the actual negotiations among the political parties. It is a pity that 6 billion rupees to elect the CA, plus more rupees to support it, and very precious moments in the history of the nation seems to have been wasted. Polarization of the parties seems to have reached the point of confrontation aimed at the annihilation of the opposing parties.Instead of the CA, had the elite of the country advised the common people for opting for a referendum on an expert-drafted republican constitution with the provision of the proportionate representation of all the ethnic communities in all the agencies of the state, the nation would have made a noticeable progress towards peace and prosperity by now. V.P. Sayami, via e-mail Sleeping? This refers to the news “1400 fake licenses seized in 3 months” (THT, Oct 29). It’s really good news that the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division confiscated more than 1400 fake driving licenses within the last three months from the Kathmandu Valley. Were they sleeping earlier? There may be more fake licenses issued and circulating, and more going to be issued. It is not enough to hear promises from the Department of Transport Management that it would take the necessary actions. Amrit Bista, Kantipur Engineering College Dialogue UCPN (Maoist) Vice-Chairperson Amik Sherchan has stated that the channel of negotiations would be continued without any end amid the turmoil of the countrywide revolt. Sherchan has stated that the channels of negotiations among the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers were constantly active in spite of the most destructive military actions in the history of the humans during the World Wars. Sherchan’s version of the continuation of the dialogue between parties under confrontation seems to be very worrying. R. Sayami, via e-mail Aspirations There was time when we used to blame the king for all misdeeds. But the time has changed a lot. Today, Nepal no more has a king. Now, the Nepali people are all in all. So all the responsibility goes to the political parties. But these days our political parties are merely doing things for their own benefit. This is totally against the spirit of the People’s Movement 2006. As a common citizen of Nepal, I argue that all political parties should sort out all misunderstanding and give the nation a new track. Today our desire is to make an all-encompassing constitution that provides all basic rights to its citizens with peace and rapid economic development. The Nepali people need peace and stability rather than war or confrontation. Pranav Gautam, London, UK Solution We have heard news that leopard attacks are intense in some places of Kavre district. There are many instances regarding leopards and other animals attacking humans which are not able to attract headlines of the newspapers. Dozens of lives have been taken by wild animals this month. The concerned organizations like the Forest Department and WWF should study this seriously and find a solution so that both humans and these wild animals can live in harmony. Ranjeev Shrestha, Integrated Effort For Development, Dhulikhel Dismal This is in reference to the news “Maoists’ bandh in 5 hilly districts” (THT, Oct 29). It is really frustrating to learn time and time again about the dismal situation in Nepal. Every party, and union are coming with irrelevant demands. The Maoists’ strike in five districts is meaningless and also enormously annoying too. I find it unjust that whenever an activist dies during confrontations or such activities the Government is compelled to declare him or her a martyr. I have deep feelings for whoever dies in such a manner. However, why only do Maoist cadres need to be declared martyrs? If the government studies the deaths of innocents there will be thousands who died owing to the Maoists’ insurgency. Actually, they all need to be declared martyrs. Shiva Neupane, Melbourne, Australia