Kathmandu, January 6:

Blaming political leaders for not living up to their commitments, people from the Karnali region today said granting autonomy to the region will help solve all the problems there.

Speaking at a discussion on ‘Karnali Transformation: Past and Present’ organised by Karnali Media, a lawmaker from Jumla, Devi Lal Thapa, said: “Political leaders deliver speeches with full of assurances, but they never transfer their words into action.”

“Though the government has allocated huge money for the development of Karnali region, it has not been utilised,” he said, adding that a monitoring mechanism should be set up to end such practice. He also urged MPs to work for the betterment of the region. Satya Pahadi, the first woman MP from the region, said: “We want an autonomous Karnali sans autocracy as we believe it leads the region towards progress.” Nanda Bahadur Singh, associate professor of the TU, said lack of statesmen is the reason behind the situation of the region.