Clean up Basantapur

The Basantapur area is getting dirtier as people throw garbage on to the rooftops of temples and in their vicinity. If this trend continues, the area will soon have heaps of garbage by the sides of temples, as in some other areas of the Kathmandu Valley.

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) could put more containers and dustbins in the area. Both the municipal authorities and the local people need to realise the value of our historical

treasures.

Usha Paudel, Khairenitar

A ruse

In reference to the news “Drop monarchy like a hot potato, Prachanda tells PM” (Oct. 10, THT), let the people decide whether they want to retain the institution of monarchy or not.

Prachanda’s insistence is illogical and goes against the popular will.

However, the Maoist tactic of bringing up the issue time and again might only be a ruse to deflect attention away from the biggest threat to sustainable democracy and peace in Nepal: the Maoists’ totalitarian ideology. We should not forget that the Maoists took up arms not only against the monarchy but also against multi-party democracy. Hence, during the ongoing talks, the Maoists should agree to give up their aim of establishing a communist republic and vow their allegiance towards a multi-party arrangement.

Satyajeet Nepali, via e-mail

Punish them

My attention has been drawn to the news brief “12 Maoists expelled” (THT, Oct. 9). The expelled cadres were accused of corruption, partisanship and servitude. What I fail to understand is, why don’t the Maoists punish those involved in torture and killing of innocent civilians? If these acts go against party policy, let them punish the guilty.

Neeraj Raya, via e-mail

Terror tactic

I am a tourist from India. Some days ago, we were staying in a hotel at Lakeside, Pokhara. One night, a group of young men barged into the hotel and started threatening the hotel manager. I could not understand what they were saying until I, along with the other guests, were asked to vacate our rooms for the new arrivals.

I later came to know that they were Maoist cadres who wanted to stay in the hotel for free. Are the Maoists a political party or a terror outfit? In India, only people of the underworld or

terrorists behave like this. I really feel sorry for the Nepali business community. I hope the situation will improve soon.

Vinita Sharma, via e-mail

Corrections

The THT news report “Learning Nepali in US universities” (THT, Oct. 10) had some errors. Firstly, North Carolina State University is in Raleigh, not Chapel Hill. Rather, it is the University of North Carolina that is in Chapel Hill. The report also fails to mention among the universities

offering courses in Nepali language Cornell University, which has had one of the longest running Nepali language programmes in the US. Cornell, along with the University of Wisconsin, runs an intensive summer programme in Nepali, in addition to regular semester courses. Cornell has also been running the Cornell Nepal Study Programme with TU since 1993.

Ashish Bajracharya, via e-mail