Something amiss

Home Minister Bamdev Gautam must be thanked for the way he came up with dramatic announcements of taking stern steps to control the wayward nighlife in the capital. That had to do with targeting the dance restaurants and the bars not allowed to operate late into the night. To add to it, special security measures have come into effect to control criminal activities and streamline the traffic movement. All the issues concerned are noteworthy. If all had gone according to the minister’s plan, the people would have a lot to feel glad about. But, unfortunately, as weeks passed, the intensity of the crackdown seems to have lost steam. The metropolis looks and behaves in the same chaotic and lawless manner as it had been earlier. Let the maintenance of law and order and sanity not become an antic. It is hoped that people-oriented steps must be sustainable and not a political gimmick that lasts only a few days.

Sukriti Sharma, Old Baneswor, Kathmandu

Any plans?

A question that is receiving frontline focus these days is how the problem of unemployment can be solved. It is not a new issue. It has been here for long all because of the inefficient governments of the past. Even now, the government has not made its plans clear as to how employment can be generated. The matter is urgent as there is bound to be a sharp fall in the number of foreign-bound Nepali workers, and many of those working in the recession-hit labour markets may have to return home. The immediate scenario, if this happens, can well be imagined. The query: What are the immediate plans the government has to create job opportunities?

Basanta Devkota, Gaurighat, Kathmandu

Fishy

Apropos of the news report “NA to ignore fiat on recruitment” (THT, Jan. 1), I believe that the government has no moral authority to point a finger at NA. Though the Maoist leaders claim that the NA recruitment has put the peace process in jeopardy, the fact is that NA had already received a nod from the Defence Ministry to continue recruiting soldiers to fill in the vacant posts that had fallen vacant due to retirement, resignation or desertion.

The Defence Ministry cannot blame the NA for its own irresponsibility.

Furthermore, I find it worrying that certain Maoist leaders are planning to recruit more PLA soldiers. Would recruitment of PLA soldiers not violate CPA? If it were not for their own fault, why have the Defence Minister and the Secretary declined to comment on the issue?

If the NA has really defied the government, why has the government not been able to take action against CoAS Katuwal?

Shiva Vadel, Suryabinayak, Bhaktapur

Relief

This is in reference to the news report “30 MW power import begins today” (THT, Jan. 1). It comes as a welcome relief to us all that the government finally seems committed to addressing the power crisis.

The import of electricity from India may not provide an all-time solution to our growing

power needs but it will certainly help to reduce the load-shedding hours, which have crippled

business and industrial activities throughout the country.

Anish Shrestha, Kalimati, Kathmandu