The only solution

Apropos of the news report “Kobra Bhutan Party warns refugees” (THT, Jan. 23), it is deplorable that any organisation should threaten the refugees who want to settle in a third country, the United States, for instance. All past efforts of the refugees as well as Nepal government for the repatriation of the Bhutanese refugees have gone in vain. After years of ignominy, the option of third-country resettlement gives us a glimmer of hope of a better life. In fact, the offer is not only in the best interest of the refugees but also the best available

option for Nepal to end the refugee crisis once and for all. In this regard, Bhutanese refugees, civil society members and political parties should work in concert to facilitate the

resettlement process.

Nar Bahadur Subba,

via e-mail

Bird flu

This is in reference to the news report “Team bound for east for bird flu surveillance” (THT, Jan, 24). The government’s initiative to stem the flow of poultry from the porous Indo-Nepal border is appreciable in light of the bird flu epidemic in bordering Indian states.

Surprisingly though, the surveillance team does not include a veterinary doctor. Only a veterinarian is well-equipped to check animals for disease symptoms. Of course, a medical doctor can monitor human cases and a microbiologist examines laboratory samples, but the first task is to find out if the birds show flu-like symptoms. It is also reported that the ‘suspect’ patients will be treated with Pami flu. In fact, the medicine is Tamiflu, not Pami flu, and prescribed for the treatment of influenza in patients over a year old. Moreover, Tamiflu is not a substitute for flu shot. Vaccination is the first line of defence against flu.

Dr Sital Kaji Shrestha, India

Price hike

Everybody seems to be resorting to violent protest programmes and bandhs to voice their grievances and put pressure on the government to meet their demands. A case in point is the street protests in the wake of the petro-price hike. That the government was forced to roll back its decision within 38 hours was ample proof that the price hike decision was taken without any forethought. With CA polls around the corner, I wonder what made the government make such a thoughtless move.

Especially considering the political turmoil and government’s failure to maintain law and order, such an unpopular decision was sure to provoke a backlash. The government should work towards making the lives of common people easier, not burden them further.

Ramaswamy, Hetauda

Stranded

The government decision not to allow those studying medicine abroad to complete their

pre-internship/ internship in Nepal is dead wrong. This decision will affect countless Nepali medical students studying abroad. What will we students do when we return to Nepal?

We should have been warned before leaving the country that we would not be eligible to do our internship in Nepal. An arbitrary decision like this might ruin the career of many students. This is a plea to the authorities concerned to consider the plight of students like me. We cannot be left stranded.

Rosina Shrestha, China