Homage to Sir Edmund

The Himalayan Times deserves sincere thanks for publishing the life history and chievements of Sir Edmund Hillary, who not only made Nepal known the world over but also helped alleviate the sufferings of people in the remote regions of Nepal’s Himalayas. Hillary

single-handedly initiated the mission to develop Solukhumbu region.

My late father Pasang Futtar, who was also in the 1953 expedition, was a close friend of Tenzing and Hillary. I had my basic primary education in the first Hillary-established school

in Khumjung village. No words can fully express the gratitude of thousands of people who got the opportunity of education because of the contributions of this great hero.

Dorji Tsering Sherpa,

Galfutar

Street kids

It is sad to see poor and homeless children sleeping in cold pavements across most towns in Nepal, especially during the winter season. Though scores of child rights organisations

exist, most of them do not seem much bothered about the plight of these street children. The government seems indifferent too. The plight of these children should be the concern of

not just the Non Government Offices working in the field or the government alone, but of the whole society.

Shiva Neupane, via e-mail

Bothersome

The scrutiny one has to undergo while checking into the American Library at Maharajgunj is both bothersome and boring. The security check, which sometimes exceeds half an hour, makes the visitors feel unwelcome. The security procedure needs to be simplified so that the

library goers can concentrate on studying without having to worry about all the hassles

they have to go through to enter the building.

Subash Dahal, Baneshwor

No solution

Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal is right in refusing integration of former Maoist fighters into the Nepal Army. As the Maoist army fought on the basis of their political ideology and principles, such integration would run the risk of politicising the national army. This would also encourage other emerging armed outfits, especially those in the Tarai to demand similar integration in the future, creating all kinds of problems. What would the government do then?

Announce

non-existent vacancies

in the NA?

Kapil Gautam, via e-mail

Power cut

I would like to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to increasing hours of load shedding and the great difficulties it has caused to common people. It is a big irony that Nepal, though one of the richest countries in terms of its hydropower resources, is unable to

generate electricity even for half its population. The students appearing for the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exams (myself included), which are just round the corner, have been the hardest hit. Can’t the Nepal Electricity Authority reduce long hours of load shedding until the SLC exams are over?

Aabhas Pokharel, via e-mail