Give youth a chance

The country is at the crossroads at this crucial juncture in its history. With just 84 days to go for the Constituent Assembly polls, political parties are busy drawing up their election manifestoes. But they have little idea what to put in it. Lack of intra-party consensus plagues all the major political parties. They are confused about some of the agendas they should put

forward before the people. But how do they convince the people that the CA polls will be held on the set date despite all indications to the contrary? More important, how do they make people believe that they have changed their wrong ways which led to their eventual failure and rise of despotism in the country?

These are serious questions that need concrete answers. Major political parties are trying to field the same candidates who failed miserably during their previous tenures in the parliament. Why don’t they array new candidates without any stigma attached to them? Why can’t the old guard in the political parties trust the ability, vigour and new thinking of the young generation? Reservations have been made for women, Dalits and Janajatis. More important would have been reservations for the youth. Only the youth can take the country forward, as the people are already familiar with the uselessness of old politicians.

Sarad Koirala, Austin, Texas

Added duty

This is in reference to the news report “King Gyanendra set to lose more palaces” (THT, August 27). The decision to nationalise certain royal palaces is one of the most significant steps taken by the eight-party alliance government. This not only marks the end of an era when the King was revered as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, but also ends the privileges and prerogatives that royals enjoyed just by virtue of their birth. However, the government now has the added responsibility of cracking down on the corrupt politicians who have amassed property by misappropriating government funds and taxpayers’ money. The desire of the Nepali people is to live in a corruption-free society. I hope the government won’t spare

corrupt politicians.

Sarika Thapa, via e-mail

Health woes

Despite exorbitant fees that medical doctors charge patients in most hospitals in the capital, the quality of service provided is appaling. Most of these hospitals are badly managed and medical equipment does not work properly. Doctors should understand that they are in a noble profession that puts a premium on unselfish service. The Health Ministry, for its part, should regularly monitor private and government hospitals in the Valley so that doctors don’t compromise on the quality of service.

Manoj Thapa, via e-mail

Risky

Apropos of the news report “NAC forcing pilots to fly ‘unsafe’ plane” (THT, August 28), pilots must not be forced to fly an aircraft which has been marked for technical glitches. Nepal

Airlines Corporation (NAC) should not play with the lives of passengers. Flights should be resumed only after fixing all technical problems detected in the course of inspection.

Amol Acharya, Bhaktapur