No room for discretion

Your editorial “Distress in diversity” (THT, April 13) contains several factual errors. The US embassy makes all information about the Diversity Visa Lottery available in Nepali to all applicants at each stage of the process. This is available on several US government websites, including the embassy’s; mailed to winners of the lottery; and publicised through the media and outreach activities. It is the responsibility of the applicants to read this information to determine their eligibility before paying the application fee.

The DV lottery is a lottery for the right to apply for a visa — it is not (and never has been) a lottery for a visa, as your editorial suggests. Winning the right to apply does not guarantee a visa. There is no room for discretion in this process. The US operates under the laws of the Congress. The DV law is very clear: fees are the same worldwide and cannot be refunded under any circumstances.

The editorial’s claim that all student applicants can afford to go abroad is simply wrong. Nepali students work extremely hard, sitting and paying for exams and spending hours applying for scholarships, to apply for a student visa. The difference between successful student visa applicants and the DV protestors is that the students did their homework and followed the instructions. The DV protestors did not, yet now seek reimbursement for their own inattention.

Sharon Hudson-Dean, acting Public Affairs Officer, US Embassy, Kathmandu

CA polls

The demand of the Madhesi community that one electoral seat for the proposed Lower House should represent a population of 100,000 can be addressed in the following manner. Provide only one seat for fraction population above 50,000.

Using this criterion, Morang District (population 8,43,220), for example, will get 8 seats for its 8 lakh population and nil for the fraction above.

Whereas Jhapa (population 6, 88,103) will get 6+1= 7 seats. The districts like Humla, Mugu, Jumla, Dolpa, Mustang, Manang and Rasuwa with less than 1 lakh in population will also get one seat each.

Accordingly, Mountain and Hill regions will gain 6 seats. Jajarkot (population 1,34,868) and Taplejung (population 134,698) will lose 1 seat each. Kathmandu will gain 4 seats and Makwanpur, Kavre, Kaski and Palpa will gain 1 seat each. Tarai’s 20 districts will gain 26 seats. The 6 districts of Tarai, namely Jhapa, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Bara, Nawalparasi and Rupandehi, will get 2 seats each, (i.e. a total of 14 seats). The rest of 14 districts will gain one seat each. On the whole, this will entail 32 more seats resulting in a 237-seat parliament, with Tarai getting a representation of 51.90 per cent, and Mountains and Hills, 48.1 per cent.

Gauri Nath Rimal, via e-mail

Unethical

I would like to bring to your attention that Suvechcha Poudel’s Midway article “Handling teens” (THT, April 7) had already been published some time ago in another English daily.

Why is THT publishing old articles when so many aspiring writers do not get a chance? This also reflects badly on Poudel, who, otherwise, is a very good writer. Such unethical writers should not get a place in THT.

Preety Gyanwali, Basundhara