Respect people’s will

With the promulgation of the interim statute people thought that monarchy has no future in Nepali politics and the country is headed for a republican set-up. But they were wrong. Although there is immense pressure from all sectors of society on the government to declare the country a republic, it seems that some of the veteran leaders are afraid of taking such a bold step.

Some political leaders, including the ailing former prime minister K P Bhattarai, still want some political space for the King. They want to give the monarchy a ceremonial role despite the fact that over 90 per cent of the Nepalis prefer republicanism.

People no longer see the usefulness of the monarchy for the country, as was made amply clear in the April Uprising a year ago. If the politicians disregard the mandate of Jana Andolan II, they will lose popular support.

Ganga L Pradhan, Bharatpur

Ruthless

The news “Smuggled rare birds killed at TIA” (THT, March 31) was shocking. Killing rare species is unpardonable. The hasty decision taken by the TIA authorities shows how ill-trained and uninformed they are. They should know that birds affected by the flu hardly survive more than a week. Moreover, birds behave abnormally if they contract the deadly H5N1 virus. They should have known that parrots are not chickens. Instead, they should have put them under observation. The government should take this issue seriously and treat this case as a criminal offence.

Bharat Shah, Birgunj

Greater care

I like THT as it is a good newspaper for national and international news, as well as for good English. But it would be still better if greater care was taken to ensure that grammatical mistakes are minimised. Always maintaining a certain standard of language in a leading newspaper is important because many pupils try to learn English from what is written in national newspapers. It is also necessary to keep the general readers’ interest in the newspapers.

Raaz Bob, Kathmandu

Tarai conflict

More than three dozen Madhesis were killed and hundreds injured in course of the recent agitation in the Tarai. The Madhesis have been excluded from the national mainstream for the past 238 years. Now when they have taken to the streets to push for their rights, they are called ‘unscrupulous’ elements. There will neither be peace nor stability in the country unless the Madhesis are given their due.

Atma Ram Ray, TU, Kirtipur

Be sensitive

Bandhs and strikes actually serve no purpose. They only disrupt the daily activities and hamper businesses. The students are the real victims of the bandhs. Since the SLC examination is nearing, the agitators should stop all bandhs and strikes. They should be sensitive and understand the problems of students.

Moreover, it would be good if the authorities concerned could do something about the load shedding timings. At least during the evenings, there should be no power cut for the benefit of the SLC students.

Shiva Neupane and Upasana Dahal, RR Campus