Hydropower potential:

Nepal has a vast hydropower potential of 83GW. The government has the vision of producing 2,500MW of electricity by 2025, which is much less than what the actual requirement of the Nepalis would be by that time. Experience tells us that governments in Nepal have hardly ever delivered on their promises fully. Only God can help this country achieve that modest target.

The government should learn from our neighbour Bhutan, which is currently developing around 3GW of electricity with the help of India. It gets 10 per cent of the power absolutely free. Last year India added around 6GW of power and if we can allow India free access to our water resources, it can develop it all within 2025. And if we take just 10 per cent of it, we will still have 8300 MW for free. And that’s more than thrice the figure of our government’s plan. Most of India’s new power addition will now come from nuclear energy, which is far more expensive than hydropower. It would definitely seek to develop our resources. Hydropower being 90 per cent more efficient, at present it is the most preferred form of energy generation. We must make the maximum use of our hydropower and gain from partnership with energy-hungry India.

Bharat Shah, Tyagal

Privatisation:

This is in response to the Point-Counterpoint topic “Should handling of wildlife parks be handed over to non-govt bodies?” published in THT’s Agenda page of Perspectives on March 5. Although both the writers conveyed their personal point of view to make the people understand the real situation of our national parks, I want to question, how can privatisation be the answer to all the ills facing the parks at present? How can private companies do better, attract more tourists as well as the public all of a sudden? The government was collecting a mere Rs. 50,000 in revenue from the parks even after a lot of efforts. How would the private companies increase that amount? Are they going to make the entry free or add more animals?

Jesse Lepcha, via e-mail

Concession:

For a long time the students of the Kathmandu Valley have benefited from the 33 per cent concession on all local transport services. But this is not applied to other cities of the country. At least there is confusion regarding this policy in places like Biratnagar. Also, on many occasions the bus conductors show us a notice that allows them to give concession to not more than one student in the bus. This is ridiculous. We are anxious to know the real policy. Will the officials concerned clarify?

Prajwal Baral and friends, Kathmandu

Holi:

Holi is still one week away but some boys have already started throwing water balloons at pedestrians. These boys should not victimise the public in the name of this festival. The government should ban people from playing Holi in the streets and punish those who harass people. It is high time such people were taught some manners. Local retailers should not sell non-biodegradable substances like plastic for the purpose of celebrating Holi since it contributes to the pollution of the city.

Narenda Ghimire, via e-mail