Give farmers a better deal:

The government always portrays its messages in favourable light. We can see this either on the roadside hoardings or in daily newspapers. Recently, I came across a public notice endorsed by the Ministry of Information and Communication portraying farmers as the backbone of society and hence the real heroes of the nation. Indeed, they deserve to be praised. But in contrast, the reality is just the opposite.

At a time when farmers want a fair price for their produce, they have little access to the proper market when they have harvested their crops or have to sell their goods at very low prices to middlemen. This discourages them from continuing in their occupation as farming becomes less profitable or just unprofitable, especially on a small scale. Hence, farmers are being ignored by the government. This reflects, despite government claims, the low priority it accords to the agricultural sector. Unless the government comes out with a policy of modernising its agriculture and help making farming attractive for the country’s farmers, the peasants will have to continue to live a hand-to-mouth life.

Chhavi Bhatt, Pokhara

Incentive:

An airline is reported to be offering employment to the cricketers of the Nepali team, including those from the U-19 team that won Plate Championship in the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka recently. Rewards and incentives such as this will help attract the most promising young people to sports, develop sports in the country and improve Nepal’s performance abroad.

When sportsmen and sportswomen do not have to worry about their and their family’s daily needs, they can concentrate more on their sports and they will do their utmost to excel as

better performance brings better rewards.

Pradeep Kandel, National College of Engineering, Balaju

Dialogue:

Nepal is suffering from political instability. Political parties failed to perform well. The King took over with promises of better governance and restoration of peace and democracy. The Maoists, on the other hand, are carrying a protracted insurgency on grounds that they want to give the downtrodden better political, economic and social justice. Unfortunately, it is the ordinary people who are made to suffer endlessly because of the confrontation among the political forces. It is, therefore, advisable for them to reach an understanding and hold a meaningful dialogue to restore lasting peace in the country.

Bibek Jha, Malangwa

Distortion:

Mahashivaratri is one of the greatest festivals of the Hindus. But some people take it as a fiesta and use drugs to please Lord Shiva. Why do people have to take drugs on Shivaratri day? By making themselves unconscious or sleepy by using drugs, especially ganja, these people don’t know where they are. On the other hand, there are people who trick innocent people by mixing such intoxicants with prasad and make them eat it. In fact, this tradition should be discarded. We should not use or eat anything that risks our own health. It is a distortion of Lord Pashupatinath’s greatness to use such undesirable things.

Hemraj Basnet, Chitwan