Protect child rights:

The people must welcome the government’s recent action plan to manage child labour in Nepal. Since Nepal is a poor country, many children from the rural areas are actually forced to work because of their families’ pathetic economic condition. So it is difficult to ban child labour altogether. But small children should not be allowed to work in hazardous conditions.

Special care must be taken for their education, health and future. The companies or factories that force children into hazardous work should be brought to book. The government should regulate the actions and policies of the factories in order to stop child exploitation.

Amit Shrestha, Nepalgunj

Only way:

All the political parties involved in the present conflict know that negotiation is the ultimate way out of the present crisis and any delay would only make matters worse. Death of innocent and duty-bound Nepalis can never be justified. Only a Gandhian spirit and discipline, tolerance and soul-searching can provide a safe exit from the present quagmire. The political stakeholders must create a conducive environment, including seriously requesting neutral countries or the UN to mediate for broad-based talks. Simply agitating and speaking aggressively at political gatherings, which are said to be for bringing the derailed democracy back on track, is not acceptable to the public who knows that the parties and its leaders are using democracy only for their own benefit. The leaders must show courage to acknowledge that they are to be blamed in the first place for their self-centred power-grabbing games and corruption, which were largely responsible for the present crisis in the country. The civil society and human rights groups must act as catalytic forces and strong monitors. They better persuade the political leaders to realise their mistakes and take corrective action.

Ramesh B Shrestha, Lalitpur

Generosity:

We must be thankful to the foundation that helped to establish a 43-bed hospital at Gokarna for the terminally ill patients. The need for such an institution is even greater with the increasing number of patients suffering from AIDS, cancer, etc. Social organisations should come forward and help the HIV/AIDS patients in order to remove the stigma attached to this disease. All those foreigners and foreign foundations deserve kudos for their contribution to the welfare of the needy of this country. Our own NGOs should learn some lessons.

S Lamsal, via e-mail

Avoid it:

People have been using plastic for thousands of years without being aware of the environmental dangers caused by it. Plastic is a non-biodegradable substance, that is, it does not decompose. Over the last few decades, the use of plastic has been increasing because of its easy availability and has become indispensable to our modern way of life. But its environmental impact is immense. It is said to be one of the major causes of pollution in the world. Thus, it is the duty of every human being to curtail the use of plastic as much as possible and contribute to creating a pollution-free environment.

Deepak Joshi Pokhral, Kirtipur