Honour sans benefits:

Out of 26 Victoria Cross (VC) medals — one of the highest medals awarded to the First and Second World War warriors — 13 were awarded to the Gurkhas. There are only three VC recipients now who fought for the expansion of the British empire during World War II. It is sad that none of them were seen at the VJ Day commemoration in the UK. It is also unfortunate that rifleman Bhanu Bhakta Gurung, 85, one of the winners of the VC, does not receive any pension. Rifleman Mandhoj Thapa, 86, another veteran from World War II, carries a 20 kg cooking gas cylinder from door to door to make ends meet. Currently, he has taken shelter in one of the homes for the elderly in Kathmandu. There are many others who are leading a life of misery and pain in different parts of Nepal. This is really unfair. Honour without benefits is useless.

Yam Gurung, Britain

Internal strife:

The second phase of development in the Nepali Congress (NC) smacks of slavish mentality. The debate and internal bickerings prove that its leaders are unable to consolidate democracy within their own party, though they are crying for the restoration of democracy in the country. It is sad that a party with so much legacy behind it is now torn apart by its own members.

Ishwari Pradhan, via e-mail

Admirable:

This is in response to Anubhuti Parajuli’s Midway article titled “Do you get it?” published in THT on August 22. I want to congratulate Anubhuti for writing such a brilliant piece. His article on how headlines in our newspapers are often misleading was written in good style. I expect more of such Midway pieces.

Narendra Raj Regmi, Pokhara

Uniformity:

I am writing this letter to add a few points to Parag Piya’s letter “Traffic lights” published in THT on August 23. The pedestrians alone are not to blame for violating traffic rules. It is true that they cross roads from anywhere disregarding traffic signals and overhead bridges. But the drivers never care for the pedestrians, either, as they carelessly drive over zebra crossings. Zebra-crossings are for the pedestrians to cross the roads safely and they should therefore receive priority if there is no traffic signal. But in Nepal, very few drivers know that zebra-crossings are meant for the pedestrians. The drivers simply buzz past the crossings, terrifying the pedestrians with noisy horns. Moreover, the valley’s traffic signals lack uniformity. Take for instance the traffic lights at Kesharmahal. When you drive from Kantipath or Lazimpat to Durbar Marg, you have to wait until the green arrow appears. But at the same intersection, if you are coming from Thamel or Durbar Marg, you do not have to wait for the green arrow to turn left because it does not appear there. Drivers can turn left without waiting for the green arrow. In this case, pedestrians can never cross the road even when the light for the pedestrians to cross is on because the vehicles keep coming to the left side. Traffic rules must be uniform so that drivers and pedestrians are not confused.

Dipak Tuladhar, Durbar Marg