Unhealthy competition

In the old days, colleges announced the opening of admissions by highlighting their good quality of education, good infrastructure, and their excellent teaching faculty. Today, most advertisements are adorned with the swanky pictures of SLC toppers. Hence your news

“Make colleges, media houses accountable for admission ads” (July 17) was relevant. The unhealthy competition among the colleges is increasing the dilemma of the students. Now it has become a routine practice among colleges to claim their top student as a board topper. The SLC toppers are invited for felicitation ceremonies by many colleges, but their real intent is to publicise their institutions through the photos and autographs of these toppers. Shouldn’t such claims be verified before the colleges are allowed to publish such advertisements? The

freedom these colleges now enjoy can only increase the unhealthy competition and deprive many good students of quality education.

Dilip Dachhepati, Pulchowk Campus

Unhygienic

Dead bodies are regularly cremated at the Maitidevi temple premises. Once the funeral pyre is set on fire, the air is filled with foul smells and thick plumes of smoke. The people living in the vicinity are severely affected by this. The pedestrians and the children playing in the nearby school suffer too. I have to shut the doors and windows to keep the nauseating odour from entering our house. Cremations cannot be justified in such public places. This kind of practice should be stopped immediately by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City if it is serious about protecting the health of the citizens. The temple authorities are to be blamed for it as well. Nobody has the right to play with public health.

Ichha Poudyel, Maitidevi

Peace process

NC leader G P Koirala recently visited India, where he met a number of political leaders, and asked for their support for the restoration of democracy in Nepal. He seems to have achieved two things by the visit. One, he is once again being seen as the commander-in-chief of the pro-democracy movement. Two, the Maoists have responded positively to his clarion call for a dialogue. But his precondition that they should give up violence is unlikely to go well with

the Maoists. Perhaps Koirala is not aware of the Marxist-Leninist revolution in Russia. Once the communist party came to power after ending the Czarist rule with the help of popular support, the political parties were instantly banned. Whoever ignored the government’s command were thrown into prisons or simply killed. Recent examples of the far-left atrocities can be seen in Cambodia and Peru. Hence the engagement with the Maoists is fraught with dangers. Instead, the political parties and the government should swallow their pride and find a common ground to start a meaningful peace process. No other country can help us on this issue. The recent statement by the UN official Brahimi confirms this. Once peace is restored, elections can be held and whoever gets the majority in the House can lead the country. However, the revival of the House of Representatives is not the answer to the present problems.

BP Sharma, Jamal