Incompetent RCCC

The RCCC should be complimented for unmasking those politicians, some dating back to the

Panchayat days, whose insatiable greed for ill-gotten wealth had gone so far as to gobble up the money meant exclusively for the relief of the people suddenly struck by natural calamities or disasters. But its verdict remains incompetently delivered because it failed to direct the government to frame and implement rules that would make it impossible for others in power to steal resources from the poor and hungry in the country. But THT’s editorial on the subject (June 29, 2005) is stranger yet. It had no word of rebuke for the irresponsible politicians for having misappropriated the resources for themselves. As has been its tendency since February 1, it has only tried to find fault with the government including the RCCC for prosecuting, although unsuccessfully, looters of poor people’s resources in the garb of being politicians. It alone knows what motivates it to do so.

Bihari Krishna Shrestha, Chakupat, Lalitpur

Street dogs

It was nice to read the feature article “A painter and a veterinary doctor” published in THT on June 29. I would like to convey my sincere gratitude to Jan Salter, who has been devoting her precious time to looking after the helpless streets dogs. Though many people keep pet dogs as they are considered a man’s best friend, the condition of those left uncared for on the streets is pathetic. The article says that thousands of street dogs are mercilessly poisoned

to death. The other day I happened to pass a street dog who was struggling for his life as someone had ruthlessly stoned it thinking it could have been infected with rabies simply because it moved toward that person out of nowhere. I really felt sad and helpless. But Salter’s organisation could help such dogs. It has been dedicated to animal treatment and is looking after many stray dogs. Salter and her Kathmandu Animal Treatment (KAT) truly deserve high praise for putting in the much-needed effort to help these dogs. There are many more of these untamed dogs in the streets of the city. They too have their rights and so they deserve to be cared for and given proper food and shelter. There should be more organisations like the KAT and people like Jan Salter, who could care and make this world more friendly for the animals.

Vimal Thapa, via e-mail

Education

I can hardly bear the sight of small children working hard on the streets, that too in this summer heat. There are many child labourers employed in the factories or as domestic helps in this country. Nepal has a substantial number of street children and it is a serious problem. But nothing concrete seems to have been done to help these children. Besides poverty and

illiteracy, I think population growth is also a leading cause for the rise in the number of street children. There is a need to educate the poor parents on family planning. Primary education should be made free and vocational training must be initiated for the villagers. If they become self-sufficient, they need not discard their children or send their children to hazardous work.

Sudan Gautam, via e-mail