This is with reference to the news story “Wetlands in Nepal” (THT, March 1, Page 12). The news story states that there are at present only “nine wetlands” included in the Ramsar sites. The fact is that there are 10 Ramsar sites in Nepal, the latest being the ‘Lake cluster of the Pokhara Valley’ with nine lakes of Pokhara sub-metropolitan city and Lekhnath municipality which has been declared as the Ramsar sites. These lake clusters were declared in the list of Ramsar sites while celebrating the World Wetlands Day on February 2. Similarly, the official website of Bird Conservation Nepal states that 876 species of birds have been recorded in Nepal. This piece of information provided in the website contradicts with the information on the news story which puts the number at 841. As a student of Institute of Forestry I am confused to know as to which information is accurate. The news story should have mentioned the sources of information based on which the number of bird species have been recorded. There is no doubt that there are several hundred species of birds due to varied biodiversities, varied topography and climate. Some of the birds found in Nepal are migratory which arrive here, mostly in Ramsar areas, only for breeding, and they cannot be listed in the domestic category. It would be betters if an authorized government agency gives the accurate number of bird species in the country.

Aditya Acharya, IoF, Pokhara

Apartheid?

We, the Gurkhas, also have been facing “apartheid” system in Hong Kong in the last British administrative Hong Kong. Different schools for the Gurkha children and different terms and conditions for the Gurkhas still exist compared to our British counterparts in pay, accommodation and education. It has been more than 200 years and the Gurkhas are still struggling hard to find an equal status in the UK. This was a sad incident that took place on March 4, 2016,when I was travelling on 1720 hrs Green Line bus 755 from Victoria Station London to Luton. There was a white British gentleman and his spouse sitting on my right hand side of the seat. And the driver was also white and he was playing music loud and I put the earphone on my phone for distraction of the noise. And I was playing the music in low volume not to disturb other passengers. But the white British passenger sitting on my right hand side told me very angrily and pointed his finger at me to go right at the back of the bus. I asked him why I should go back to the seat.

It is very unfortunate and sad to say that the “apartheid” system and the “superior vs inferior” attitude still exist in the workplace and on the public buses even in the 21st century. They should also have the civic sense and behave politely with other non-white people living in the UK.

Yam Gurung, UK