This is apropos of the tragic news story “Goma Air flight crashes in Lukla” (THT, May 28, Page 1). As reported, Nepal has an unenviable record of 57 air crashes since 1946 including 25 after 2000 AD. As usual, a high-level committee will be formed and this time the findings will probably point fingers at the inclement, foggy weather and a lone tree that hit the landing plane, and not the dead pilot and his severely wounded assistant as is the wont of probe panels in this country.

Another news on the tragedy “It was a scene of total chaos” (THT, May 28, Page 1) points to the urgent need for order at the world’s most treacherous airport as well as in the country. Chaos causes confusion and impedes the rescue efforts. We need experts for air or bus accident rescue works and overall management at the sites, and not pedestrian volunteers as traffic assistants that can confuse our rustic jaywalkers from Jestha 16. Pedestrian volunteers, despite their best intentions and efforts, can cause just the opposite of the intended action and result.

What we need in Lukla, which wears the  reputation as one of the world’s most treacherous airports in the world, is a world-class hospital and a posse of world-class trained volunteers or paid staff who can rescue pilots trapped in the cockpit as fast and as safely as possible. It takes technical knowledge to pull out people from the aircraft and buses - you cannot just yanked them out with Gorkhali power.

On security, some famous mountaineers have recently opened our eyes to the need of impenetrable security in the mountains. One penniless would-be climber was arrested loitering around without equipment and resources needed to summit peaks, while another ascended Everest from the north face in Tibet and descended from the South face in Nepal. What if they had been IS operatives? As it is, BBC has already reported theft of life-sustaining oxygen

cylinders from various camps on the way to the highest peak in the world.

Manohar Shrestha, Kathmandu

Biopic

International cricket’s greatest cricketer as well as batter Sachin Tendulkar’s life is about to be brought into silver screen as Bollywood is preparing for it. Just like the biopic of Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was brought into limelight, the same is going to take place soon with another cricketer whose popularity reaches much higher than of the former. Mainly the Indians will come to know everything about the 44-year old cricketer from Mumbai, Maharashtra. Undoubtedly when his biopic will be made, it will take the form of a film and that will be seen also in Nepal with full interest. But it’s really surprising for a country like Nepal because cricketers from this part of the world should also be brought in the silver screen. Of course, we don’t have any world-class cricketer at the moment but what we can do is we should go on for some selective but naturally talented cricketers who have made Nepal really feel proud in the international arena.

Pratik Shrestha, Buddhanagar