It is good news that Bosnia and Herzegovina will be supporting the reconstruction of Suntakhan Secondary School in Sankhu. The school was damaged by the april 25 earthquake that devastated the western and central hilly regions. Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina for India and Nepal Dr Sabit Subasic and Buddhi Bahadur Shrestha, president, Suntakhan Secondary School Management Committee, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on August 4 regarding the reconstruction. Well it can be said that the country has been delivering a helping hand for Nepal which is still struggling to recover from the natural disaster which has caused huge losses of lives and property. Such a move by the European country will help strengthen ties with Nepal which still requires international support and assistance to rebuild the damaged infrastructure.

Pratik Shrestha, Kathmandu

Drought

Apropos of the news story “Tourism industry on tenterhooks” (THT, Perspectives, Aug. 23, Page 1), Nepal is facing transitional tourism drought following the devastating quake. While stakeholders are worried and rightly so, tourism might face further setback thanks to strikes and curfews in most part of the country. Under such bleak situation, the only way out seems to be baiting the tourists with cheap offers.

The government has no role in this. The stakeholders would do well to put their heads together and offer cheap packages to lure the visitors. The other option would be to wait out the drought by renovating and refurbishing the hotels and vigorously training the staff. Good guides and travel agents are already using tourism as a seasonal occupation to earn a few dollars every now and then by concentrating in other vocations. Some hoteliers have found out that renting out space and running colleges are more profitable than wrestling with the vagaries of tourism business.

J. Talchabhadell, Bhaktapur

Viability

After the devastating earthquake it was hoped that the leaders would learn some lessons to move forward to rebuild the nation. But they didn’t do so. They are now fighting again in the name of religion, caste and creed. Of course it is the religion, culture and tradition which maintain the people’s identity. But unity among ourselves is what makes our national identity. But sad to say is that the leaders have given the people a wrong impression that federalism is equivalent to having a state as per our caste. People should understand that federalism is only for country’s effective development and prosperity of all the regions by giving more powers and authority to the local people. Federalism is to ensure that all the national resources are best utilized properly and distributed to the wellbeing of the people. The country cannot be federated on the basis of religion, caste and people’s identity; it should be done keeping in mind the economic viability of a given federal unit which must be able to generate enough revenues to sustain its functioning.

Una Gautam, Kathmandu