It has been a horrifying experience for the quake survivors of Gorkha this year as the northern and central parts of the district witnessed snowfall followed by hailstorm and light rain since last Friday “Snowfall in Gorkha adds to earthquake survivors’ woes,” (THT, Jan.10, Page 5). They are compelled to reel under bone-chilling cold climatic conditions. They are enduring great hardships and battling against the cold in the leaking makeshift shelters meant for a few months before a permanent settlement is arranged. But it has been nine months since the quake that the victims have been living in these tents with no hope of rehabilitation or relocation. It seems the concerned authorities have neglected the sense of humanity since their prodigal assertions have not come into action. They ought to listen to the victims’ woes and transcend all their anticipations. Furthermore, they will have to abide by the resolution of the government and unveil effective performance on the course of rehabilitation and emotional support to the quake survivors. Needless to say, every level-headed ones need to work in tandem with each other to mitigate further escalation of trouble. The mature and conscientious politicians need to think of their nation’s welfare rather than their own benefit, which is only possible by the patriotic fervour. The Prime Minister has already instructed the concerned authorities to do the needful to address the plight faced by the quake survivors. What the government agencies need to do is to execute the orders from the highest authority. The government system should function automatically to deal with such a grave situation.

Sanjog Karki, Tansen

Triathlon man

Recently Nepal Triathlon Association has appointed a foreign coach for triathlon. The organization related to the sports has appointed Danish coach named Peter Jakobsen for the good results in triathlon for the purpose of South Asian Games, because he is thought to be a right kind of person to help Nepal perform well in this discipline in the upcoming regional games which will be held next month. Triathlon mainly comprises of three sports like swimming, cycling and marathon, all of which are part of athletics. Jakobsen is a two-time winner of the Hawaii Triathlon (3.8 miles swimming, 180 km cycling and marathon) and Ultra Triathlon (19 km swimming, 900 km cycling and 200 km running). He has been assigned the job of training the Nepalese triathlon players hard so that they will give their cent per cent result for the tournament. Although it is a well-known fact that Nepal is currently facing the winter season, the Danish coach will not go for any excuse and will make sure that all the participating players will be trained at their best. The Nepali team will leave for Guwahati 10 days prior to the SA Games for final preparation. Now we should only think of the positive things to happen during the Games.

Pratik Shrestha,

Kathmandu