BABBLES

By Babbler In developed countries, the government gives high priority to the rights of physically handicapped people and pedestrians. Therefore, the government constructs physically handicapped people-friendly footpaths, toilets and stairs. Normally, we can find wide footpaths in such countries. In Kathmandu, when the Kathmandu Metropolis Corporation decided to widen footpaths in the New Road area, the local Ward chair, Chinikaji Maharjan, stood against the decision of the Metropolis. He openly challenged the Kathmandu mayor saying that narrowing the road for vehicles would end the importance of the New Road, which is a foolish idea. As Maharjan represents a ruling party, he is backed by the party and trying to fail mayor Balen Shah. However, it seems, Balen is becoming more and more popular as long as the big parties are performing non-cooperation to him. The image of the new ministers    Prime Minister Oli and the PM in waiting Deuba are not the leaders out of controversy. PM Oli is facing the charge of being involved in the Giribandhu Tea Estate and many other scandals, whereas, Deuba is involved in different serious scams. Foreign Minister Dr Arzu Rana, DPMs Prakashman Singh and Bishnu Poudel, and ministers Saratsingh Bhandari and Deepak Khadka are not leaders having clean images. Against the given background, how the leadership is going to curb corruption and introduce good governance is a big challenge. The practice of assigning won men including relatives and those who pay commissions in advance in the constitutional bodies, judiciary, universities, ambassadorial posts, and chiefs of the government undertakings is not a rare odd. One ambassador appointed in a UML quota claimed that she had paid 30 million rupees in advance to get the ambassadorial post. Are these syndromes of good governance in Loktantra? A two-party system On the eve of the formation of the present coalition government,  UML leader Shankar Pokhrel said that the nation should adopt a two-party system for political stability. It means the idea of amendment of the constitution is to recognize just two big parties by undermining other political parties or ideologies. A government of brokers, middlemen and businessmen? If commoners don’t pay bills for water or electricity or else on time, they are subjected to paying a heavy penalty by the concerned authorities. This penalty system doesn’t apply to big businessmen and industrialists. The Nepal Electricity Authority supplied electricity to the industries by imposing almost 18-hour-long load-shedding to the commoners. The industries are to pay billions of rupees worth of dues to the NEA, a government undertaking. The industrialists have refused to pay the dues for years. The NEA cut off the electricity supply to these industries, nevertheless, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli gave the order to resume electricity supply to the industries immediately. Isn’t it the responsibility of the prime minister to support the NEA to get its payments? How the government undertakings become self-reliant when the chief executive of the government takes the side of those businessmen who are exploiting the nation’s coffer? The communist leaders in the Nepali loktantra have become the brokers of the businessmen, rather than working for the welfare of the commoners! QUOTES OF THE WEEK Be aware, KP Oli! When you become the prime minister, this country faces a loss. Shouldn’t the industrialists pay the electricity dues? Is the Nepal Electricity Authority the property of your mother-in-law Shakya? Are you getting the commission from the eight billion rupees worth of electricity dues? Who are you to give the order to resume the electricity line to those industrialists who have not paid the electricity bills of the Nepal government? Prem Singh Basnyat, PhD Being the prime minister of the country it looks odd to fight with a mayor. Khadg Prasadji, stop your stubbornness, let the city mayor work! Kul Rims The majority of Nepalese are poor. No matter how much they oppose the government policy of burdening their children with debt, it would be different if they could use foreign loans to build infrastructure and productive enterprises to increase their income. Unfortunately, Melamchi is a model of infrastructure before us! Dhruba H. Adhikary There is no regret for the death of 17 thousand people under his leadership. There is no doubt that the country has been pushed back 30 years by the guerilla war, there has been a great social imbalance and the society has not fully recovered from the extreme despair. On the contrary, visionary rebel, but who? Sharad Raj Pathak I wanted to convey this message to Dadeldhura's fortune-maker Sher (Lion) brother and Arzu. It seemed that a lot of development and employment opportunities would be created in Dadeldhura. But I found in a hotel in Bangalore, South India, all the workers were Nepalese and all of them were from our Dadeldhura district. Babu Lal Bhandari No matter from which background you come into politics, you should transform yourself into a politician as soon as possible. Otherwise, it is better to stay in your profession. Otherwise, as one Sir said, “If a 'clown' goes to the government, the government becomes a 'circus'. When the 'artists' go, the government becomes a 'drama'. And, when the 'NGO workers' go, the government becomes an 'NGO'. Muma Ram Khanal Gagan Thapa can also fall in this XYZ tomorrow if necessary. Let's understand the 'real' situation in time, where the corporate media are used to settling political accounts by becoming 'middlemen'. Even reporting on criminal charges is written in the same way that political commentary is written today, citing sources. Rajan Dada

 Excerpted and translated by Sushma Shrestha.