NA Session: Concerns from Pathibhara cable car construction to Jajarkot quake raised

KATHMANDU: In a session of the National Assembly (NA) today, lawmakers drew the government’s attention to various issues concerning the citizens, urging it to take measures for addressing them.

In a special hour of the upper house today, Sumitra BC stressed that the NA winter session be focused on addressing the public concerns along with the enactment of laws.

Expressing her concern over increasing cases of women violence in the nation, she demanded the government to take measures for combating the violence, taking action against the responsible.

She also apprised the House that some of survivors of the Jajarkot earthquake occurred one and half year ago have not yet received the second installment of relief assistance, she urged the government to promptly address the situation.

Gopi Bahadur Achhami Sarki urged the government to sit for a dialogue with both sides concerning the Pathibhara cable car construction project and find a proper way out to the issue. He also urged the government to be serious over the management of the wild elephant menace in Koshi and for the reconstruction of BP Highway before the rains.

Bishnu Kumari Sapkota said though ordinances issued by the government recently have various good provisions, they still have a room for revisions. She further highlighted the need to revise the Constitution for what she argued its effective implementation. The Constitutional is amendable, she added.

The lawmaker also stressed that it is urgent to create an atmosphere so that youth force could seek an investment career within the home instead of mind mapping for abroad opportunities.

Jayanti Devi Rai said the recent killing of two teenage girls as they had been in a jungle for a goat hoarding at Dhakari of Achham district is completely inhumane, demanding the government take action against the guilty and ensure justice to the bereaved families.

She called for enabling an environment to allow girls live independently and safely.

Lawmaker Bamdev Gautam said he is neither in favour nor against the ordinances, stressing that the opposition parties should be taken along while issuing the ordinances and the democratic system should not be violated. “We can establish socialism. This is the present need and we have the capital necessary for it,” he said arguing that socialism could be developed along with capitalism.

Puja Chaudhary suggested taking additional initiatives for securing the release of Bipin Joshi, a Nepali student said to be in the captivity of Hamas in Gaza, Palestine when there is a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine.

She also called attention of the government towards the removal of the Tharu quota in the Province Civil Service positions although the Tharu community has the fourth largest population among the indigenous nationalities communities.

Padam Bahadur Pariyar said the government has not even until now been able to manage land for the people of the Dalit community by formulating the required laws despite the constitution having such a provision.

He complained that the government has not given appropriate attention to the rights of the Dalit community no matter which party is in the government.

Jaga Prasad Sharma said the topic of allotting land to the landless people incorporated in the ordinance related to land was positive and cautioned against the possibility of the land Mafiosi attempting at manipulation when the land ceiling is waived.

Gopal Bhattarai said that it is a normal practice for the government to bring ordinances when the Parliament is not in session and reminded of the instances in which some governments in the past had even brought ordinances the next day after the parliament session had been prorogued.

He said providing land to the landless and the Dalit in an easy manner was good and bringing ordinance to regulate the cooperatives operating with ulterior motive was also a positive development.