HoR special session: Lawmakers draw government’s attention on various issues

Kathmandu, Aug 29: In a special session of the House of Representatives (HoR) meeting today, lawmakers, through the Speaker, drew the government’s attention to the need to combat corruption, irregularities and smuggling for promoting good governance. They urged the government to address issues of public concern. Dr Chanda Karki Bhandari termed corruption, bad governance, smuggling and institutional crime the major concerns of the country, overshadowing the matters of public importance.

She demanded the government to own up the responsibility for keeping high-cost medical equipment including ventilator, haemodialysis and ultrasound machines in a neglected situation. The number of such devices across the country is 233, she said. Bina Jaisawal advised the government to promote the animal rights while Janata Samajbadi Party’s chief whip Pradeep Yadav informed the House that big corporate houses owe over Rs 10 billion to the Nepal Electricity Authority.

Ambar Bahadur Thapa demanded the government come up with measure measures against corruption and smuggling and Abdul Khan urged the government to address the demand of students agitating in the local Maitighar Mandala against the ‘increased’ fee for engineering education. Arun Kumar Chaudhary notified the House about the condition of Attariya road section along the East-West Highway in Kailali, demanding its upgrading.

Prem Suwal was worried about the ‘encroachment’ of India security personnel against the citizens residing along the Tarai/Madhesh border line. As he said, a parliamentary team which recently reached Dodhara Chandani and Tanakpur of Kanchanpur for a field-visit was intervened by the Indian security and interrogated near the 706 border pillar at Sundar Nagar of Dodhara Chandani.

Lawmakers call for preserving cultural heritage Similarly, lawmakers have called attention of the government on a host of issues as tourism, infrastructure development, road improvement, energy and agriculture development, maintaining religious tolerance and communal harmony, and allocating adequate budget for the rehabilitation of people affected by disasters. They also urged the government to pay attention to the protection and promotion of the cultural heritages across the country, including those in the Kathmandu Valley. Lawmakers airing their views on these topics in the Special Hour session of the HoR today include Prem Bahadur Maharjan, Damodar Poudel Bairagi, Ram Prakash Chaudhary, Shanti BK, Prabhu Hajara and Saraswoti Bajimaya.