By P.R. Pradhan
The system itself is a white elephant for a Nepal like country. Besides, the political leaders, who claim themselves as “people’s representatives”, have become white elephants for the Nepali taxpayers.
For example, five helicopters flew to Lidi in Sindhupalckowk carrying VIPs for a sightseeing of the landslides hit areas. The Lidi village was swept away claiming around 30 lives. Locals have no money even to cover the dead bodies with white clothes (which is essential following the Tamang ritual), VIPs visited the landslide sites but no relief was provided to the victims except assurances! One can assume the travel expenses of the VIPs by five helicopters. The victims are urgently needed relief and rescue supports, not assurances!
Senior journalist Dhurba Hari Adhikary has twitted a Sanskrit proverb, “the nation and people will suffer in absence of the leader; the nation and the people will also suffer if there are many leaders!” From both fronts, Nepal and the Nepali people are suffering today.
Not an odd, Nepal is inside a dark tunnel. All the organs have virtually been failed. Now, helpless people are looking towards the Nepal Army, unfortunately, this organ has also remained as a silent spectator on the downfall of the country!
The Covid-19 pandemic has created havoc among the people. Despite months-long lockdown, the pandemic infection cases are on the rise at an alarming level. The Valley has become vulnerable as every day around 100 to 200 people are found infected with the Covid-19 pandemic. Beds are scarce in hospitals, there are a very little number of ventilators and the government has made no effort to overcome the pandemic. Yes, the government has instructed not to issue travel pass but everyday people are travelling to the Valley without any restriction. When asked to a street vendor who had arrived from the No 2 province, he said, he had to pay just 10 thousand rupees to enter the Valley. It means, brokers have made the restriction as a money-making tool. The security personnel deployed in passes entering the Valley to stop newcomers have closed their eyes. Suspension of international flights to control the spread of the pandemic has become meaningless as the flow of migration from India has not been stopped. Now, commoners have started to say that as the Nepal Police or the Armed Police are unable to control migration of the people, the Army should be deployed on their place. This is the state of the nation, where, the government has failed to show its presence. The government’s order is not being followed properly by its own organs.
At a time when the nation is suffering from multiple crises, neither the federal government nor the provincial government or the local government is seen performing their duties but misusing the government fund by increasing their own facilities.
The leaders of the ruling party are fighting for power. The prolonged quarrel among the leaders has irritated the general public at large.
Teachers are not getting their salary since schools are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The private schools, which are charging maximum fees from the students, have denied paying salary of the teachers. Viewing such anarchism performed by the private schools, constitutional expert Bhimarjun Acharya has asked the government to nationalize all the private schools. He has also suggested suspending the provinces which are proved to be white elephant for the country.
Former president of the Finance Committee in the then Rashtriya Panchayat Bhagawatidas Shrestha has expressed his utter dissatisfaction on the increase of land tax by 600 per cent by the local government in Ilam. To note, Shrestha had spent his energetic youth days in construction of the Mechi Highway even by donating a large portion of his land for the highway. Alike him, many people had donated their precious land for construction of the highway. The track of the highway from Chharali to Ilam was opened by the local under the labour donation campaign. Now, the local government has made the highway and the land touched by the highway as the means of making money!
We have been reading reports that farmers have been compelled to dispose of their land to pay the land tax to the local governments.
The number of provinces and local bodies were allotted as per the whim of the political leaders, which is not based on practical realities such as geography, natural resources, population, among others. In result, the nation has become unable to feed these white elephants. To feed these unnecessary organs, the three governments have imposed taxes on the citizens. In the Nepali context, squeezing citizens by their representatives has become the best example of communism and socialism.
To make the economy sustainable, the provincial structure must be suspended and misuse of the government fund must be stopped. The contradiction is that the government spent 6 billion rupees in the last fiscal year to procure new vehicles. Again, in this fiscal year, the government has allotted 6.5 billion rupees to purchase new vehicles but it has no fund to purchase ventilator, essential to save lives of those suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic! This reflects the priorities of the communist government.
People’s Review Print Edition
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