NA members raise concerns over monsoon disaster management

Members taking part in today’s meeting of the National Assembly (NA) have voiced their concerns over the management of a wide range of issues. They spoke about managing monsoon-induced disasters, scarcity of vaccines against COVID-19, claiming back encroached Nepali lands to countering political anomalies among others.

Some of the members have criticised that the provincial and local units were not bestowed with authority as stipulated in the Constitution of Nepal. They also decried that the irresponsible statement and act on the part of a minister in the incumbent government regarding an incident related to Dalit communities recently.

Janata Samajbadi Party’s Sekhar Singh, Udaya Sharma Poudel and Bimala Rai have called for rescue, relief and resettlement operations for those hit hard by monsoon-induced disasters such as flood, landslide and inundation among others.

They also drew the attention of the government to ensure a smooth supply of vaccines against COVID-19 and provide COVID-19 vaccines to the elderly, people with disabilities among other disadvantaged communities reaching out to their doorsteps.

Similarly, parliamentarian Dr Khimlal Devkota spoke of the need for the government to make effective efforts to take back the encroached Nepali lands, arguing that it could not safeguard the constitution unless we would emphasise honesty and integrity.

Similarly, CPN UML’s Ram Lakhan Chamar demanded amendment in the appointments in the National Dalit Commission as he viewed that those appointments were not based on the Constitution’s essence, sentiments and principle of proportional and inclusive representation.

He opined that the political parties were on the prowl of the judiciary. According to him, only fresh polls were the solutions to the current political stalemate. Reinstatement of HoR would not provide an outlet to the political deadlock, he argued.

Likewise, another NA member from CPN UML Komal Oli opined that nobody should evaluate the incumbent government and blame it based on its weakness in the past.

Defending the incumbent government, the member representing the ruling party cited the loss of many lives due to CPN (Maoist Centre)’s political vanity. She opined that any political party that fails to perform well should not interfere with the activities of those willing to deliver.

Nepali Congress’s Drigha Narayan Pandey underscored unity and national consensus between democratic and republican parties to douse the voices against republic and federalism.

CPN (Maoist Centre)’s Kim Kumar BK argued that the constitutional provisions and government’s acts and activities should be evaluated. He drew the attention of the government towards an incident of caste-based discrimination prevailing in the society including metropolitan cities like Kathmandu.

Chakra Prasad Snehi from the same party demanded an impartial probe into the mysterious death of Ashmita Dhami, 26, of Parshuram Municipality in Dadheldhura district who was working as the Primary Health Post in the locality.