Here are some of the top stories from The Kathmandu Post (June 19, 2019).
After widespread condemnation, government backtracks on Guthi Bill
After criticisms and condemnations from various sections of society and from among the members of the ruling party itself, the government on Tuesday decided to withdraw the Guthi Bill.
Organising a press meet, Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Padma Kumari Aryal informed the media that her ministry had decided to withdraw the bill.
Aryal had presented the bill to the National Assembly on May 20.
For the first time, ruling party lawmakers criticise Oli administration’s foreign policy
Days after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli returned from a week-long trip to Europe, lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties have criticised his administration’s handling of foreign policy.
Speaking at a regular session of the House while deliberating on the budget allocated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ruling party lawmakers questioned the “independence and efficacy” of the Oli administration’s foreign policy conduct.
“We talk about non-alignment, but sometimes we tilt south and at other times, we tilt north,” said Janardan Sharma, a senior ruling party leader. “Sometimes, we are even running towards the west. This shows that we are not conducting our diplomacy as per the principle of non-alignment.”
Pashupatinath area—declared a ‘beggar-free zone’ only a year ago—sees almost double the number of beggars this year
It’s scorching hot and Kanchi Tamang, who lost all her fingers to leprosy, sits in the shade of the gate at the entrance of the main temple of Pashupatinath—begging for alms from passers-by. With her are two other women beggars, one deaf and the other dumb.
Sixty-six-year-old Tamang and her two companions—until recently—used to live in the Samakhushi-based Manab Sewa Ashram. The ashram was established by the Pashupati Area Development Trust in coordination with the Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation as a shelter for beggars living around the Pashupatinath area.
Around 180 beggars were moved to the ashram in April last year, and then the area was announced as 'beggar-free zone’. The task was highly appreciated, even by the late Rabindra Adhikari, minister for Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation, who had then requested the trust to ‘give them livelihood skills.’
Casteism is so deeply entrenched, not even law can deter it
Elected local representatives from Dalit communities in Province 5 say that they continue to be treated as low-caste people in their constituencies.
Though the constitution has made caste-based discrimination a punishable crime, casteism and untouchability custom are still prevalent in many parts of the province.
Tulasa Sunar, deputy chief of Gaumukhi Rural Municipality in Pyuthan district, says as a Dalit she faces discrimination every day.
30.12°C Kathmandu
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