Kathmandu, 16 March: Janamat Party MP Abdul Khan has drawn the government’s attention to the upliftment of the Dalit community in the Terai.
In today’s special session of the House of Representatives, MP Khan said that the educational, economic and health conditions of Madhesi Dalits are poor and they are facing social exclusion. He drew the government’s attention to the fact that the Dom and Musahar communities, deprived of opportunities, are still forced to face discrimination.
“The adult literacy rate of the Madhesi Dalit community is only 23.1 percent. This community is still deprived of education, employment, health and opportunities,” he said. “When a citizen is deprived of basic human rights, it raises a question mark on democracy.”
In a special session, Nepal Workers’ and Peasants’ Party MP Prem Suwal stressed the need to freeze the assets, investments and confiscate the passports of the officials of the cooperatives that have gone bankrupt in order to return the money of the cooperative savers. He drew the government’s attention through the Speaker on contemporary issues and emphasized the need to focus on economic development. “Is it possible to do no economic development and only talk about democracy?”, he said.
Democratic Socialist Party Nepal MP Ram Prakash Chaudhary suggested that the government be serious about adding lifetime service benefits to former distinguished officials. He expressed his suspicion that the lifetime service benefits would be targeted towards people’s representative benefits. MP Chaudhary said that nearly 18,000 prisoners are sick and drew the government’s attention to their medical treatment. He also demanded that the issue of pardoning prisoners during various festivals be reconsidered to reduce the financial burden on the state due to prisoners.
Musahar community in Terai
Aam Janata Party MP Prabhu Shah drew the attention of the concerned ministry to make Nepal Airlines competitive. For that, he brought up the need for reforms and management by controlling the situation within this airline.
MP Shah drew the attention of the concerned ministry to make Nepali skies safe, conduct C-checks and control air fares. “Five aircraft are lying idle. These aircraft should either be flown or managed. What message is the government trying to send by increasing the expenditure burden so much?” he said.
MP Yogendra Mandal urged to solve the problem at the source of Chatara Canal. “The canal, which was aimed at irrigating 68,000 hectares of arable land, has now been limited to 8,000. Farmers have been affected,” said MP Mandal.
Nepali Congress MP Rama Koirala Poudyal said that the upcoming budget should be presented in a way that promotes the informal economy. She emphasized on the implementation of the Labor Act and pointed out the need for regulation in the implementation of the contribution-based social security fund. She also drew attention to addressing the problems of workers going for foreign employment.
