Kathmandu, May 27: Various MPs, at the beginning of the House of Representatives meeting the other day, sought time from Deputy Speaker Mrs Chitralekha Yadav who was presiding and drew the attention of the government towards various current issues in the country.

Raghuji Panta of the CPN-UML referred to the tense situation at the Gorakhapatra Corporation because bonus equivalent to a month’s pay had not been withheld, especially from the technical staff and alleged that the management had misappropriated Rs 20 million in arrears and the Minister for Information and Communications had attempted to weaken the corporation on the pretext of privatising it.

Mohan Bahadur basnet of the Nepali Congress drew the attention of the government towards the arms and ammunition being brought into the country through the Tatopani Customs point thereby affecting friendly ties with a neighbouring country. He demanded repair and maintenance of the Araniko Highway and bridges leading to Tatopani where revenue to the tune of Rs 150 million is collected daily.

Subhash Chandra Nembang of the CPN-UML alleged that the statement of the Minister for Foreign Affairs regarding the bhutanese refugees and the actual facts were at variance and said as there had ben no agreement on any of the points including categorisation of the refugees, the Souse should be informed immediately about this.

Homnath Dahal of the Nepali Congress sought information on the abduction of a father and son of a subedi family by Maoists in Rolpa district and drew the attention of the government towards the manhandling of a journalist for writing about the police.

Astalaxmi Shakya of the CPN-UML said that herds of deer and pigs from Raniban Jungle had damaged the standing crops in a nearby village and sought the fencing off of the jungle and succour to the victims.

Bharat Kumar Shaha of the Nepali Congress drew the attention of the government towards the suffering of the local people in Nepalese villages close to the southern border because of Indian bandits and sought clarifications from the government regarding failure to start construction work on the Mayadevi Temple that Nepal should have built at Lumbini.

Rajendra Prasad Pandey of the CPN-UML sought a reply from the Home Minister on the dead body of Sumeeta Bika of Gorkha found along with gymnastic goods inside a jute bag along the Trishuli River. He said the police had released a person arrested in this connection.

Leader of the parliamentary party of the Nepal Sadbhavana Party Badri Prasad Mandal said that as the Election Commission had distributed voters identity cards for all the wards of Morang district from the same place, many voters remain deprived of their cards.

Ganga Prasad Nepal of the CPN-UML said that as the people living for a long time on unregistered land in many parts of the country always feel insecure, an environment free of fear should be created for them. He also drew attention towards the construction of embankments in Sindhuli district.

Narayan Prasad Saud of the Nepali Congress said that though 18 commissions had been constituted regarding the project to extend the area of the Royal Shuklaphanta Reserve in Kanchanpur district, no extension had taken place so far and local people had been cheated to the tune of Rs 30,000 on the pretext of providing them land.

Mangal Siddhi Manandhar of the CPN-UML referred to the inactivity of the police at Swayambhu last night when two gunmen created panic for two hours and sought a reply from the government concerning this incident that took place in the capital.

Devendra Raj Kadel of the Nepali Congress alleged that oxen were being smuggled to Bangladesh from Nabalparasi, Kapilbastu, Rupandehi and Kakarbhitta districts with the connivance of the CDO of Parsa district and sought immediate action from the government over this matter. General secretary of the Nepali Congress Shushil Koirala drew the attention of the government towards the problems that had arisen as a result of the construction of a dam on the Rapti at Nepalgunj by the Indian side and said that Gaur, Rajbiraj and some other places in the country were in danger because of the more than 134 kilometres of embankment raised on the Indian side.

Hem Nararayan Yadav of the CPN-UML alleged that the chief district officer of Siraha had appointed six persons to vacant posts in complicity with various organisations and institutions and sought immediate action against the concerned officer.

Gorakh Bahadur Bogati of CPN UML said famine is widespread in Humla district, but the government is sending rice there priced Rs 42 per kilo in the name of supplying foodgrain. Instead of sending rice purchased for earning a commission, the people there should be supplied rice that is within their purchasing power.

Ram Kumar Chaudhari of Nepali Congress said that with various bridges in Saptari district beyond the customs now broken down some ll villages are on the point of being cut off, and as a dam is being built on the Indian border to stem the waters from the Koshi River, l0 villages are likely to be inundated. The government should pay immediate attention so that no conflict takes place there between the two sides.

Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav of Nepal Sadbhavana Party said police are behaving improperly towards MPs at Singha Durbar gate be they from the ruling or opposition parties and drew attention to the fact that an MP is unable to take even one person with him inside Singha Durbar.

Janakraj Giri of NC said hailstorms in Bajura had resulted in much damage and the wheat crop destroyed on a large scale.

Jaganath Khatiwada of CPN UML said the general manager and other staff at Udayapur Cement Factory were colluding to divert cement through the Manakamana Forwarding Company for a consideration of Rs l0,000 per truck instead of providing it to those in the queue.

Refering to the environmental impact that dust from the cement factory was having on nearby villages, he said the government was not doing anything to save the people from this.

Sohan Prasad Chaudhari of CPN UML, drawing the attention of the Home Minister, said the police had allowed the cultivation of hemp on 70 bigaha of land in Bara district Ratnapuri VDC for a contract of Rs 5,000,000 and Lekhnath Adhikari of UML who had opposed the deal was beaten up by the police.

Ram Chandra Yadav of the same party said the condition of Lahan hospital was deplorable, with the people unable to receive necessary services from the one doctor and one nurse there.

MP Hari Acharya said l5 Kamaiya bonded labourers belonging to a former minister were still staging a sit-in in front of the district administation office, the Kamaiya in Dang district were also on the point of launching a movement and 300 landless settlers in Kohalpur had been staging a sit-in since May l4. He called on the government to investigate and resolve these problems.

Om Prasad Ojha of UML said milke hill in Terhathum is famous for its rhododendron flowers and it should be developed as a tourism site with the necessary physical infrastructures including an access road. Sushila Nepal of the same party said the road in Lele Chandan and Chapagaon in Lalitpur had collapsed because of rain causing much difficulty to local residents, and called for the construction of the road.

Nara Bahadur Budathoki of UML said flooding and landside at a village in Dolpa district had resulted in much loss of property and the food depots in the district were low on rice stocks.

Nara Bahadur Hamal of the same party said land survey in Dailekh district came to a halt because of some dispute and called for the assigning of amins to resolve the problem.

Jagadish Prasad Shaha of the same party said irregularity had taken place in the hiring of women employees under the Women’s Awakening Program in Saptari and called for cancellation of the examinations results and holding of fresh exams.