 |
Kathmandu Thursday December 14, 2000 Mangshir 29 2057.
|
Act on your
own
While travelling along the
Panipokhari-Teaching hospital stretch, we ought to take a moment to thank and appreciate
the initiative taken by the Thai ambassador to Nepal for getting it repaired. Since the
restoration of the road, surely, many a time miscarriages and weak heart patients must
have been saved. Similarly, drivers behind the wheels of the low clearance vehicles
playing on this road must also have heaved a sigh of relief for what could otherwise
resulted in either a broken bone, a broken axle, a dented undercarriage or all three of
these.
It was a great act on the part of the Thai
ambassador to have elicited an early response from the authorities. It still speaks
volumes of general state of apathy, prevailing mindset and attitude of us Nepalese. There
were and have been enough write-ups on and complaints made about this or other similar
issues. Apparently, the authorities do not consider any complaints made by a Nepali
citizen important enough to be taken seriously. For some reason we only listen and act
when outsiders prod us. The bottom line is that we basically cannot and do not think and
act on our own unless there is an outsider telling us or personal agenda lurking somewhere
there. This is the message and signal that has gone out and can be considered as a slap in
our face.
As much as we resent others breathing down
our throats, what with our behaviour and psychology, we can expect much of the same.
Before we lose whatever Nepali pride we still have in us, let us be serious and begin to
demand some accountability from all those to whom we have entrusted responsibilities. Now,
we would not like any outsider telling how to get rid of the vultures over the Tribhuvan
International Airport.
Satya Adhikari
Lazimpat, Kathmandu |
