Wrong data

First of all, we would like to thank you for giving priority to the issues of child labour in Nepal in your esteemed national daily. We appreciate the role played by your popular daily to uplift the issue of child labour and other child-related issues which have made immense contributions to the movement of child rights in Nepal.

But we would like to correct the data on child labour in Nepal, published in the news report and the editorial (May 2 and 3, 2001). The data of 77,000 child domestic workers in Nepal have been misinterpreted as the total number of child labour in Nepal. Other data information only refer to the domestic child labour, and not the total number of child in Nepal. Domestic child labourers are the children employed as helpers in household chores such as washing dishes/clothes, cooking and cleaning and so on.

We would like to inform that the total no of child labour is 2. 6 million, according to the ILO-LIPEC, Nepal.

Tarak Dhital
Spokesperson, CWIN

Inconsiderate decision

Iam saddened by the government’s decision to cancel the holidays on Mha Puja
and New Year’s Day of Nepal Era. Nobody likes to lose a holiday, of course. It’s true that there are too many public holidays in Nepal, but while trimming the long list of holidays, the concerned authorities should have been more considerate.

Since Mha Puja and New Year’s Day of Nepal Era are the important festivals of the Newar community, I request the government these days be declared days off for Newars only. Similarly festivals like Losar, Id and Christmas should be declared holidays for those who celebrate them. While making decisions, regarding culture and festivals, the government should take into account religious values and sentiments.

Rajendra Kumar
via E-mail