Butwal Example

COMING as it does after Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s announcement at the House of Representatives the other day to launch a renewed battle against untouchability, the plan to declare Butwal a discrimination-free town assumes a great significance. Dalit organisations have gathered in the town over the past days in an exemplary exercise to declare the town free of caste-based discriminations. The response from the local authorities has been encouraging. Butwal municipality mayor assured a gathering of media people and Dalit activists participating in a seminar entitled "Information Campaign against Caste Discrimination" that steps would soon be taken to declare the city so. While a declaration per se would not do away with this social evil rooted in the age-old practices, such a move would surely have a meaningful symbolic value. If Butwal is declared a model town that does not tolerate caste-based discriminations, other towns and villages could find inspiration from it and do likewise. However, many measures will have to be put in place to change the ground reality of everyday discrimination that Dalits face all over the country. Of course, there are some legislations that bar such chauvinism and the perpetrators are liable to be fined or incarcerated or both. But experience has shown that even with these laws in place, Dalits face an uphill task in seeking justice for a variety of reasons, so ingrained are the societal prejudices. Conviction of an offender on the basis of these laws is extremely rare. There is clearly a need to introduce more stringent legal steps that are pro-Dalit.

True, attitudinal changes take years or even decades to change, especially when the bigotry is so deeply entrenched. But one has to question whether enough is being done to bring the Dalit issues into a sharper profile. It is here that media have a big role to play. In general, Nepalese media have been found wanting in highlighting the caste-based discriminations with the same zeal that they employ, for example, in uncovering financial irregularities. One of the recommendations of the media seminar in Butwal was precisely related to getting media to investigate these issues while the other urged the government to regularly publicise that the practice of untouchability was a punishable crime. Dalit issues may come to the fore with increasing frequency in the media only if there are enough journalists from the Dalit communities. Both the government and the non-government media sectors should have an active policy to recruit hands from these communities. In the meantime, may other towns and villages too learn from Butwal’s example.

Lakes’ Multiple Use

ABOUT two dozen lakes located in Dang district, as per a news item carried by this daily the other day, are on the verge of vanishing because of lack of proper conservation on the part of the local people living around them. Along with it, around 400 bighas of fertile land are in danger of remaining fallow due to the gradual drying up of these lakes. At a time when many countries of the world are sparing no resources and efforts to create more and more artificial freshwater lakes to put them to multi-purpose use, it is indeed unfortunate to hear that some naturally formed lakes in Dang district are slowly drying out. This could be the case with other lakes throughout the country too. For lakes, if properly utilised, can give the farmers multiple benefits. For one, the lakes could be optimally utilised by the farmers to rear and harvest freshwater fishes, thereby augmenting their low protein intake in their daily diet as well as their negligible income. Secondly, these lakes act as ready check-dams as and when floods do occur. Especially those that are perennially fed by rivers that tend to run amok during the rainy monsoon months. Thirdly, in times of drought, the waters of the lakes would be a source of life to not only the parched crops standing in the fields but also to the farmers themselves as they depend heavily on their farms’ yields to meet their daily food and other needs. Fourthly, the waters of the lakes could be channelised to generate the much-needed hydropower to light up the homes and keep the wheels of industry humming. Last, but not the least, the lakes could be developed into tourist resorts that afford the tourists many kinds of water sports.

Considering the numerous benefits that lakes can provide to the people, they should be taught how to conserve and harness their potentials to the hilt. Towards this end, the concerned authorities need to raise the awareness of the users concerning conservation of these lakes and their surrounding environs. One way is by carrying out mass campaigns among those living around the lakes. Similarly, schemes like irrigation, fishery, generating hydropower and developing them as tourist spots should be made readily available to the people. To ensure sustainable use and development of the lakes, such projects need to be backed by necessary extension services and legislations.