Govt-Maoist Talks Rekindle Peace Hope

THERE is no doubt this is a huge step forward in peacefully resolving the six year old Maoist problem. The first round of formal talks between the Government and the Maoists that took place the other day, concretely proves that the present government led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is very serious in ending the crisis. Virtually every Nepali has expressed concern over the "Peoples’ War" waged by the Maoists, which has caused the loss of more than 1600 people so far. The government in turn has had to spend huge amounts of its funds for security purpose, which definitely is not a good thing for a developing nation like Nepal. In many districts, development works have come to a virtual standstill because of the violence and environment of uncertainty. However, it is encouraging that now things have finally started to move to end this unfortunate situation, which is not good for the people and the nation. Here credit must go to Prime Minister Deuba, who made it his top most priority to try and resolve the Maoist problem. He appealed to the Maoists to cease their violent activities right from the first day he took office and it is promising that serious violent activities have stopped and the government and the Maoists have engaged themselves in peaceful talks.

The first round of talks ended on a promising note with both the sides saying they wanted to resolve differences through Peaceful Dialogue. This is a heartening news for the majority of Nepalese, who like to see peace prevail in their country. It is sad that once renowned for its peaceful image, Nepal in recent years has had to suffer several setbacks on this front, but the peaceful resolution of the Maoist problem, should go a long way in once more enhancing the serene image of this country. It is not that some sectors have not expressed scepticism over the present efforts of the government. But such sceptics should realise that violence and an environment of instability will be good for no one. The country needs to move forward in an environment of peace where the people feel secure. This is the top most priority. For now, just the fact that the two sides are involved in peaceful means to end the Maoist problem, is a positive development and all sides must show restraint and understanding to ensure this common problem of the nation is resolved sensibly.

Attacking Poverty

POVERTY has been the single most developmental challenge for Nepal at present. Despite several serious efforts made by all governments in the past to reduce and eradicate poverty, this problem has not been solved. The number of people below poverty line has dicreased. Today, 40 per cent people are living below poverty line and have no access to minimum basic facilities for survival. The government has accorded top priority to poverty alleviation in order to uplift the social and economic condition of the absolute poor and bring them into the mainstream of development. Several international donors have been providing support to the government and people of Nepal to reduce poverty and uplift the status of poor people in the country. Experts are of the opinion that one of the several major reasons for poverty in South Asia in general and Nepal in particular is lack of proper monitoring system and effective mechanism. In view of this need, National Planning Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly organised a one-day workshop on poverty monitoring and mapping in order to devise a proper system to monitor poverty and poverty alleviation programmes in Nepal. Inaugurating the workshop, vice chairman of National Planning Commission Prithivi Raj Ligal said that more priority needs to be accorded to agriculture to accelerate economic growth and poverty eradication in Nepal. Nepal is an agricultural country where about 95 per cent people rely on agriculture for survival. The share of agriculture in country’s GDP is 66 per cent. In the export front as well, agriculture has a lion’s share. Despite having such a big share in country’s economy, agriculture in Nepal has not been fully developed. As a result, agriculture has not been modernised. Farmers are still using traditional method of farming, which has not given desirable yields. Without modernisation and development of agriculture, Nepal cannot achieve social and economic development. Thus, as said by vice-chairman Ligal of NPC, Nepal needs to give more focus on agricultural development and modernisation for the social and economic development. Modernisation and development of agriculture help increase national production and ultimately eradicate mass poverty that has been afflicting the large number of people in the country.