Encouraging Sign

ONCE world famous for peace, harmony and tolerance Nepalese people are now falling victim to the increasing activities of the terrorists. The insurgencies initiated by the so-called Maoists six years back has greatly affected the everyday life of the common people not to mention the loss of lives and property mounting to billions of rupees. It is a great shame for all Nepalese people that their country that was once approved as a peace zone by over 110 nations and where Gautam Buddha, the Epistle of peace was born is now in the bloodbath. Over three thousand Nepalese people including the security personnel and the so-called Maoists have already lost their lives in the futile bloodshed. The government has activated all the mechanisms of the state in its fight against terrorism and for restoring peace in the country. After the declaration of the State of Emergency in November last year, Royal Nepal Army personnel have been deployed to disarm and defeat the armed terrorists, and they have somehow succeeded in their mission. Yet, the terrorists have not stopped their activities of killing the innocent people, looting cash and kind and destroying the development structure.

For a cash-crunched country like Nepal, which has to heavily depend on foreign aid even for development infrastructure, fighting against terrorism is often difficult. However, international communities including the two big neighbours have strongly supported Nepal’s campaign against terrorism right from the declaration of the State of Emergency. During Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s visit to India last month, the Indian Government expressed its commitment to assist Nepal in its effort to combat terrorism. Likewise, the US government’s support to fight terrorism is highly important. Recently, the United States Government proposed its Congress to approve 20 million dollars in military aid to Nepal, which speaks the seriousness of the international communities over the Maoist problem and their willingness to help Nepal in its fight against terrorism. Lately, the government of the People’s Republic of China, which often remains unaffected by the political happenings of the neighbouring countries, has shown its willingness to help Nepal in combating terrorism. During the current visit of Foreign Secretary Madhu Raman Acharya to China, he met the Chinese government official, as per a news report, and discussed about the cooperation in quelling terrorism. Indeed, it is an encouraging sign that Nepal is receiving adequate support and cooperation from the neighbouring and friendly countries, which also points out that Nepal will soon be able to uproot terrorism from the country.

Boosting Farm Output

FARMERS of 15 village development committee (VDCs), are per a news item carried by this daily the other day, are being encouraged to plant cash crops, vegetables and fruits under a package programme launched by the Talplejung district’s Agriculture Development Office. Similarly, if 34,000 hectares of land in eight villages have been selected for cardamom farming under the package scheme, then 200 hectares of land are to be brought under potato cultivation. Likewise, if three VDCS have been selected for vegetable farming, then farmers of four villages are to be given necessary assistance to grow orange trees. Taplejung district, like many other districts situated in the hilly and mountainous regions, is a food-deficit area. To meet the shortfalls in grain production, the people of this district either purchase their grains from the farmers from the surrounding districts like Sankhuwasabha or Ilam or from the godowns storing foodgrains despatched by the Centre as per the yearly quota fixed for this district. All this indicates that either the farmlands are not giving enough yields as per the labour put in by the farmers or that the population of the farmers of his district has increased. Or, for that matter, even both. That arable lands are a premium in all districts located in the hilly and mountainous regions needs no reiteration here. Nor the fact hat even these arable lands are gradually losing their fertility due to over cultivation coupled with the glaring lack of necessary inputs like fertilisers, be they compost manures or chemical fertilisers. Add to all this the farmers’ main woe-feeding additional mouths with their farms’ dwindling yields—then we have the spectre of mass starvation facing the people of this district glaring before our eyes. To keep starvation at bay, food quotas are but temporary solutions. What the farmers of this district as well as the those districts lying in the hilly and mountainous regions need is a long-term solution. Needless to point out, such a solution can only be had until and unless the concerned authorities, keeping in mind the climatic, weather and soil, conditions prevailing in the farmers’ surrounding environment and farms, come up with appropriate agricultural schemes. Such as, among others, growing cardamom, potato, vegetables, ginger, herbs and oranges. By doing so, they would be giving the farmers the much-needed opportunities to uplift their low socio-economic status through the sales of their excess harvests.