Translocation Of Industries
A Must For Environmental Protection

By Uttam Maharjan

TODAY, the world is passing through a series of environmental pollution and degradation. Environmentalists are urging the protection of the fragile environment all over the world. One of the contributing factors to the decadent environment is polluting industries. Some industries spew forth harmful effluents, others consume a lot of water and still others pollute water sources. Anyway, such industries are leading to environmental pollution in one way or the other.

There was talk of translocating highly polluting industries from the Kathmandu Valley in the past. It may be noted that the Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, a Brazilian city in June, 1992 by the UN Conference on Environment and Development. The gathering was participated in by representatives from 178 countries. At the meeting, various treaties and documents regarding harmonising global economic development and environmental protection were signed. And the participating countries pledged to pursue economic development in a way to protect the environment and non-renewable resources.

It was during the meeting that the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala expressed his commitment to translocate carpet industries from the Kathmandu Valley. At that time, carpet entrepreneurs also seemed to buy the government’s eco-friendly proposal. But sadly, the government could not introduced any programme in the regard, perhaps due to political instability, shift of priorities of successive governments, hassles linked with translocation and indifferences towards it on the part of the government in course of time.

As a result, over the last decade since the Earth Summit not even a single industry has been translocated. A decade is not a short period at all. Now, Kathmandu has changed a lot and its population is growing day by day. With this in view, the city is not in a position to retain old industries, let alone new ones.

It is relevant to note that the government formulated a procedure for establishing new industries in 2052. The procedure aims at controlling the establishment of highly polluting industries in city areas. It has also mentioned those industries that are not to be allowed to be established in Kathmandu. But this procedure has remained fallow now.

The Environmental protection Act, 2053, which is in force now, has provided for environmental impact assessment (EIA) to be conducted before a project is launched or an industry is established. EIA is a management tool of identifying and assessing possible impacts on the environment a new project or industry may produce and recommend the project or industry accordingly.

However, to translocate industries is not as easy as a pie. Industrialists and entrepreneurs may not easily agree on translocating their industries. They may be making huge profits here and not be ready to sacrifice them. So the government should initiate special package programmes so as to motivate them to translocate their industries.

The programmes should focus on classifying all industries and identifying those that need to be translocated. Thereafter, suitable locations should be chosen. Such locations should have various facilities required for the operation of industries such as banking, finance and insurance; markets; transportation and commuting facilities; and other basic amenities like water and electricity. In fact, physical infrastructure development is a must for the smooth operation of industries. If the industries have to be closed down in a short span of time, then translocation will not make any sense; rather, it will have a negative impact on the national economy.

It may be prudent on the part of government to provide translocated industries with various incentives like tax rebates, discounts on utilities and subsidies at least in the beginning years. Besides, translocation cost should be borne, even if partially, by the government. All this will encourage the translocation of industries.

It should also be determined what type of industries should be located in Kathmandu. It is obvious that not all industries in Kathmandu can be translocated outside the city. After the translocation of certain industries, it will be the time for formulating a long-term strategy of developing Kathmandu into a model city by developing basic infrastructures to improve its landscape and also by adopting anti-pollution measures to curb pollution from other sources like vehicles and solid wastes.

It is heartening to note that the government has recently formed a committee under the convenorship of the Director General of the Department of Mines and Geology to locate a suitable site for the Himal Cement Factory as per the policy on translocation of industries. The team has been given one month to submit its report to the government. The team will analyse the availability of raw materials, physical infrastructures, technical appropriateness, environmental impacts, social effects, economic feasibility and other factors that affect industries.

This gesture on the part of the government may be taken as a step towards translocating polluting industries from the Kathmandu Valley. It may be hoped that the government will seriously take the issue of translocating polluting industries in the days ahead.

Psychology Behind Marital Satisfaction

By Dr. Niranjan Prasad Upadhyay

MARRIAGE is a legal union between man and a woman as husband and wife. Psychologically, it is a string that binds two different people in one ring. For most people, adjustment in marriage is a fundamental facet of emotional maturity. Marriage gives the partners an opportunity for the satisfaction of their needs for companionship, affection, and sexual expression. Basically, meaning of satisfaction does vary individual to individual. These days, social scientists stress that marriages more likely succeed when the husband and wife are of similar social status. Satisfactory income, savings, low indebtedness, and steady employment, are also positively related to marital success.

Marriage is a committed, intimate and exclusive relationship between two adults, which is lawfully approved by the society. Effective marital interaction makes stable sound family environment. Sound and effective methods of interaction can help couples become more aware of their mutual behaviour and that leads to more loving and lasting bond between husband and wife. Normally, marriages depend on compromise and adjustment. American psychologists have found that people who report very happy marriages are more likely to concentrate on relational sources of happiness while those reporting less happiness in marriages concentrate more on the situational aspects of marriages (e.g. home, children, social life).

Journal of The Indian Academy of Applied Psychology (1995) has researched that economic sufficiency has direct relationship with the stability and happiness of couples. Divorce and separation have always been highest among the financially impoverished families. A large number of psychological studies in India have concluded that mental problems have adverse effect on marital interaction. In the Nepalese context, social researchers, Shiv Gaule (2000) has conducted survey on divorce, accumulating there cords of 8 district courts (Jhapa, Sunsari, Kathmandu, Parsa, Rupandehi, Banke, Kaski, Palpa) of Nepal, which was published in Himal monthly magazine. In his research findings the people of Brahman and Chhetri (upper caste) show high percentage of divorce as compared to other castes. Basically, the findings highlight that women precede toward divorce due to diversified causes i.e. severe physical punishment (beating), want of food and cloth and negligence by husband. Lack of good sexual relationship between husband and wife also led to divorce.

American psychologists, Steinberg and Silverberg have researched that the happiness and satisfaction of married men and women varies greatly across the life course of a marriage. Almost all studies of marital satisfaction over time show an initial "honeymoon period" followed by a substantial decline in happiness with the birth of the first child. Some studies have shown that the happiness of the early years is regained or even suppressed in latter life, when the children have grown and left home. Family health researchers have stated that both women and men showed dissatisfactions over their relationship. For women, the dissatisfaction centres around sexual relations, finances, the husband’s workload and children. Psychological research on happiness in marriage points out some interesting discrepancies between the romantic ideal and the psychological and social realities. In particular, women may experience changes in marital satisfaction across the life of the marriage more than men do. Feminist psychologist highlights that women satisfaction declines more than their husbands’ when they become parents. An eminent psychologist, Elizabeth B. Hurlock researches that people who marry during their thirties or in middle age frequently require a longer time for adjustments and the end result is often not as satisfactory as in the case of those who marry earlier. However, those who marry in their teens or early twenties tend to make poorest adjustments of all as shown by the high divorce rate among those who marry at these ages. Far more important to good marital adjustment is the ability of husband and wife to relate emotionally to each other and to give and receive love.

Even though most men do not have to change their roles radically when they become parents, many fathers show dissatisfaction with the parental role by becoming less sexually responsive to their wives, worrying economic pressure or developing feelings of resentment at being "tied down" or excluded from the mother-child relationship. These unfavorable attitudes can and often do play havoc with men’s attitudes toward parenthood and their marital adjustments. Actually, no one specific pattern of living is favourable to marital adjustment. The success of a marriage depends on whether it provides satisfaction for the whole family, not just one or two of the members. Psychologist have found that both men and women who were reared at homes with other siblings make better adjustments to marriage than those who were only children. Principally, the success of marriage is reflected in an umber of interpersonal relationships and behaviour at patterns. While these may vary, to some extent, for different people and for marriages at different ages, they can, for the most part, be used to assess the adjustment of any marriage.

Family health researchers have set various types of psychological criteria for successful marital adjustments that are happiness of husband and wife, good parent–child relationship, good adjustment of children, ability to deal satisfactorily with disagreements, togetherness, good financial adjustments and good in-law adjustments. A husband and wife who are happy together derive satisfaction from the roles they play. They also have a mature and stable love for each other, have made good sexual adjustments, and have accepted the parental role. Good parent -child relation ships reflect successful marital adjustment and contribute to it. If parent- child relationships are poor, the home climate will be marked by friction, which makes marital adjustment complex. At the same time children who are well adjusted, well liked by their peers, and successful and happy in school are proof of their parents’ good adjustment to marriage and parental roles. Disagreement between family members also severely raise disharmony between husband and wife. When marital adjustments are successful, the family enjoys spending time together. Financial constraints lead disturbance within husband and wife. So, it is essential to manage financial budget in a proper way. Psychologically, it is essential to establish good in law adjustments for the betterment of marital life.

Finally, psychology of marital adjustment is very careful and complicated behaviour of the husband and wife. In essence, for successful running of the marriage life, it is essential to have the resistance of emotional temperament within family members. These days, psychologists are energetically involved in treating marital problems. In the Nepalese context, very few researches this type of study have been carried out . So in this outstanding field of the study psychologist, sociologist, psychiatrist, law expert and journalist must continue joint research work. Furthermore in Nepal there are mental hospitals that treat various mental health problems. Chiefly, the Teaching hospital of Maharajganj is able to give psychological counseling to the marital problems people for their betterment of future life.