Dastardly Acts

WHEN even an ambulance, that serves in transporting patients in emergency to the nearest medical centre, is not spared, the cold hearted method of the Maoists must be condemned in the harshest of terms. After all, what aim can be gained by the destruction of public utility outlets and development infrastructure? Is the motive solely aimed at a collapse of all that Nepal had stood for all these years? The recent spate of violence in the otherwise peaceful Kathmandu Valley started right after the term of the State of Emergency expired a few days back. The commercial hub of New Road saw a pressure cooker bomb go off at Bishal Bazar. A similar incident happened at the Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City office two days back. Just the other day vandalisation at a vehicle exchange compound in Teku caused extensive damage. The dastardly attacks on political figures and even innocent people continue unabated. Of course, these are few in number as compared to the alarming number of killings and damages inflicted on public as well as private property before the State of Emergency was declared. The terrorists do not realise that violence does not pay, yet the sick mentality in them seems to overshadow reason. The only gains that they can gloat over are how much damage they have caused if it is any reason to be proud of. They forget that the country belongs to everyone and all have to do what they can to make it propserous. But, unfortunately, the mindless violence and senseless killings justify that somewhere something is missing in them.

What can be achieved by killing people from all walks of life and trying to bring a halt- in many areas-to the very development process? Their dubious nature is clear. They do not want a peaceful Nepal but have the vile intention of keeping everything at ransom. The sporadic incidents may generate fear in some but the security forces including the personnel of the Royal Nepalese Army are undeterred and are doing everything possible with courage to bring the Maoist terrorism to its knees. The successes achieved in the past nine months, if they are any indication, show that the war on terrorism has been praiseworthy. It is not an ideological war that the terrorists are waging but one of extortion, intimidation, coercion, murder, destruction and so on which show their evil nature and malevolence. The respect for human dignity is nowwhere to be seen. Even animals fare better than this misguided bunch of desperadoes. They do no good and do not want others to lead a peaceful life. One just hopes that a sense of responsibility and reason dawns on them. An individual or two may view looting as a means to lead a comfortable life but what about the rest. But for the other terrorists the only achievement they can make is die an unknown death.

Commendable Decision

THE Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, as per a news item carried by this daily the other day, has decided to demolish houses that have been built without paying any attention to the existing criteria for building houses within the city limits. Constructing dwellings, be they lowly hovels or high-rise buildings, by giving short-shrift to the existing building criteria seemed to have become an increasing phenomenon among the city dwellers as well as all those who have migrated to the cities for one reason or the other. The more so since the last few decades that witnessed an exponential rise in building activities in the cities, towns and newly constituted municipalities of the country. And, with it, giving the metropolitan, sub-metropolitan and municipal authorities an inordinate amount of headache.

For one, if the haphazardly built buildings, especially the high-rise ones, seem to be competing among themselves to give the cityscape an ungainly appearance, then those houses that are being overshadowed by these skyscrapers are having to switch on the lights even in broad daylight. As to how the denizens of such overshadowed houses are managing to cope with their whopping electricity bills, not to speak about the inherent dangers to their health from living in dank and perennially dark rooms, is a matter best left to concerned authorities and the aggrieved denizens to mull over with. Secondly, these buildings constructed in direct contravention to the prevailing criteria are playing havoc with the municipal authorities' existing civic amenities and facilities. As all know by now, almost all Nepalese cities, due to a glaring paucity of funds, are hard pressed to avail even basic civic amenities like, among others, piped potable water, electricity, garbage disposal services to all their denizens and wards. But quite surprisingly, these capriciously built houses and high-rises seem to be availing themselves with civic amenities that, as per rules, should only be availed to buildings that have been constructed with due permission of the concerned municipal authorities. While the need for the concerned authorities to delve into such shenanigans has become imperative, such haphazardly built buildings do also pose a danger to the precious lives and properties of other law-abiding denizens. As such, while the Lalitpur sub-metropolitan city's decision should be duly commended, for the same decision to be long lasting, the city authorities should and must implement it without let or favour.