Letters (Spotlight Weekly)

Power Reform

The controversy surrounding power-sector reforms in Nepal has been going on for too long ("Reform Riddle", SPOTLIGHT, May 16). It is high time the concerned agencies reached a consensus on how to start the reform process. Refusal to modernize institutions like the Nepal Electricity Authority would only create more problems in the future. A well thought-out blueprint for reform that responds to our needs must be urgently drawn up and implemented.

Kabir Bista
Hattisar

High Charge

The fact that Nepalese are forced to pay one of the highest power tariffs in the world despite the country's vast water resources is a great blot on our policy making capabilities. ("Reform Riddle", SPOTLIGHT, May 16). The poor people are being punished for the wrong policies of the state. The policy of approving private-sector projects under which the Nepal Electricity Authority is required to make power purchases in dollars is costly to the country. Moreover, the take-or-pay scheme under which some hydro-power plants were opened would only suck the state's coffers dry. There is a need to drastically review such anti-national policies and introduce a set of real reforms.

Janardan Chalise
Battisputali

Picture Of Media

Your cover story on the Nepalese media ("Question Of Credibility", SPOTLIGHT, May 10) provided a candid picture of the sector. Although quoting an unidentified source because of professional constraints may be acceptable to some extent, frequent reliance on such attribution raises questions of credibility. Unfortunately, this has become a common practice in Nepalese journalism. This proves how lazy and superficial our journalists are. It is useless to talk about the weeklies; with a handful of exceptions, they are mouthpieces of politicians and political parties. One should not hesitate to call them the virus of Nepalese media. When broad-sheet dailies choose to maintain silence after the concerned party rejects a story, readers are forced to wonder whether publishers employ journalists or rumor mongers. This attitude is nothing short of media corruption. Denials, rebuttals and clarifications should be given proper placement in the interest of fairness. You have correctly highlighted the difficulty of distinguishing between an active journalist and a political activist. The survival of so many newspapers in a highly competitive market raises questions of funding. It is up to professional journalists to promote awareness among readers by bringing out thought-provoking news, views and analysis. The example given by Rajendra Dahal, editor of Himal Khabarpatrika, of how a publishing house stopped carrying advertisement of his fortnightly as soon as it launched its own magazine is lamentable. If anything, such an attitude exposes the lack of confidence the publishers have in their own journalists. If a publisher happens to have control over all kinds of mass media, it would be naive on our part to expect commitment to professional journalism. While expressing his view that the Nepalese media have not gone wrong, Dahal appears to have overlooked how sections of the media have been playing with the ignorance of the masses to build public opinion. The analysis of the electronic media appeared shallow. Undoubtedly, a strong Press Council or Press Complaints Commission to regulate and monitor our media has become essential.

Sural Poudyal
Koteshwore

Narrow Perspective

Your coverage of the Nepalese media ("Question of Credibility", SPOTLIGHT, May 10) was comprehensive. The interview with Yubaraj Ghimire, the editor of Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post, was particularly interesting. Your first question was based on the background of Ghimire's two years in Nepalese journalism. But the editor ventured to assess Nepal's media scene of the past 12 years. Ghimire suggests that the Press Council should be made a statutory body. Is not the council already an organisation that has a separate statute? It appears that because of his prolonged stay in India Ghimire has a tendency to examine things only from one particular angle.

Anubhav Neupane
Sanepa