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LETTERS |
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LETTERS |
Good Issue The cover story "Rough Ride"
(SPOTLIGHT February 28) provided insightful information regarding the situation of road
accidents concerning motorbikes in Kathmandu. Being a motorbike rider myself, I was
surprised to read how dangerous this mode of transport is. In fact, this story made me
change my attitude towards the recent government decision to enforce helmet-wearing for
pillion riders. I was rather skeptic about the rationale of this decision. But given such
a frightening record of head-injuries, I now think this rule needs to be followed by all
of us. Deepak Gautam Road Rash In Kathmandu motorcycles rule the roost
("Rough Ride" SPOTLIGHT February 28). As a matter of fact, some motorcycle
riders are so irritating that they surround your vehicle from all the sides and do not
allow you to ride your four-wheelers safely. At every traffic cross-roads where you stop
in the red-light, the bikes swarm around you like bees. There will be a bike in behind and
bike in front; bike on left and bike on right. And worse, these riders do not give
attention to the problems faced by big vehicles. They just try to squeeze past leaving you
bewildered. Maybe our motorbike owners need to be taught about the road discipline. Ghanashyam Bista Bike Boom No wonder that there are scores of Indian
and Chinese motorbike manufacturers who have come to Nepal to sell their products. The
number of motorbikes far surpasses any other vehicles that ply on the streets of Kathmandu
("Rough Ride" SPOTLIGHT February 28). The two-wheeler has become a symbol of
middle-class pride. Due to its fast pace, convenient handling, low cost and other reasons,
motorbikes have become the most preferred mode of transport for everybody including
bureaucrats to teen-agers. The boom in the bike has now began to pose problems for its
management. Giridhar Basnet Fasten The Straps Though the traffic has enforced the rule of
helmet-wearing for both the rider and passenger of motorcycle, they are yet to devise a
method to coerce them to fasten the straps as well ("Rough Ride" SPOTLIGHT
February 28). Many riders believe they have done enough for their security just by wearing
helmet. They either forget or do not want to fasten the straps. Not fastening the straps
makes them equally vulnerable to head injuries caused by accidents. Because every time an
accident occurs and the riders and passengers fall, their helmet will fly off if straps
are not fastened exposing their heads for serious injuries. So there should be a big drive
to promote the practice of fastening the straps as well. Kiran Bhattarai Useless Closure The Himal Cement Factory remains closed for
the last couple of months ("Rescue Disorder" SPOTLIGHT February 21). It has
become the latest victim of rash privatization practice followed in the country. The
government officials, donors and all other concerned agencies should convince Nepalese
people how the closure of the factory has done them any good. They may say that the people
now live in better environment. Well, the factory's role in worsening the local
environment could not be denied but there must have been some other way to address this
problem. You just don't cut off your hands because you feel pain in your fingers. So these
justifications do not fly as far as hundreds of employees who have lost their livelihood
are concerned. Dinesh Shrestha Leaving No Options The story "Official Ordeal"
(SPOTLIGHT February 21) was a marvelous depiction of how the poor tax-payers of this
country suffer at the hands of so-called high officials. At a time when the state has not
been able to provide employment opportunities to its people, it has also not been able to
provide passport to those who seek to travel overseas for the same purpose. What does the
Nepalese government want its people to do? Either give them employment here or find them
the jobs elsewhere. The shortages of passport books seem ridiculous. If there is anybody
responsible listening, they must take the culprits to task. Janak Gurung Blocking The Peace For whatever reasons the bigger political
parties decided to boycott the all party meeting called by the Prime minister, the people
feel that they are trying to block the peace ("Peace In Peril" SPOTLIGHT
February 21). The prime concern of Nepalese people today is peace. Everything else is
secondary. So the justifications like constitutionality, legitimacy and other things
raised by bigger parties just don't make any sense when the country is at this cross-road.
People will never forgive any party that tries to break down the current peace
initiatives. Shanta Bikram Singh |
Send your feedback to the
editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
