Lawmakers voice various concerns in parliament

Speaking in the ‘zero hour’ of the House of Representatives’ meeting today, lawmakers expressed concern over the growing tendency among the doctors at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) emergency ward of encouraging the patients there to go to the private hospitals for treatment. They drew the attention of the Ministry of Health and Population to immediately stem this nefarious tendency, saying it has made a mockery of the government hospital. The lawmakers also drew the government’s attention, saying the storm affected people in various districts of the far-west region had not been provided with relief. They demanded that the government bring rehabilitation package for the storm affected families. Likewise, they complained that the people affected by the Galchhi-rasuwagadhi road construction project have not got compensation for their land acquired for the project, and the long delay in the expansion of different roads in the Kathmandu Valley. The lawmakers expressing their views in the zero hour included Dev Prasad Gurung, Narayan Prasad Khatiwada, Tek Bahadur Basnet, Dila Sangraula, Dal Bahadur Rana, Dil Kumari Panta, Divymani Rajbhandari, Durga Bahdur Rawat, Durga Poudel, Dev Prasad Timilsina, Devendra Poudel, Nawaraj Raut, Nirudevi Pal and Padma Narayan Chaudhary. In like manner, lawmakers speaking in the ‘special hour’ of the HoR meeting demanded to know the government’s view in the aftermath of a parliamentary committee directing it to stop the advertisement calling for applications to various posts published by the Public Service Commission on the ground that it was not in line with the proportional and inclusive quota system. They also suggested the government pay attention to forming the State Public Service Commission and to make the PSC’s vacancies proportional and inclusive. NCP’s Anjana Bishankhe and Nepali Congress’ Devendra Raj Kandel and Meen Bahadur Bishwakarma raised this issue. Pushpa Bhusal, also from the Nepali Congress, called attention of the government to inform the parliament about the Prime Minister’s Europe visit. Prem Suwal of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party drew the government’s attention to the shortage of drinking water in Kathmandu Valley and to withdraw the Guthi bill that it has presented in parliament as it was against the sentiments of the guthiyaars (the guthi trustees). Samajwadi Party Nepal’s Pramod Saha demanded the government to annul the Public Service Commission notice calling for applications to various posts in the local levels, citing it was against the spirit of the constitution. NCP’s Mahesh Basnet defended the Guthi bill, saying it has been brought with the objective of preventing anomalies and malpractices of the Guthis. It rather protects the guthis, he argued. Jhapat Rawal of the same party demanded that the government immediately provide relief and medical aid to the people affected by the recent violent storm that hit Kailali and Kanchanpur districts.