Govt gears up to draft dedicated policy on culture

KATHMANDU, Sep 06: Nepal is embarking on a historic initiative to prepare its first-ever cultural policy.     

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has taken initiation towards this end by constituting a 13-member task force under the coordination of Nepal Academy Chancellor Bhupal Rai.     

According to the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sudan Kirati, the task force has been given a timeline of around two months to submit the study report.     

The Minister assessed that the Ministry has not yet taken significant steps in the area of culture and the decision to draft a dedicated cultural policy aimed at addressing this gap.     

The task force consists of several prominent members, including former lawmaker Mall K Sundar, Language Commission's member Dr Amar Giri, Culture Division's chief Damodar Gautam, culture experts Dr Prem Khatri, Dr Dilli Oli, Dr Man Bahadur Bishwakarma, Pro Dr Bina Poudyal, Dev Sharan Yadav, researcher Bhogiraj Chamling and film director Nabin Subba.     

Ministry under-secretary Punyamaya Guragain is the member secretary for the task force.     

Taskforce coordinator Rai said," Though culture is one of the bedrocks of politics, an adequate sufficient discourse on it is still awaited."