HoR meeting: Full operation of Pokhara Int'l Airport demanded

KATHMANDU, April 02: Lawmakers have stressed on increasing the number of tourists by bringing Pokhara International Airport in full operation.     

Speaking in the special hour in the meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) today, CPN (UML)'s lawmaker Bidya Bhattarai urged the government to make Pokhara as the international destination operating direct flights to different cities in various countries.     

She pointed out the need of amending Environment Conservation Act to renew license of around 400 hotels operated in Pokhara. Lawmaker Bhattarai complained of inconvenience caused due to the under-construction Tanahu section of the Kathmandu-Pokhara road since long.     

Similarly, Sushila Sirpali Thakuri of the CPN (Maoist Centre) asked the government to provide compensation and relief to farmers as crops were destroyed due to natural disaster along with climate change.     

Sobita Gautam of Rastriya Swatantra Party drew government's attention on issue of keeping more detainees in jails than capacity while Kantika Sejuwal of Nepali Congress expressed concern over not forming parliamentary committee to investigate on cooperative case connected with ministers and not increasing investment in agro sector.     

Likewise, Bina Jaisawal of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party demanded for environment protection as different industries and hotels have been making environment polluted at Birgunj-based Sirsiya rivulet while Rekha Yadav of CPN (UML) asked to run residential school for Dalit girls.     

CPN (Unified Socialist) lawmaker Rajendra Prasad Pandey questioned the working procedure prepared by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology to mobilize trainees, citing that doing so would discourage the civil servants.     

Abdul Khan of the Janamat Party expressed his dismay over the Tribhuvan University scheduling examination on the day of Id-ul Fitr while Ram Prakash Chaudhary of the Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party called on the party leaders to carry out works to raise hope among the people in the context of the negative public thinking towards politics in recent days.     

Lawmaker Prem Suwal of the Nepal Workers and Peasants' Party called attention of the government for resolving the border dispute with a neighbouring country.     

President of the Aam Janata Party, Prabhu Sah called for reconstruction of the embankments damaged due to floods at Maulapur of Rautahat while independent lawmaker Dr Amaresh Kumar Singh drew attention of the parliament, saying the tendency of protecting the 'powerful' leaders in corruption cases has weakened the government employee's working and decision-making capacity.     

Nepali Congress lawmaker Ramnath Adhikari expressed concern, saying the road linking Ruby Valley in Dhading district has not been completed even for 30 years now.     

UML lawmaker Amrita Devi Agrahari called for concrete efforts for the prevention of exodus of the nation's youth workforce to foreign countries and the increasing brain drain.     

Lawmaker Liladevi Bokhim Limbu of the Nepali Congress drew the government's attention to the paucity of budget for blacktopping the Mahanande Dobhan road in Taplejung.     

UML lawmaker Shanti Shrestha stressed on the need to ramp up investment for the education of the marginalized, helpless and sexual minority children and increasing their accessibility to rights.     

Another UML lawmaker Kiran Kumar Sah underscored on the need of making arrangement for creating enough employment opportunities within the country itself, referring to the last eight months' statistics showing that 400 thousand youths had left the country for foreign employment.