Arbitrary Awarding of Constitution Day Honours Draws Widespread Flak
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WITHOUT F EAR OR FAVOUR Nepal’s largest selling English daily Vol XXVIII No. 208 | 8 pages | Rs.5 O O Printed simultaneously in Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Bharatpur and Nepalgunj 34.0 C 13.7 C Sunday, September 20, 2020 | 04-06-2077 Dipayal Jomsom Arbitrary awarding of Constitution Day honours draws widespread flak Writers who praised the prime minister and the driver of the chief secretary among 594 awarded for contributing to national life in the past year. TIKA R PRADHAN year, Nepal will become the country KATHMANDU, SEPT 19 having the highest number of awar- dees per 10 million population,” said Writers who wrote paeans for Prime former Supreme Court Justice Minister KP Sharma Oli and the driv- Balaram KC. er of Chief Secretary Lok Darshan But the government’s move to deco- Regmi were found to have made “out- rate a large number of people has standing contribution to various drawn criticism from various sections walks of national life” in the past year. of the society claiming that the indis- They were among the 594 individu- criminate selection of the individuals als recognised with titles and hon- for the decorations has diminished its ours, decorations and medals on the value instead. occasion of Constitution Day on The existing regulation related to Saturday. decorations drafted two years ago was According to the Decoration Act amended by the Home Ministry on 2007, honours and titles, decorations July 6, limiting the number to 200 indi- and medals on behalf of the country viduals. can be awarded by the state to any cit- “But that did not last for more than POST PHOTO: DEEPAK KC izen of Nepal who has rendered spe- a month and the ministry again The National Reconstruction Authority, which has completed rebuilding the Rani Pokhari, fills the historic pond with water. The Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited helped out by bringing cial contribution to the political, eco- removed the provision to incorporate Bagmati river water from Sundarijal using its newly laid Melamchi water supply pipeline up to its Lazimpat reservoir and then to the heritage site. Conservationists were opposed to the idea of nomic, social, cultural and research their near ones,” said an under-secre- pumping out millions of litres of water to recharge the pond damaged in the 2015 earthquakes. aspects of national life as well as other tary at the Home Ministry on condi- walks or international sectors. tion of anonymity. “We also feel that The decision to award them was awarding so many people and people made by a nine-member decoration having not much contribution to the committee, which is led by the society has rather diminished the deputy prime minister and includes weight of the decoration itself. But Migrant workers would return home with the home minister and six members what can we do?” nominated by the Cabinet—at least There had even been a Supreme one of them a woman, with the home Court ruling to bring some prestige to secretary as the member secretary of the Constitution Day, which is also the money and gifts. Now it is just themselves the committee. National Day, awards. “With some 600 people awarded per >> Continued on page 2 With contracts terminated and jobs lost due to the pandemic, homecoming for Nepalis who left the country for work is not a joy amidst an uncertain future. country’s lone international airport during normal times. The scene at the airport has changed lately. “I was paid my dues of Malaysian Ringgit (RM) 1,300 three months back, and since then there was no money,” said Khatri. Bikash’s job once fetched him around RM 2,400 (Rs 68,407) per month during pre-pandemic times when there used to be allowances as well as overtime work. With the pandemic making their employment prospects uncertain and leaving them with no option other than returning home suddenly, these workers are not only coming home unpaid but also empty-handed. Khatri, who had married in 2018 during his job break, had planned to bring a television set, blankets and other household items when return- ing later this year when his visa was due to expire. “Now I am returning with a torch- light and a water dispenser for hot water and some chocolate. Thankfully, I had bought these items before Covid- 19,” said Khatri. “My wife and other family members have no expectations. They know the situation. All they want is for me to return home. They will understand.” In the three bags he has are all the belongings he had been using at his room in Kepong, a town in northern Kuala Lumpur. “I could not even buy a new phone for myself,” said Khatri. “I had thought of replacing my phone, which I have been using for the last four PHOTO COURTESY: BIKASH KHATRI years, before returning home.” Bikash Khatri and his colleagues at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Friday night as As Covid-19 ripped through Nepal’s they wait for flight RA 416 to fly to Kathmandu early Saturday morning. labour destinations in the Persian Gulf, Malaysia and South Korea, thou- CHANDAN KUMAR MANDAL home,” Khatri told the Post from sands of Nepali workers like Khatri KATHMANDU, SEPT 19 Kuala Lumpur International Airport have had to return empty-handed after before boarding his flight to being terminated from their jobs or For months Bikash Khatri had been Kathmandu on Saturday morning. after leaving them due to the fear of telling his employer he wanted to Khatri, who worked at a restaurant infection. return home. On Saturday he left since 2014, has been sent home since Most had to wait for months to be Kuala Lumpur with a ticket his business was affected in the face of repatriated, and when they finally got employer bought him, and a negative the Covid-19 pandemic. their tickets, they would rush to pack polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test All he had with him was Malaysian their belongings to return home. With his employer paid for. Ringgit (RM) 100, equivalent to no income for months, they could not But he is not excited he will be Rs2,850. With this he has to get to his buy anything for their families. home soon. He is coming back emp- village in Dolakha once he lands in “I am returning with some Rs5,000,” ty-handed. Kathmandu. He did not have any said Ashok Rai, from the airport at “There was no work nor much money to buy gifts for his family Kuala Lumpur. “Let’s hope I can at income, so I thought of returning before boarding the flight. least reach my home with this money.” Earlier when they returned He is from Jhapa and one of the from Gulf countries, Malaysia nine in Kharti’s group who worked and elsewhere, migrant workers together at a restaurant in Kepong. came back with not only remit- “I wanted to return home with a lot tance but also with household of money if not any household items,” items like television sets, mobile Rai, 28, said. phones, cameras, music systems, Despite widespread exploitation of among other electronic gadgets migrant workers by recruitment and appliances, and gold and agencies in Nepal and by employers other valuables. abroad, foreign employment has #daagramrochha The sight of returnees strug- also improved the livelihoods of mil- gling to push their luggage trol- lions of migrants and their families leys loaded with bags and a box back home. facebook.com/surfexcel.np of TV used to be common at the >> Continued on page 2 C M Y K SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2020 | 02 NATIONAL Arbitrary awarding of Constitution Day ... >> Continued from page 1 his hold on all sections of the state While Dinesh Thapaliya, who cur- “I had issued an order when I was including the administration and the rently leads the Election Committee, justice of the Supreme Court that the security bodies,” said Rajendra has been a frequent receiver buto was government should justify that the Maharjan, a political commentator. not awarded honours this year, Nabin awardees must have outstanding con- “The mindset of the rulers has not Kumar Ghimire, who recently retired tribution to the nation,” KC told the risen above that of the Rana regime or as the chief of the Commission for Post. the monarchy during which loyalty Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Among the awardees was Dr Sandak used to be the only criteria to get posi- Shailendra Khanal, inspector general Ruit, the internationally renowned tions or awards.” of the Armed Police Force, were eye surgeon and winner of the prestig- Among the awardees are Dayal repeat awardees. ious Ramon Magsaysay award, also Bahadur Shahi, who has been exten- “Democracy wants the rulers to called the Asian Nobel, in 2006. In 2018 sively writing in favour of Oli and consider what people think of their India awarded him the Padma Shri, a Badri Bishal Pokhrel, who has been actions,” said Maharjan. civilian award. writing articles praising Oli and his When Pushpa Kamal Dahal was the Around 150 medical workers were government. prime minister for the second term in also honoured at a time when the Even the journalists and social 2017, his personal secretary and son country is facing the challenge of the workers selected for the awards were Prakash Dahal, who died later, had Covid-19 pandemic. close confidantes of the prime minis- also been given honours, attracting According to an official at the home ter, according to a ruling party leader widespread criticism. ministry, the decorations cost at least who did not want to be named.