MPs raise disaster response, border remarks and supply issues in HoR

Kathmandu: Lawmakers in the House of Representatives today drew the government’s attention to a range of public concerns, including natural disasters, healthcare, supply shortages and recent remarks by the Prime Minister on the border issue.

Speaking during the special hour of the House meeting, MPs urged the government to restore transport links disrupted by floods and landslides in several hilly districts, including Ilam.

They also called for improved treatment facilities for bone marrow patients and intensified efforts to trace a missing couple who reportedly jumped into the Sunkoshi River.

Lawmakers further urged the government to ensure the smooth supply of chemical fertilisers, cooking gas and other essential commodities, strengthen market monitoring to prevent artificial shortages, and improve treatment services for snakebite victims in the Tarai.

At the start of the meeting, opposition lawmakers protested, demanding that Prime Minister Balendra Shah correct his recent statement on the border issue.

After Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal allowed time to speak, Nepali Congress lawmaker Chandra Mohan Yadav demanded that the Prime Minister clarify his remarks and sought the government’s response over the reported relocation of the proposed trauma centre from Dhalkebar to another location.

Despite repeated requests by the Speaker to resume proceedings, Yadav continued his protest, prompting Speaker Aryal to direct the government to respond to the concerns raised.

Other lawmakers, including Kriparam Rana, Yubaraj Dulal, Dhruvraj Rai and Khushbu Oli, also called for a correction of the Prime Minister’s statement.

They additionally raised concerns over growing tension between Hindu and Muslim communities in the Tarai-Madhesh region, shortages of cooking gas and the disruption of road connectivity in different parts of the country.