The government should give first priority is to immediately solve the issues directly related to the public health. However, the government authorities do not seem to have taken it seriously. Recent market monitoring has revealed that adulteration and contamination in milk and foodstuff is rampant.
The food products and milk sold in Nepali market are found to have been adulterated with harmful chemicals such as Soda and coliform. These adulterated food stuff and milk are supplied in the market without any regulation putting the health of millions of people at peril. Children and elderly people are the first ones to be affected by such contaminated food, according doctors.
Minister for Agriculture, Land Reforms and Cooperatives Chakra Pani Khanal saw the contamination by himself during a monitoring carried out in his presence. However, the no one has cared for taking legal action against the culprits. It is matter of serious public concerns that even the names of the dairy industries involved in mixing soda in the milk have not been publicized yet. In addition, drinking waters supplied in jars by different companies have also been reported to be undrinkable.
Meanwhile, heaps of waste have been piling up in Kathmandu city as they have not been collected for days. The unpleasant smell emitted from the garbage pile has been spreading everywhere, raising the risks of contagious diseases. It should not be a problem to collect waste by using regular and available resources. Though the government needn’t rely on others to manage the garbage, the waste collection has been halted now. On the other hand, the air quality monitoring machines installed at different locations including in Kathmandu Valley have remained dysfunctional for months. But the authority has not taken any steps for the maintenance and operation of the equipment. In addition, there are various issues of public concerns that should be addressed to provide relief for the ordinary people.
It is a common phenomenon that people suffer from diarrhea every year during rainy season in the country. Therefore, the government should have been more alert at this time of year. But it seems a farfetched dream. Prime Minister, ministers and government officials never stop talking tall of ‘peace, prosperity and development’ while they fail to deliver anything palpable for the good of public health.
The federal, provincial and local governments are responsible for this state of affairs. The first responsibility rests on the local governments. In the newly adopted federal system, the local units are in fact the local governments. The first priority of local governments is to work for the interests of public health. Then, the provincial governments should provide resources and assist the local bodies to solve such problems. The federal government also should not keep itself aloof from the issues of local units.
So, the government needs to take immediate measures to solve the problems directly related to the public health. If local levels, provincial governments, ministers and officials fail to address these issues, Prime Minister should issue directives to solve the problems. The people have high expectations from the government that has support of a two-thirds majority. Those in power may feel that such issues are minor but the ordinary people’s concerns for health should be kept on priority. All should pay attention towards the issue as they are directly connected to the livelihood of people.
