Food for thought: Reservation and Chure exploitation

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A recent protest for reservation near New Road, the heart of Kathmandu. 
Affirmative action has always been an emotive issue around the world and will always remain so, it appears. 
While its supporters say this provision is crucial for ensuring inclusion of indigenous nationalities and other marginalised communities in state organs, those against it argue that this is against the very spirit of free competition and meritocracy. Taking part in this debate are those, who say reservations should be for a certain period. They say that instead of allocating seats, the state should focus on boosting the capabilities of disadvantaged sections by taking appropriate measures, pointing that the reservation regime has benefited only a few people from upwardly mobile sections at the expense of 'others'.         
So much for the intro from yours truly. Now the news. 
The Kantipur daily writes that activists favouring reservation clashed with police personnel while they were rallying to Putalisadak from Bhrikuti Mandap on Saturday afternoon.
The immediate fallout of the protest on the road
Around six protesters, including Jagat Baram, president of the Nepal Indigenous Nationalities Federation, sustained injuries in the clashes. As per the report, police have also detained more than a dozen protesters.   
The demonstration, a part of series of protests, was for cancellation of a Public Service Commission notice about some upcoming examination, which activists say is against legal provisions on reservation that covers Janajatis, Madheshis, differently-abled peoples and women. 
The Annapurna Post daily writes in a report from Biratnagar that encroachment upon and exploitation of the Chure forest, which is spread in seven districts of Province 1 (Sunsari, Udayapur, Morang, Ilam, Jhapa, Bhojpur and Dhankuta), has been going on unchecked. The report points that the Chure region has become a hub for smugglers of forest resources like timber and wildlife as well as  construction materials like sand and aggregates. Apparently, unchecked and illegal mining of sand and aggregates has led to increased instances of landslide and erosion.
The report further points that in Sindhuli district, which comprises the largest chunk of the Chure forest -- 1,12,631 hectares -- a large chunk of the area is fast turning into a sand dune, thanks to illegal and unchecked exploitation. Alarmingly, the report points that this has been going with the connivance of office-bearers of local community forests and local peoples.
Is any government authority paying heed to this unfolding crisis that threatens to turn the Terai, the grain basket of the country, into a desert?
Was something that I wrote in bad taste? Please me know.
An evening view of a rain-soaked and illuminated Kathmandu
Text and pictures: Devendra Gautam

For now, yours truly would like to leave you all with this visual treat. Read. Write. Comment. 

 PS: Please bear in mind that any unauthorised use of these materials will be subject to legal action as per relevant copyright and intellectual property rights laws




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