Lawmakers urge govt action on market prices

KATHMANDU: Lawmakers in the National Assembly have raised a wide range of public concerns, calling on the government to act on urgent issues including market inflation, delayed infrastructure projects, public health threats, and justice for victims of violence.

Speaking during the zero hour of Tuesday’s meeting, MP Bishnu Devi Pudasaini urged the government to intensify market monitoring, alleging that artificial shortages have been created to raise prices. She stressed that unchecked inflation is burdening citizens and demanded effective interventions.

MP Ghanashyam Rijal pointed to the incomplete ‘Dolakha Film City’ project in Bhimeshwor Municipality and called for the allocation of a budget in the upcoming fiscal year 2025/26 to ensure timely progress. Similarly, MP Padam Bahadur Pariyar emphasized the need to implement a sanitation management center proposed by Byas Municipality.

Addressing public health concerns, MP Pooja Chaudhary called for immediate government efforts to control the spread of dengue in the Terai-Madhesh region. MP Manarupa Sharma urged the government to complete the remaining tasks of the peace process without further delay.

MP Rukmini Koirala highlighted the rising human-wildlife conflict in several districts of Koshi Province and requested urgent interventions. MP Renu Chand drew attention to the long-pending construction of a bridge in Maure, Triveni Municipality, Bajura, and demanded timely action.

Raising human rights and foreign affairs concerns, MP Bishnukumari Sapkota criticized the government for its inattention to the deaths of Nepali citizens involved in the Russia-Ukraine war and called for preventive measures. MP Bishnu Bahadur Bishwakarma demanded justice for Pooja Kumari Ram of Surunga Municipality, Saptari, who was reportedly raped and murdered.

MP Shree Krishna Prasad Adhikari called for immediate steps to rescue Nepali workers stranded in Saudi Arabia, while MP Savitri Malla asked the government to address the soaring prices of construction materials, which are hindering development work.