Lawmakers urge govt to prioritize mental health policy, health insurance, and digital public services

KATHMANDU: Lawmakers have urged the government to prioritize reforms to mental health policy, expand the implementation of the national health insurance programme in well-equipped hospitals, and improve digital public service delivery.

Speaking during the emergency hour of Wednesday’s House of Representatives meeting, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker KP Khanal called on both the ruling and opposition parties to unite in revising Nepal’s mental health policy to address rising cases of self-harm, suicide, and depression.

RSP lawmaker Raj Kishore Mahato urged the government to implement the health insurance programme in major hospitals across the country.

Shram Sanskriti Party lawmaker Purna Prasad Limbu drew the government’s attention to technical problems in the central server of the Department of Transport Management and called for its immediate restoration.

CPN-UML lawmaker Ringla Yadav also stressed the need to repair the department’s server as well as the server of the Department of Land Management and Archives, saying the disruption has affected essential public services.

Nepali Congress lawmaker Nishkal Rai urged the concerned authorities to immediately repair deteriorating road infrastructure in Ilam.

Nepal Communist Party lawmaker Balawati Sharma called on the administration to intensify the search for 45-year-old Meena Karki of Musikot, Gulmi, who went missing while attempting to cross the Resha Khola stream flowing through Kathekhola Rural Municipality Wards 7 and 8 in Baglung.

RSP lawmaker Dhanendra Karki said a landslide in Golanjor Rural Municipality-4 of Sindhuli had buried the house of Hema Bahadur Dura a few days ago. He said rescue personnel were unable to reach the site on time due to blocked roads and urged the government to repair damaged road networks.

Another RSP lawmaker, Som Sharma, called on the state to ensure immediate relief and rehabilitation for disaster-affected communities.

CPN-UML lawmaker Rajendra Kumar Rai urged the government to address the demands of employees serving under contract and temporary positions.

UML lawmaker Sajida Khatun Siddiki warned that settlements along the Lalkaiya and Bagmati rivers are at risk of flooding and urged authorities to relocate residents in vulnerable areas to safer locations.