– Sur Bahadur Singh
Youth leaders from various walks of lives and representing different institutions have been generating discourse so as to identify the reasons why Karnali State was backward in terms of development. They have convened in a conclave being held at Birendranagar, Surkhet since the past two days.
The conclave organized by the Karnali Sanchar Network today saw eminent scholars and professionals from different organizations voicing their respective opinions and views on the topic surrounding ‘Karnali and Youth Entrepreneurship’.
Former Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai had presented his framework for the development of Karnali State surrounding agriculture and livestock, physical infrastructure, environment, hydro power, information technology, tourism, industry, integrated settlement, education, health and good-governance. Other speakers commented and debated on the presentation by Dr Bhattarai.
On the context of how to rope in youths for entrepreneurship, Yuwa Nepal Communist Party’s Anil Sharma, Nepali Congress’s (NC) Narayan Bhattarai, Sajha Party’s Gehendra Dahal, National Youth Council Nepal’s Vice-President Madhav Dhungel voiced their respective views.
Dhungel viewed that cadres of political party and public had a greater role in selecting the political leadership. Pressing for the need to uproot the unqualified leadership and staffers, he opined that if the banks and financial institutions in the country could invest at least one percent of their budget on the youths, youth could be groomed as an entrepreneur.
Sharma stressed on policy intervention on the part of government to engage youth in entrepreneurial activities while Bhattarai emphasized livelihood-oriented education to put in place for the same. He also said that the education that evokes the patriotism among the youth could also inspire them to work for the greater good of the country.
Dahal claimed that if Karnali State is to attain the agenda of prosperity, it needs to tackle corruption and end the tendency to connect youths to entrepreneurship on the basis of political syndicate.
He also drew the attention of the State’s concerned authorities towards the increasing trend of youths in Karnali State seeking greener pasture elsewhere.
Likewise, Nepal Communist Party’s central committee member Nar Bahadur Bista, NC’s Rishikesh Jung Shah and social activists univocally underscored the optimum utilization of the robust natural resources and riches (water, forest and herbal medicines) the State possess in abundance.
They reassuringly claimed that it would not take more than a decade for the State to become developed and prosper if the State was to exploit its riches optimally and prudently.
Similarly, Madhya-Paschimanchal University’s professor Narayan Prasad Poudel, former dean Pitambar Dhakal, Tribhuvan University’s associate Dean Kamalesh DC and University’s PhD scholar Chhabi Subedi expressed their voices on lackluster progress of Karnali State.
Subedi claimed that the centralized governance system was to be blamed for Karnali State lagging behind. Stating that the erstwhile rulers in the medieval era had paid due attention to the all-round development of all the places falling under their kingdom, including Karnali region, Subedi shared, "History records that King Prithivi Malla, some 800 years ago, had tasked his subjects to ferry petrol from Panchakoshi in Dailekh drenching it in the towels and stock it at Dullu in Dailkeh."
According to him, following the unification of Nepal led by King Prithivi Narayan Shah in 18th century, Karnali State began to bear the brunt of negation.
Professor Poudel asserted that the discriminatory attitude of the political leadership towards Karnali region had pushed Karnali in backburner. (photo available)