CK Lal is at it again, pouring his vitriol against the army ('Change management', State of the State, #326). Till date he has not written a single article praising the army. A lot of hue and cry is unnecessarily being created about the funds etc and, as he calls it, the blue helmets (peacekeeping). As far as I know every Nepali soldier or officer going on these missions knows exactly how much he or she gets. Why does that give CK Lal a headache? As to how the funds are used, it may not be much in the limelight, but Chhauni Hospital is one of the busiest in the Valley.

The fund also takes care of the medical needs of ex-servicemen and their families, free of cost. The army has some good points too, Mr Lal.

Amrit KC,
Bishalnagar

. Count me in among those frustrated readers who find the substance of CK Lal's rants tiresome, if politically well-taken, and his style kind of overblown. But this time around, he actually found a balance. Kudos on a sensitive, informed article about the Nepal Army that took into account the need for serious change while not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

James P,
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