KALENDRA SEJUWAL

The government has failed to stop the cholera epidemic in the far west. If those leading the government had any shame, they would have resigned by now. The government would rather prepare for a civil war than provide relief. In fact, Defense Minister Bidya Devi Bhandari is currently begging for arms and weapons in New Delhi. This is against the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Accord . The CPA clearly states that neither Nepal Army nor the Maoist army can buy new weapons, recruit more soldiers or even transport weapons. The government is now busy buying old and worn-out weapons India once used in the Kargil war. Is it worth buying weapons worth millions of rupees when the government can't even send medicine worth five rupees? Even the PM's office doesn't see the spread of cholera as an epidemic and the government seems especially reluctant to send medicines in Maoist strongholds.