Rastriya Swatantra Party MPs Raise Concerns Over Power Outages, Road Expansion, Water Scarcity

Kathmandu. Ruling party Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmakers have drawn the government's attention to power supply disruptions, disorganized road expansion, and water scarcity seen in various parts of the country. Speaking during the urgent and special time of the parliamentary session, they accused the government of being indifferent to solving the basic problems of citizens. Speaking in the meeting, MP Prakash Pathak said that due to a technical glitch in the Anarmani grid in Birtamod, Jhapa, the electricity service has been disrupted in various local levels of the district. He mentioned that due to a transformer fire last night, citizens in areas like Birtamod, Haldibari, Bhadrapur, and Kankai were forced to live in darkness for a long time. He said, 'Citizens are without electricity in the scorching heat of 40 degrees. Even though the authority has repaired it, the daily disruptions, low voltage, and overload problems have made life difficult.' Expressing concern that the government and the Nepal Electricity Authority are not serious about managing the electricity supply system, he drew the attention of the Ministry of Energy to solve the problem immediately. Similarly, MP Narendra Kumar Gupta objected to the disregard for human sensitivity during the ongoing road expansion in Birgunj Metropolitan City. He claimed that structures hundreds of years old were ruthlessly bulldozed in the name of widening the road by 25 meters in the market area. Gupta said, 'Due to road expansion, many citizens are on the verge of becoming homeless. Homeowners have had to be admitted to the hospital due to mental stress.' He mentioned that although the metropolis decided to expand by 12.5 meters, it is not justified to demolish structures within a 25-meter radius, and demanded that the government save the people from displacement. Likewise, MP Yagyamani Neupane said that there is an extreme shortage of electricity and drinking water in the Urlabari, Miklajung, and Letang areas of Morang Constituency No. 1. He complained that while Melamchi's water has reached the capital Kathmandu, citizens in rural areas do not even have basic drinking water. He said, 'In Singha Durbar, the lights go out by mistake, but in Morang, the lights come on only by mistake. The village's resources have been taken to the city, but the villagers are deprived of water and electricity. It is unfortunate that such public interest issues are not even included in the budget.' The lawmakers emphasized that the concerned ministries should take concrete steps immediately on these public interest issues and that the citizens' trust in the state should not be shaken.