MPs demand citizenship certificate in surname of single mother

Kathmandu, April 7  : Parliamentarians have demanded that the birth certificate of children of single mothers be made in the surname of their mothers rather than children’s natal family’s surname. In the zero hour of the House of Representatives (HoR) meeting today, they expressed their disagreement on the recently introduced provision that the single mothers’ children would receive birth certificate with the surname of their natal family.

Sushila Shrestha and Sushila Thing called for issuing birth certificate to children of single mothers in the surname of the mothers while Bidya Bhattarai remarked that the newly introduced provision was against the constitutional provision. Bijula Rayamajhi, in a different vein, drew the attention of the government towards the damages incurred by unseasonable rain in Arghakhanchi district and demanded due compensation for the victims. Bina Lama spoke of the need to address the compulsion of the patients in small villages to visit big cities spending a hefty amount for minor healthcare services. Birajbhakta Shrestha apprised the government about cutting off of the trunk of a domesticated elephant in Chitwan recently and demanded action against the culprit. He also highlighted the need for promoting violence-free tourism. Shanti BK rued that the caste-based discrimination still prevailed and demanded that the wrongdoers be brought to justice. Shanti Shrestha informed that four bridges in Jorpati area in Kathmandu were getting narrower day by day and were in dilapidated condition. She demanded construction of new bridges. Shiva Nepali shed light on the health hazards due to dust coming off during expansion of Pokhara- Muglin road section. Nepal thus pressed for carrying out expansion at the earliest. Sishir Khanal brought to fore the shortage of drinking water in Tokha area surfaced after the damages in the drinking water pipe and demanded that the problem should be addressed at the earliest. Stating that the low budget for capital expenditure would adversely affect development endeavors, Sher Bahadur Kunwar demanded that budget and capital expenditure should be appropriately arranged.

Shova Gyawali said that the government should not be influenced by other things while addressing the usury cases. According to her, the loan shark victims existed aplenty in the Terai belt in the western part of the country. Shankar Bhandari opined that the brave soldiers fighting for defending the country at Sindhuligadhi be duly honoured. Saraswati Bajimaya demanded that the pathway in Halesi area be constructed and upgraded thereby bringing down the risks of road accidents. Sarita Bhusal sensitized the government that some parts of Nawalparasi (West) were shown in the map of India in the Googlemap and mentioned that it affected service delivery for the people residing in that area. Hence, she drew the attention of the government to address the issue. Sumina Shrestha rued that the recently issued Common Minimum Programme omitted the recommendations furnished by her party-Rastriya Swatantra Party- which were incorporated in the same document issued earlier. Sanjay Gautam ranted that although he had been demanding construction of bridge in his district for the past 10 years but to no avail. Gyan Bahadur Shahi called for policy that would promote domestic industries. Hari Dhakal frowned that the incumbent government did not pay any heeds to the concerns raised in the Zero Hour of the HoR meeting. Hence, he observed a minute of silence in a symbolic gesture.