The four-day mega meeting participated by nearly 1,400 Mahasamiti members from across the country deliberated on various key issues including federalism and issues related to the Madhesi and other marginalized groups. [break]This meeting has helped the country´s grand old party to make timely revision of its policy on key issues before going to the fresh Constituent Assembly elections.
But what made the Mahasamiti meeting unique this time around was the selection of the venue. Holy Trivenidhaam is just a few kilometers away from the Gandak Barrage -- something various leftist parties in Nepal accuse Nepali Congress (NC) founding leaders of ´selling it´ to India. The meeting not only provided opportunity for Mahasamiti members to closely see the barrage but also understand the problems it had brought about to the local farmers.
"Opposition parties always blame Nepali Congress for Koshi and Gandak treaties with India. Our colleagues from Mechi and Mahakali have heard about this, but many of them had not have the opportunity to see it for themselves," said NC Nawalparasi District Committee President Devendra Raj Kandel.
The meeting also gave opportunity to the Mahasamiti members to closely understand the issue of Indian encroachment of the Susta area. Though the party did not mention anything specifically about Susta, all Mahasamiti members are now unanimous that these issues need to be settled diplomatically and the Gandak Treaty needs to be fully implemented as the Indian side has yet to fulfill some of the clauses of the treaty.
However, happier among the Mahasamiti members are those hailing from Nawalparasi district itself. "We are happy that we could apprise our party leadership of the problems faced by locals in Nawalparasi district. We hope, party leadership will take necessary initiatives to address the problems," said Shree Chauhan, NC Mahasamiti member from Narsahi, Nawalparasi.
Locals of Trivenidhaam are also equally happy for the NC chose the place as venue for the meeting. "Trivenidham was prominently highlighted in the media including television. And this might promote this place into a tourism spot," said Sita Sapkota, a grocer and local of Trivenidhaam.
However, what these locals find most lacking is a bridge linking the Balmiki Ashram across the Narayani River. People who visit Trivenidhaam cannot easily reach the Balmiki Ashram, where the author of the Holy epic Ramayana lived and breathed his last.
To reach Balmiki Ashram from Trivenidham, pilgrims either have to take a boat or cross the Gandak barrage, where Indian police charge 200 Indian rupees as entry fee and additional 25 Indian rupees per individual to those wishing to look around the barrage. The boat service is expensive, and irregular.
India has a village named Balmiki Nagar next to the place where Balmiki Ashram is located. "This is unfortunate that a Nepali has to cross over to the Indian border to visit Nepali territory. Most Nepalese do not know that Balmiki Ashram lies in Nepal," said Shekhar Subedi, the priest at the Balmiki Asharam.
Subedi said not many people visit the temple as there is no bridge. "This is the greatest property of our nation. But concerned authorities do not seem to have given due attention to this," he lamented.
Among other things, Balmiki Asharam also treasurers the places where Goddess Sita had given birth to Lava and Kush and the place where she asked her mother (the earth) to tear apart and fell into the crevasse to end her mortal life back in the Treta Yuga [the second of the four yugas or eras described in Hindu scriptures].
Though the meeting could not arrive at conclusion on the number of federal states in new Nepal, most of the Mahasamiti members termed the meeting as successful.
"Since this meeting was held in the wake of fresh election, we got the opportunity to share our views on a number of issues. We have been able to clear our confusions. Personally, I have found this meeting very successful," said Jagga Prasad Pandey, a Mahasamiti member from Bardiya. He said there was no point in complaining about poor food and accommodation arrangement for the Mahasamiti members.
What is more important, according to Mahasamiti members, is that Sushil Koirala and Sher Bahadur Deuba vowed before them to patch up and make NC the largest party in the new elections.
Mahasamiti meeting a success, says Kandel
What were the difficulties you faced during preparations of this mega meeting?
It is always easy to organize big events of this sort in urban areas and when the fund is adequate. But it is challenging to organize such events in rural areas where people have never seen such events before. We successfully organized the program despite a host of challenges.
Many Mahasamiti members have expressed dissatisfaction over food and lodging arrangements? What do you have to say?
Let´s not forget that we have passed through a very difficult time. Maybe there were fewer varieties of foods this time around but this is an organization. Sometimes we do not have enough to eat. So I do not think it is good to complain about food. If we are not ready to face difficult times, we are not prepared for politics. Since the meeting was organized in a rural area, one should not expect for all the facilities available in urban areas. If we as politicians are really concerned about the ordinary people, we must have the courage to face difficulties.
How much was spent for the Mahasamiti meeting?
We have concluded this meeting in half the amount that we spent on similar meetings in the past. I think the expenses this time did not exceed Rs 3 million. Though we have generated some funds from the Mahasamiti members, we are in debt now. We will not go to businessmen seeking donation. We will manage by raising the amount from our party members.
As the president of the NC district working committee how do you rate the success of this Mahasamiti meeting?
This is something to be determined by others. But I am grateful to all, including the party´s district level cadres and others, for making this meeting a success. Media reports that food and lodging arrangements were poor are baseless. We had done our best to ensure good food and accommodation to our party members. But I admit that those who wanted to stay in hotels with air-conditioning must have found it a little painful.
What was the reason of organizing Mahasamiti meeting in this holy place far away from city areas?
As you know Nepali Congress is blamed for the Koshi and Gandak treaties with India. The main reason behind bringing this Mahasamiti meeting here was to help our friends in the party get first-hand information on the issue. This will give us an idea of how we can revise the treaties when we are in power.
Related story
Susta locals destroy Gandak dam to save crops
