Nepal

People with mental illness need more attention, care and support during disasters

Kathmandu, November 10

At least 15 people commit suicide daily in the country. According to Nepal Police, as many as 5,785 people committed suicide in 2018-2019. However, 5,754 suicide cases were registered in the year.

There is always a difference between the number of suicide cases and registered suicide cases as suicides in groups are counted as single case. As many as 5,346 people committed suicide in 2017-2018, but only 5,317 suicide cases were registered in the year.

&Biological, psychological, family circumstances, social, physical health condition and genetic vulnerabilities are some of the causes for a person to commit suicide,& said Dr Basudev Karki, consultant psychiatrist.

&Despite rising cases of mental health problems, there are only 11 consultant psychiatrists and two child psychiatrists working at government health institutions across the country,& said Dr Phanindra Prasad Baral, chief of Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health Section at Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, Department of Health Services.

Addressing a programme on ‘Role of Media in Mental Health, Epidemic and Disaster Management&, organised in the capital today, speakers in the event shed light on the causes, treatment methods and ways of prevention of mental health problems; national policy on mental health and the role of media in disseminating information to the public.

Speakers at the event also discussed how people with mental illness were vulnerable during disasters. &Disasters may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. Many people after the Gorkha earthquake suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, people with mental illness need more attention, care and support during disasters,& said Badri Prasad Khadka, director of Province 3 Health Training Centre.

Shedding light on mental health problems, speakers shared how media could help in preventing fear and anxiety, inform and educate people about mental health problems and also help in disseminating information to the public.

&Responsive health journalism can play a significant role in informing the public of mental health disorder due to disaster and on the ways to prevent and cope with the problem,& said Khadka.

The post Mental health, media role discussed appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

Kathmandu, November 10

The eighth plenary meeting of Federation of Nepali Journalists has decided to carry out special central mission in all provinces from mid-January 2020 for press freedom, safety of journalists and implementation of the Working Journalist Act and journalistic code of conduct.

A press release issued by FNJ after its two-day plenary meeting said the umbrella organisation of journalists would reject any anti-press law presented or being presented at the Parliament, and lobby would with concerned authorities and stakeholders to make law concerning media, press-friendly. &Any law containing provisions that control and curtail freedom of expression would be unacceptable and FNJ is determined to fight for safeguarding the basic principles of free press,& it read. Earlier, FNJ and media fraternity had taken serious objection to the provisions in the Media Council Bill which they said were intended to curtail press freedom and were against the international norms and values of right to freedom of expression. FNJ has decided to organise public discussion with the stakeholders on cautionary measures to be taken by media to respect individual privacy and refrain from publishing and broadcasting fake news that ferment communal violence.

FNJ has also demanded that the government recognise Nepali media as service industry and provide facilities accordingly, ensure proportional distribution of government advertisements and grant permission for journalists to enter Singh Durbar with identity cards issued by FNJ. &The government should ensure that working journalists are entitled to enjoy the facilities as provisioned by the act,& it said.

According to FNJ, it is set to launch stringent protest programmes against media houses which are reluctant to implement the act and the provisions of minimum salary for working journalists. FNJ has been urging the government to implement the act. It has also been urging the media houses to respect the work of journalists time and again. It observed that working journalists were entitled to appointment letter, salary and facilities as stipulated by the act. Some journalists had been facing problems to obtain press accreditation card as the concerned media houses failed to submit information such as designation of journalists and their monthly salary structure to the Department of Information and Broadcasting, said FNJ.

The post FNJ to launch special mission for press freedom from January appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

Kathmandu, November 10

Police have arrested more than 20 cadres of Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal for staging a demonstration in Kathmandu against a recently published Indian political map that has depicted Kalapani region as Indian territory.

Chand-led CPN, which is banned by the government, had on November 6 declared to take to street to protest the issue. Chand-led cadres had ‘secretly joined& the protest programme organised by student wings of various political parties, according to police.

Senior Superintendent of Police Uttam Raj Subedi said among total 43 persons arrested today many were related to the Chand-led NCP. &We have identified at least 20 people to have been affiliated with the Chand-led NCP,& Subedi said. He added that the number could increase as police were yet to investigate those arrested. Those arrested have been held at Metropolitan Police Circle, Singhadurbar and at Nepal Police Health Club, Bhrikuti Mandap.

The government on March 12 had banned the Chand-led CPN, following a series of explosions by the party in Kathmandu valley and other public places across the country.

The post Over 20 cadres of Chand-led CPN arrested from a rally appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

कालापानी र लिपुलेख बारे आफ्नो भबिस्यबाणी मिलेको भन्दै प्रमाण सहित आए अर्जुन,Jyotish arjun chhetri VideoLink: https://trailer.ecroaker.com/component/search/?videoid=dShQdQYON_Y