Pvt sector urges govt to ensure safe working environment

KATHMANDU, APR 25 -

Amid series of attacks on businessmen in the last three months, the country’s private sector on Wednesday urged the government to ensure conducive environment to work.

A day after Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Vice-president Pashupati Murarka’s vehicle was vandalised, around 100 businessmen of various organisations headed to the official residence of Chairman of the Interim Election Government Khil Raj Regmi in Baluwatar and submitted a memorandum demanding an end to such attacks on their communities.    

“The government’s failure to ensure safe working environment has dropped confidence of the business communities,” said Suraj Vaidya, FNCCI president, before submitting the memorandum to Chairman Regmi. “The failure to take action against the criminals has created doubt among the private sector that it is ignoring our serious concerns.”

An unidentified group of four persons who came on two bikes vandalised his Land Rover while it was parked at Thapathali. Driver Ramesh Budhathoki, who stayed inside the vehicle as the attackers hurled bricks at the car, sustained minor injuries.

In the last four months, two other entrepreneurs were targetted with their vehicles being vandalised in similar manner. On January 4, Nepal Bankers Association President Rajan Singh Bhandari was attacked, while on March 5 members of a trade union belonging to the UCPN (Maoist) attacked Radisson Hotel Managing Director BK Shrestha.

The CPN-Maoist unionists vandalised the head office of Ncell in New Baneshore on March 19. While these incidents are reported in Kathmandu, large numbers of such attacks outside the capital often go unreported, the FNCCI said.

“The working environment is too unfavourable. These repeated attacks have terrorised the business community,” said Chhaya Sharma, president of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs’ Association of Nepal.

“The government should ensure a secured working environment,” Sharma said, adding that the schools are among the most terrorised sector in the recent time. FNCCI President Vaidya said that Chairman Regmi has invited the private sector at the government’s high-level meeting scheduled for Thursday. “Chairman Regmi has assured the business community that the government would come up with some concrete measures to ensure safe business environment,” Vaidya quoted Chairman Regmi as saying.

Source: The Kathmandu Post