Nepali Congress leaders and candidate for the House of Representatives Member election from East Nawalparasi, Constituency No 1, Dr Shashanka Koirala, has expressed the commitment to amend the National Park Act for addressing the long-standing problem created by the wildlife and the national park in the park’s buffer zone.

Addressing an election assembly here today, he said the problem was due to the anachronistic Act which was enacted during the Panchayat period. He asserted that the Act needs to be amended for resolving the problems of the park-affected people.

“Infrastructure development has not made headway in the settlements affected by the park and buffer zone. The Left-Democratic Alliance government to be formed after the parliamentary election will amend the Act,” leader Koirala said. He claimed that key programmes as distribution of landownership certificates to the landless and construction of the Dumkibas highway have not moved ahead due to the hurdles created by the Act.

He argued that the Alliance’s candidates should be made victorious in the election for minimizing the losses to humans and crops caused by the wildlife and providing proper compensation as well as to pursue the development in the park and buffer zone-affected areas.

The NC leader reiterated that the construction process of the Narayani Corridor highway, connecting Gaindakot and Triveni, would be initiated immediately after the elections for raising the living standard of the people of the buffer zone.