Gandaki, Feb 16: The 11th edition of the Nepal Literature Festival has kicked off at Barahighat, Lakeside, in Pokhara. Chief Minister of Gandaki Province Surendraraj Pandey inaugurated the event.
On the occasion, he said that the Nepal Literature Festival would help establish Pokhara as a culturally rich city. “Social solidarity along with cultural diversity is a crucial aspect,” Pandey stated.
Pandey said that the literary event has offered a unique identity to Pokhara at a time when the preparations are ongoing to declare a touristic city to Pokhara.
He further said that the final goal of politics and literature is social transformation. “The role of arts and literature is instrumental in a political transformation of any country. Literature is a strong means of expressions. We politicians expect objective criticisms from literature.”
The organizer of the Festival shared that panel discussions would be held in several issues of arts, literature, music, education, politics, economics and others where experts would share their critical views.
After the inaugural session, former Chief Justice Kalyan Shrestha made his keynote speech on ‘Constitution and Good-Governance’ and pointed out the lack of sense of willingness in decision-making and constitutional processes on our part. He underscored the need of progressive implementation of the constitution and called for its review.
