Cartoon exhibition focusing rural municipalities concludes

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Dec. 14: A three-day cartoon exhibition depicting the action plans, development activities and anomalies of the rural municipality concluded here on Tuesday.

 The Cartoon exhibition had begun at Nepal Academy in Kathmandu on 11 December.  A cartoon showed that the local government has a full workload but due to lack of resources, the cost of maintaining the goods is leaning towards the full workload. This is a satire thrown by cartoonist Kasu Kshitij at the situation where there is lack of balance between the workload and resources in the local levels. 

Many such cartoons prepared focusing on the work to be done by the local government and the distortions and anomalies that occurred during the work were displayed in the exhibition. 

The exhibition titled Rangpalika was held on the occasion of the third convention of the National Association of Rural Municipalities. 

The convention was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. 

Altogether 50 artworks of two dozen cartoonists were displayed in the exhibition organised by the Association in collaboration with the Cartoonist Club of Nepal.  Prime Minister Deuba had also observed the exhibition after he inaugurated the convention.  

Homan Narayan Shrestha, president of the National Association of Rural Municipalities said, "The good works done by the 460 rural municipalities or the aspects that need to be improved are like the various colours of human life. 

Cartoonist Club President Basu Kshitiz said that art is a powerful medium of visual language, and cartoon art is more effective to convey  messages easily. 

The local government has the right to work in the fields of art, culture, language, folk life, natural resources, economy, society infrastructure, forestry, environmental protection and disaster management, and the cartoons exhibited had focused on these issues. 

Professor Ramesh Khanal, Head of the Department of Architecture, and other artists at the Academy of Fine Arts, said that artists have exhibited  their creativities on various issues in the country's development. 

Leading artists Ashokman Singh, Jeevan Rajopadhyay, Avin Shrestha, Basu Kshitiz, Devendra Thumkeli, Ravi Mishra, Bhanu Bhattarai, Rabindra Manandhar, Keshav Raj Khanal, Yogesh Khapangi, RK Thapa, Deepak Gautam, Krishnagopal Shrestha, Sagar Shah, Sujita Maharjan, Sanuraj Dangol, Mahesh Bastakoti, Arpita Shakya, Palpasa Dangol, Sudarshan Sigdel, Pansingh Tamor, Ramhari Rimal's cartoons were displayed  in the exhibition. 

The National Association of Rural Municipalities is an umbrella organisation of 460 rural municipalities in the country.  Elected presidents, vice presidents and one ward president or member from each district attended the three-day convention that kicked off from December 11.