Thank you Kishore Nepal for such a tragic travelogue of a blockaded Nepal ('Road closed', #236). As a frequent traveller between Kathmandu and Dharan, your article brought tears to my eyes and I was overcome by sorrow for what we have lost as a nation. But what have the Maoists achieved by destroying our motherland? What kind of liberation are they fighting for? Who are they fighting for if it is the ordinary people who are being punished?

Sri Rai,
Jawalakhel

. Kishore Nepal paints a depressing picture of a country that has ground to a halt. Three weeks after February First, the people are still waiting to see what price we have to pay for the curtailment of our freedoms. But are the terrorists going to heed the advice you give them in your editorial ('Right here, right now')? Doesn't look like it. If anything, not only have we lost our civil liberties but it also looks like the war is going to intensify.

Name witheld,
email

. In your last issue with the front page article 'Road closed' you had three advertisements for cars. Was that a spoof or what?

Ravi Maharjan,
email