Public hearing on Nepal's statute begins

Millions of Nepalis in and outside the country will on Monday and Tuesday provide feedback, suggestions and inputs to the preliminary draft of a new constitution for the country.

Leaders of political parties represented in the Constituent Assembly, thousands of government employees, security personnel and other volunteers started public hearing across the country early Monday.

People can also offer suggestions on the new constitution through email, phone and other means.

Over 15,000 suggestions have already been received by the Constituent Assembly Secretariat, according to its spokesperson Bharat Raj Gautam.

Sixty-five percent of the suggestions on the website came from within the country and the rest from abroad, he said.

Nepal's parliament has 240 electoral constituencies where millions of copies of the draft constitution have been printed and circulated.

On Sunday evening, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala appealed to all Nepalis to participate "in this historic mega campaign of collecting suggestions for the new constitution".

All the suggestions and feedback will help in framing a new constitution, officials said.

But leaders of dissident Madhesi parties have vowed not to take part in the process.