High Ways
In
Disorder
Frustrated by frequent general strikes of various natures, the instinct for survival has taught people the way to make their life normal as far as possible. With police forces without any political protections, there is no law and order in highways. Disturbed by high intensity ideological violence and armed conflict in the past, the roads and highways are now disturbed by low intensity insurgencies by regional, linguistic and ethnic groups. On the background of prolonging political instability, there is no sign of immediate peace and normalcy in the country. However, the people have developed their own contingency plan to cope with new challenge
By KESHAB POUDEL reporting from Narayanghat
For Kancha Tamang, a truck driver, it took three days to reach Narayanghat from Biratnagar when he was on his way to Dhangadhi of far western region carrying vegetable ghee from eastern Nepal.
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Prithvi Highway : Subjected to regular disruption |
Normally, it is just one and half day of driving from Biratnagar, eastern Nepal, to Dhangadhi, a town of far western zone. The nine hundred kilometer portion of east-west highway from Biratnagar to Dhangadhi is now one of most disorderly road in the country in terms of disturbance.
"I have already faced one day Chakkajam in Lahan, two hours disturbance in Nijgadh and a few hours in Hetauda," said Tamang. "These kinds of situation are nothing new for us as we have our own contingency plan for such period. We have seen more dangerous period during Maoist insurgency."
According to Police Post in Naryanghat, they recorded about 30 different kinds of Bandhas in the month between May 10 to June 15 in the highways from Hetauda, Butwal, Bharatpur, Dhading and Kathmandu.
The reasons behind such general strikes are varied. Local level strikes are often related to the accidents and compensation for the victim. According to police, people often disturb the road to press the local demands like to have a new school building or drinking water schemes.
Other strikes were either called by political ideological groups or by the new groups of insurgents and ethnic groups. Whatever the situation of the highways may be, people continue to travel by bus and transport entrepreneurs are ferrying the products from one parts of the country to another. Though disturbance is causing huge economic loss, day to day life of the people is going on.
"During the peak of Maoist insurgency, sometimes the roads were blocked for weeks but we still drove our vehicles," said Tamang. "I have to drive to make money for bread and education for my children. Anyway, at present I don't have to worry about the landmines and ambush and getting trapped in encounters between the insurgents and security forces."
Farmers’ Woes
Vegetable farmers have to pay high price for chakkajam and other such road blockades. Having faced these kinds of situation for a long time, farmers have developed their own contingency program for the national level general strikes as well as local level frequent disturbances and bandhas.
To avoid the economic loss from national level bandha, farmers collect their products a couple of days before such bandhas and send their loaded trucks at night a day before the general strike so that they can reach the market before bandhas.
"We do our business even at midnight when there is a general strike next day as farmers send their products to us and we send products to our local vendors," said Ramji Shrestha, a wholesaler of vegetables in Kalimati Vegetable Market.
Despite all these contingent programs, the farmers often end up losing a great deal of money. Some perishable products like tomatoes, cauliflowers and cabbage either have to be dumped or fed to cattle in case of longer duration of bandhas.
East-west high way has seen the highest number of bandhas between May 15 and June 15 - there were more than 50 incidents of bandhas which disturbed various sections of the highway. Along with a general strike called by Janjati Mahasangh and regional general strike called by Maoists in western region, other bandhas were called by local based various armed groups in eastern terai. Although the western and far western terai are relatively free of armed groups, Maoists organizations are leading the band there.
Although Maoist organization YCL also called general strike in Kapilvastu and Terai's various armed groups called many other bandhas affecting the life in terai, it had no impact in hill and valley.
"We supply our vegetables to many parts of Nepal including some parts of bordering town of India," said Bhimnath Upreti, a vegetable farmer of Dharke village of Dhading district. “We have system to place fresh vegetables for a couple of days bandhas. We will suffer only when the general strike are announced for more than a week."
Truck drivers, travelers and others, too, have their own contingency programs. Truck drivers and bus drivers carry minimum requirements of rice, kerosene, lentil and other snacks along with them whereas the bus passengers carry dry food like noodles, water and other such things.
"I have packed food for a couple of days. If the bus is stranded for a few days, I can survive by eating noodles, cheese balls, biscuits etc," said Krishna Gurung of Lamjung who was traveling from Lamjung to Kathmandu. "The traveling by road is very uncertain. For the past few years, bandhas and general strikes were exclusive to Maoists but now every one uses this weapon to press the government."
For the travelers and commercial farmers, general strikes and local bandhas may be a curse. However, it is a boon to the local traders in the highways. When buses get stranded for hours, grocery stores, local restaurants along the highway do a brisk business.
Local Level Disturbance
One can manage and develop contingency plan for national level bandhas but the local level bandhas which normally settles following intense discussions and debates with the local administration are causing more worries.
These kinds of local strikes are called to demand high compensation for the victims of road accidents or to press the local administration on some local demands. People stop the vehicle movement on any issue, which they consider as being ignored by the administration.
"This is creating major problems for us. We have been making efforts to make the road and highways free of hassles. The government needs the support of all," said Baman Prasad Neupane, spokesman of Ministry of Home Affairs.
Transport entrepreneurs have already demanded declaring the highways and roads as peace zones so that they can ply their vehicles peacefully. Following frequent attacks on vehicles by bandha organizers, the Transport Entrepreneurs have now given ultimatum to
the government.
Between June 10-16, the road between Gajuri of Dhading and Mugling was stalled for more than 15 hours. The road was blocked by local people demanding high compensation for the death of a local child in traffic accident. "It seems to be business now to demand high compensation from transport entrepreneurs in case of accidents," said a traffic police sub inspector of Gajuri.
"Most of the shop owners have good amount of food stuffs deposited to maintain uninterrupted supply in case of prolonged bandhas. Our business will double during the time of local bandhas. National level general strikes have nothing to do with us as all the transport entrepreneurs and travelers defer their travel during such time," said Nilima Hirachan of Nilima Restaurant in Kurintar, 100 kilometer west of Kathmandu."
A phase of ideologically oriented communists insurgency is over and a new low intensity trouble has been introduced in a stage-managed manner beginning from terai with a distinct possibility of spreading up all over the country.
If that ideological insurgency could continue for a decade, this low intensity upsurge may go on for more than that. People in Nepal may have to endure this "durable disorder" for a decade to come.
Despite the ending of high intensity armed conflict by Maoists, Nepal's highways continue to face the effect of new phase of low intensity insurgency by various groups. However, every one is learning to survive this situation.
