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Kathmandu,Monday January 17, 2000 Magh 3rd, 2056.
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Ashamed to be a Nepali
?
We felt shocked, helpless, insulted and infuriated when the bus conductor
passed me and my wife off as Japanese tourists in a tourist bus on the way to Pokhara last
week . We were told that Nepalis could not travel in tourist buses and had to travel only
in the buses operated by Prithvi Rajmarg Highway Committee. This is not only ridiculous
and unfair but also violates the basic tenets of a democratic society and raises many
questions.
Firstly, can
Nepalis be “tourists” in Nepal or is this just the privilege of foreign
nationals only? I don’t think so, especially after all the hoopla of promoting
domestic tourism in VNY 1998. The amendments of 1997 to the Tourism Act include Nepalis as
“tourists” in view of this definition. Secondly, does such a committee have the
legal right to stop tourist buses along the highway, check passengers to see if there are
any Nepalis and forcefully take the passengers out of the bus? We were told that the
committee has mistreated Nepali passengers in the past and have threatened to damage
tourist buses that do not comply with their rules. As it so happens, both the check points
at Abu Khaireni and Danda ko Nak in Lekhnath municipality are located right beside the
police check posts. Thirdly, can such a group be formed to protect their vested interests
at the expense of ordinary citizens? Fourthly, do such practices promote fair and free
competition among bus owners to benefit the consumers (travellers)?
On the way back,
my wife and me purposely took the bus operated by the Committee to see what kind of
services they provided. The trip confirmed all our doubts. The bus left half an hour later
than the scheduled time from a different location; the seats were uncomfortable; the loud
speakers played loud high-trebled pop music (they had assumed that all passengers liked
listening to their choice of music). After leaving Pokhara, the bus stopped only after 4.5
hours in an overcrowded tea stall just outside of Malekhu. When Malekhu bazaar had many
shops and a clean bathroom, the bus driver decided to stop in front of this tea stall (the
only one in the area) where one is expected to walk 15 minutes to a bathroom to wash, eat,
drink and relax. So, does the Bus Committee really care about the comfort of passengers?
It is very clear
that buses operated by the Committee cannot and are not willing to compete with other
buses and have made these shady moves to protect their outdated business styles. This
practice must stop to prevent this disease of “inefficiency” from spreading to
other areas. Inefficient organisations should not receive legal protection. It is
surprising that the concerned government agency and other bus owners have done nothing to
challenge this Act. Instead, bus owners have chosen the easy way out by excluding
Nepali “tourists” from their buses.
Anish and Kabita,
Kathmandu |
