Some Relief

FINALLY the two day bandh called by the nine leftist parties was called off at the last minute thanks to the talks between the government and the representatives of the concerned leftist parties. The agreement that was hammered out on the eve of the bandh, that is on Wednesday night, was to lower the price of kerosene by Rs. 4 from the earlier fixed price of Rs.26 per litre. Though it is a small gesture yet the consumers will have to bear a burden of 70 per cent increase over the previous price of Rs. 13.

It is all right for the bandh to have been averted because it would have caused hardships to the majority of the people especially the students. But, ironically as the bandh was called off at the last moment many areas in Kathmandu valley and in some cities across the country there was a partial effect as the news reached quite late. And most of the schools remained closed in the confusion leading to much loss for the school children.

Herein, one thing has to be noted is that if the government could have brought down the price of kerosene oil by four rupees it should have been earlier instead of doing so at the eleventh hour. May be that is the way how we Nepalese people work. It would not have led to the protest programmes in the previous weeks disrupting traffic movement and causing inconveniences to the general public.

This is probably one instance when talks between the two parties concerned has averted another round of bandh that too for two days. This has come of much relief to the people as two days of a shut down of all activities would have been painful and led to great loss in monetary terms to the country and for those who eke out a daily livelihood a hungry belly.

The tourism sector too is happy that the bandh was called off as it would have led to negative impacts on the industry as such. This is the time of the year when there is a greater flow of tourists to the country and bandhs have always been detrimental. For those intending to make a visit would also cancel their plans sensing that the law and order situation may not be to their liking. The hotel industry is also somewhat content that the hotel employees have postponed their strike for the moment. There should be sense of responsibility on the part of all those involved as every sector in the country reels whenever any bandh is announced.

Whatever that may be the outcome has been of relief to all and the government had to take the decision bringing down the price of kerosene as the majority of the people use it for cooking purposes. The gain has been partial and only of some satisfaction to the people who are having to face a sudden spurt in the prices of other commodities of daily need. Like the coupon system for kerosene, the same could be applied to other items especially for those whose income is fixed or rather low. It is not only the coupon system that works wonders but the need is to make it effective with strict supervision and monitoring. The government must not be complacent that it has given total relief to the people, it should also look at the other problems of the people and take necessary measures to see to it that they are tackled in the greater interest of the common man.