BIRGUNJ: “Time is a bird with open wings that cannot be stopped…”
Residents or Birgunj are not ready to agree with the aforementioned saying. The reason: their time has stopped. [break]
Their common clock, the Ghantaghar, that they used to look at before leaving for work, has stopped working owing to power cuts.
“Passersby look in dismay at the clock that has stopped ticking,” says Rameswore Sharaf who runs a tea shop near the Ghantaghar.
The clock froze at 7:56. “It never struck eight,” says Sharaf.
The 10-hour daily load-shedding has stopped time from ticking. And its impact on mortals is huge.
“The lengthy power cut schedule has forced nearly 300 factories in Birgunj industrial corridor to cut production by 80 percent,” says Sushil Dhurka, acting chief of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industries.
Small businesses have also been hit badly by the power cuts.
“It has badly affected the functioning of printing press,” says Kamal Kumar Upadhyay, who runs Shubhalaxmi Offset Press. “It is very difficult to publish newspapers.”
Power cuts have made functioning difficult for hospitals and schools as well. In the hospitals, patients have not been able to use heaters.
“The temperature in the Intensive Care Unit also keeps on fluctuating owing to power unavailability,” said a staff at Narayani Regional Hospital.
