Two million people are expected to leave Kathmandu for their ancestral homes this Dashain. Some of them have already left. But how will those who remain behind go? Between the first and seventh day of Dashain last year, a daily average of 200,000 people left Kathmandu by road. Carrying them to their homes were 6,000 daily buses and microbuses. But this year the acute shortage of fuel means there will be no more than 4,000 public vehicles leaving Kathmandu daily. This mismatch between supply and demand could badly disrupt travel plans of many Kathmandu residents who are eagerly looking forward to being with their extended family this Dashain (or during Tihar or Chhath for that matter). It is the government's responsibility to ensure that they get to their loved ones on time and without many hassles. Now that border restrictions on fuel have somewhat eased, the long-route public vehicles must be the first in line for petrol and diesel. While it is at it, the government should also ensure that the ongoing protests in various parts of Tarai do not impede the journey of home-bound travelers. Besides these measures, there is also an urgent need to control the flourishing black-marketing in bus and microbus tickets.These tickets are reportedly being sold for up to three times their normal rate. This open loot defeats the purpose of road travel for many. The reason millions of Nepalis take to the roads to visit their ancestral homes during Dashain is that air travel is prohibitively expensive for most of them. But thanks to the black-marketers they may now not even be able to afford a bus ticket home. Yes, help desks have been set up at five locations in Kathmandu to check such anomalies. But these have clearly proven inadequate. There should be a mechanism whereby the tickets are strictly sold on first-come-first-serve basis. If some people still don't get tickets, it is up to the government to arrange extra vehicles for them. This is the least they deserve after their horrific experience with recent earthquakes, quickly followed by a crippling economic blockade imposed by India. The first Dashain after the promulgation of new constitution could thus leave a bitter taste in the mouth of revelers.
It was shortsighted not to have any fuel in reserve for the festive season. All countries maintain a level of fuel to tide over emergencies, but, apparently, not Nepal. And why can't we import fuel from China to meet our immediate needs? The Great Earthquake was the perfect example of our lack of preparedness for crisis situations. Now the Indian blockade has once again badly exposed our vulnerabilities. There are many things that needed fixing even without the blockade. The transport cartels and syndicates responsible for artificially high price of public vehicle tickets must be dismantled if people are to travel cheaply and comfortably. Let this Dashain mark not just the end of our total dependence on one country for virtually all our needs. It should also be the last time our transporters can so easily dupe unsuspecting travelers.
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