With the earthquake that hit us on April followed by several aftershocks killing more than 8000 people and injuring above 9000, it is appalling to witness one crisis after the other with bleak prospects of improvement. We lost quite a handful of our brothers and sisters to the earthquake and the eventually triggered landslides, floods and multiple avalanches. To make things worse, the inclement monsoon claimed lives of additional many.
Few weeks ago, we also witnessed riots and strikes by various agitating groups demanding ethnicity based demarcation of federal states which resulted in the killings of many citizens of this nation. When the constitution was finally promulgated, many of us were very happy and positive about the development of our country but unfortunately, it was short-lived (Also, there were equally as many who opposed the newly issued statute).
Our fellow-countrymen, mostly from the plains, were not satisfied with the new constitution and I could see many friends keeping a Black Flag as their social media display pictures and statuses concluding with the hash "#NotMyConstitution" as a sign of defiance. They couldn't accept the new constitution. Their major objections were regarding the boundaries and number of federal states, proportional inclusion, demarcation of election constituencies and the issues related to citizenship. It took me more than a day to learn about these demands and excuse me; but personally, I felt few of them were rather hogwash.
Not only Madhesis (who have every right to go against the new constitution because they are Nepali after all and they 'need' their voices to be heard) but somehow India is also not happy with 'our' constitution. And now, thanks to our notorious disgruntled neighbor we are experiencing a fuel shortage (it is with great disappointment I notify you all that I did not state our southern neighbor was THE cause behind the blockade, which many people fear admitting is a blockade, due to professional reasons).
Anyway, the Indian Government, citing "security reasons" has blatantly denied export of fuel to Nepal. As a result, we are having a massive fuel shortage now.
A never ending meandering line of vehicles waiting for their turn for fuel fill-up has become a common sight in the capital. I see many students with their bulky bag, aunties with shopping bags in one hand and holding their children with the other, job holders in their formal wears, grannies, grandpas and sick accompanied by their relatives waiting for their respective buses.
The conductors have no choice but to hoard as many passengers as they can- not even sparing the roof of the bus. Some passengers even manage to cling to the rear stair of the bus – turning blind eye to the traffic policemen- who also have no option but to let go, considering the present situation.
I for my part HATE commuting in micro-buses where your body constantly, unwillingly comes in to contact with other alien bodies-- you can even smell their breath, their sweat and not to forget the 'grope-nightmare' for the women traveling in public transport. Standing is the worst part of it all - one gets a severe back ache after a couple of minutes (and probably shed few calories too as a good side-effect).
Soon, I was envying all the buses and bikes with empty seats. I wished they would drop me somewhere close to my destination. And I am pretty certain most of us, who had to commute a long way to reach our destination also felt the same.
I even tweeted something like this:
I first learnt about the word 'carpooling' when we had to cram different terminologies related to environment and ecology. Amongst the terms like Sustainable Development, Millennium Development Goal, Ecological niche, Ecotones and Aquifers, Carpooling was one of them. It taught us how many people can share seats in the same vehicle in order to consume less energy.
So, when a friend added me on the Facebook group Carpool Kathmandu, I scanned along the requests and offers made in the page and I was thrilled (of course with the obvious feeling of "Why didn't we think of this before?"). Apparently this is a Facebook group where you can #offer someone a seat in your vehicle or #ask someone for a ride.
It was interesting to watch people from all quarters offering and asking each other for a ride. Some of them had eventually gotten a 'successful' ride and had happily shared their stories along with grinning selfies. My attempts to ask for a ride from my workplace to home had been futile in the previous days and hence I was just scrolling the page, reading the conversation among people. The very next day, a colleague mentioned me about an offer that was favorable to me by a gentleman and I excitedly asked for the offer or to help me out. After a series of conversation, he agreed.
So, we met and were getting to know each other on the way. It is obvious that one should be aware of the person's 'whatabouts' from whom one is taking a lift. We have seen enough movies and series about how sometimes the hitchhiker attacks the person who offers him a lift and vice versa. So, I also did a little background check on him to make sure this person is safe. Turns out, we were from the same University (and same batch) and have over 20 mutual friends on Facebook.
"This guy seems safe!" my colleagues exclaimed in unison after I told them about our mutual friends. After some chitchats, silence followed. Probably he minded and thought it was uncomfortable, but I didn't. I was merely glad and grateful. As he dropped me off at the destination, I gave him a chocolate bar and he grinned at me. Since a lot of carpoolers took a selfie as a memento, I timidly asked him if he would like to, to which he politely declined and we parted our ways.
So, this was my carpooling experience.
Failure to call blockade a blockade caused poll defeat: Dr Koir...
Photo Taken from Kiran Khanal's post on Carpool Kathmandu
"I am going to put this sticker on my car so that it will be easier for the people recognize and to ask for the LIFT" Aanand Mishra via Carpool Kathmandu"
If you look at the group discussion, you can see so many posts about how people have given lifts to each other and their stories. Meanwhile, I also saw a post about how a hitchhiker tried to "misbehave" with the lady offering him a seat and mockingly laughed at her when she dropped him off somewhere in the middle. I think one should be careful about taking/giving rides and make sure their closed ones know about their arrangements, just in case.
Carpool Kathmandu teaches you about how with the sense of unity and sense of togetherness, we can help each other in times of need. One of my friends rightly said about how this trend should continue even if the fuel-crisis situation absolves, hopefully within some days. Even if it does not, I guess we should be prepared to either walk or commute in bicycle.
I wish I could write more about the Carpooling-Kathmandu and helpful Nepalis- but I will save my words for later...
In conclusion, to those who are too shy or proud to ask/offer help,
Okbye.
Anandeeta Gurung is a graduate from Kathmandu University. She is passionate about river ecology and aspires to work by integrating science and media in the days to come. She blogs at http://zappylily.blogspot.com . Her hobbies are reading, blogging, gardening and travelling
