Activate ESA

It’s been eleven days since people started queuing up at the petrol pumps. After braving hours of serpentine queues the lucky ones get a few litters of fuel but others return empty-handed. By the way, petroleum products are not distributed in Nepal for free—they’re not a government handout. People pay, and are always ready to pay, hefty prices for the stuff and yet on one pretext or another the supply gets choked off regularly. Why do consumers have to suffer for no fault of their own? Why is it always the hapless consumers who have to bear the brunt of this anomaly?



Why cannot the state ensure smooth supply of such a crucial commodity? Why can’t it fulfill this basic responsibility or even feel the need to do so? The ongoing senseless strike by tanker operators and the government’s indifference over this and over the plight of consumers has raised many nagging questions about the sensitivity of our rulers.



The current reckless strike is the result of a rivalry between two organizations of tanker operators locked in a zero-sum-game. The fuel shortage started on June 23 when the Central Region Tanker Operators Association (CRTOA) -- one of the two organizations -- launched the strike and brought imports through Raxaul, the main import point, and distribution of fuel from Amlekhgunj and Thankot depots, to a grinding halt. CRTOA wanted Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to revoke a decision to transfer 60 tankers originally hired to import fuel from Barauni, India, to the Raxaul-Kathmandu route. NOC complied, triggering another strike, this time by the rival Nepal Petroleum Transporters Federation (NPTF). Following an outcry in the media the tanker operators have suspended their strikes, at least for now. But make no mistake, the supply disruption will resurface sooner or later.



While this senseless strike penalizes the hapless consumers no end the government for its part shows no sense of urgency. Only today—eleven days after the supply disruption started— has the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies come around to recommending to the Ministry of Home Affairs to enforce the Essential Services Act (ESA). ESA gives the government sweeping powers to take punitive action against the strikers, including revocation of their operating licenses. But the home ministry has not activated ESA as of now since the Home Minister and the Home Secretary are both away in the districts for a security conference. This is ludicrous. We urge the government to forthwith activate ESA and ban any kind of strike in the petroleum supply chain, at least for the next one year. We wish to remind the government that ensuring the safety of citizens and protecting them from any form of hassles is its basic duty.

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