A large number of passenger vehicles have been forced to stay off road since the beginning of the fuel crisis resulting from the blockade imposed by India on Nepal, forcing passengers to scramble for a place inside or on the roof of buses ignoring their own safety.Ramkrishna Lamichhane, one of the passengers from Gorkha, said that he paid Rs 300 for the trip to Narayangadh while the actual rate is just Rs 180.
According to Lamichhane, the local office of the department of transport management has banned over-the-counter sales of tickets, so entrepreneurs have been overcharging passengers.
The buses that operate from Gorkha reach Butwal, Chitwan, Bhairawa and Narayangadh for fuels.
The entrepreneurs have sought to justify the additional charge as compensation for the difficulties they have had in collecting fuel.
Sital Kaji Maskey, the coordinator of Kalash Oil Stores of Gorkha, said as per the agreement between the local administration and store, the buses traveling from the headquarters of Gorkha should be provided diesel at the market rate.
"But the store has not received fuels enough to meet the demand," said Maskey.
According to Min Bahadur Kunwar, a traffic police in Gorkha, the fuel shortage has increased risks for passengers. "Because there are fewer buses, we can't do anything even if we see overcrowded buses or passengers traveling on the roof," he said.
Buses with thirty-five seats carry nearly forty passengers on the roof itself, which might lead to accident, said Kunwar.
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