Recent visitors to supermarkets in Kathmandu and other big cities could have been disappointed. In the food section, they would have been able to choose between at least a dozen varieties of potato chips, and as many varieties of instant noodles; also available would be jams and spreads from every part of the world. But they are unlikely to have found that most basic daily necessity: common salt. When India imposed economic blockade on Nepal around two weeks ago, people started hoarding basic necessities like salt and sugar, and also cooking gas and petroleum products. They got panicky, afraid they wouldn't be able to celebrate their Dashain, Tihar and Chhat, not without edible salt and LPG to cook their food. Higher up the value chain, import of goats, the stuff of many Dashain delicacies, also ground to a halt. As we have been saying, this high-handedness of India, as it looks to choke its small neighbor into submission, is disproportionate, a clear case of violation of international norms and unjustifiable. But what about the response of our own brothers and sisters in Nepal? It ranges from the noble to the downright ugly.Civic-minded Nepalis were quick to offer free rides in their vehicles to those unable to get around because the fuel tanks of their motorbikes and cars were empty. But there were also plenty of Nepalis looking to make a fast buck by exploiting people's added vulnerability. There are no LPG cylinders available in the market, not necessarily because the retailers have run out of them. If you are ready to pay at least double the going rate, apparently there are still places in Kathmandu from where you can get a cylinder of cooking gas. Likewise, the price of fruits and vegetables, even the varieties grown locally, is inexplicably ticking up. The same with sugar and salt. On the Nepal-India border, petrol is being openly sold at considerable mark-up, right under the nose of the police.
While most Nepalis are suffering from the crippling economic blockade, the black-marketers here are having a field day. Yes, part of the recent price adjustment in the market is natural, determined by the forces of supply and demand. If something is scarce, its price will eventually go up, and vice-versa. But the prices of daily necessities in Nepali markets are increasingly determined not by the supply-demand dynamic, but the black-marketers who are crafty enough to make the market bend to their rules. This is because our market monitoring mechanisms are weak. The government conducts some monitoring on the eve of big festivals like Dashain and Tihar, largely for public consumption. Otherwise why limit them to festive seasons? This again is not for the want of consumer protection laws. We have enough of them. The problem is that no government till date has shown any commitment to regularly monitor the market in broader public interest. So black-marketing is rife and cartels and syndicates cripple the healthy growth of almost all sectors. During times of scarcity like this, it is all the more important to ensure equitable distribution of available resources. The government has badly failed in this important task.
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