Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PAGE 6
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TheHimalayan
T
A THOUGHT
FOR
T O D AY
Make it effective
P
oor distribution mechanism of petroleum products has led the common people to rely on other
means of getting them either from the black market
or by using their personal link with high authorities.
Private vehicles are seen plying on the streets of the
capital though the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) had
distributed them fuel twice after the acute shortage
of fuel occurred following the promulgation of the
new constitution on September 20. Reports from
various customs points reveal that a limited amount
of petrol, diesel and cooking gas are entering the
country, but the people are finding it very difficult to
get them. People spend hours queuing in one after
the other gas station hoping that they would get a few
liters of petrol or diesel, but to no avail. While a number of people have resorted to smuggling petroleum
products from across the border to make quick money, more worrying are the news reports that some of
the oil supplied to the NOC is finding its way into the
black market in the country. But the concerned authorities do not seem to be much bothered about
controlling such unscrupulous activities which have
caused much distress to the general people.
The concerned agencies and security personnel
should not remain aloof from the prevailing situation
which will cause considerable loss to the national
economy. Once the black marketing of fuels and other essential commodities become a common phenomenon in society it will
be an uphill task for the
government to control it
in the long run. It is the
ordinary and low income
people who will have to
bear the brunt of this. The
people who have been
quite supportive to the
government may lose
their patience if the scarcity of fuel, medicine and
other essential goods
continues, particularly
when they do not perceive that what is available is
not being distributed in a fair manner. Although the
government has announced a number of measures
to end the fuel scarcity by importing petroleum products from China and Bangladesh, it must also assure
the general public that whatever amount of fuels it
gets will be distributed to the people throughout the
country in an effective manner.
The government and the NOC need to make public the amount of petroleum products entering the
country on a daily basis and the amounts distributed
to the people to maintain transparency of their distribution. A fair number of security personnel should
also be deployed at gas stations or in LPG refilling
stations or distribution centres so that nobody can
seize the cooking gas cylinders, petrol or diesel and
sell them at exorbitant prices in the black market.
Media reports also suggest that some employees at
the NOC and Ministry of Supplies and Commerce are
not cooperating with the government. The uncooperative employees should be replaced with honest
ones to support the government fully. An effective
mechanism should be developed to ensure that all
the users can get a certain amount of fuel after a week
or two in a hassle-free manner. So far the NOC has
taken a number of experimental measures which
have proved to be ineffective. Life can be run without
great hardship even during the crisis provided that
there is an effective distribution system.
,IFE CAN BE RUN
without great
hardship even
during the crisis
provided that there
is an effective
distribution system
DIPENDRA GAUTAM
ambling is going unabated and it is only occasionally that we get to hear about gamblers being
arrested. In a major anti-gambling operation carried
out by the police in Kathmandu valley 17 gamblers
were arrested in a Gaushala based house recently.
The police raided the house at night after complaints
from the neigbours saying that the house had become a gambling den. In the past few weeks, including Tihar, several such raids have been made. Gambling for high-stakes is an evil which has negative
impact on society as it makes people bankrupt. The
Gambling Act ,1963, still is in force which provides
for light punishment for gamblers. It is high time the
Act was amended to make it sufficiently tough.
Meanwhile, a distinction should be made
between those who gamble with their friends
for small stakes and mainly for entertainment and
the others who are all out to make a fast buck, making losses high enough to make or mar gamblers.
Meanwhile, the provision of not permitting
Nepali citizens from gambling in casinos should be
strictly enforced no matter who they are. Casino operators should be made responsible for letting Nepali
gamble there.
s ,%44%23
They are trying
to survive
reconstruction. In such
practices pondering over
the modernized sophistication doesnt assure comfort and low cost. For instance, Barpak village will
be awesomely adorned if
we are again reconstructing the houses in a traditional fashion assuring
seismic safety components. Engrossing the vernacular technology in
terms of capacity building
of local workmanship and
s 4/0)#3
SHELBY WELINDER
he Nepalese community in
England united last week in
protest of the unofficial, yet ongoing, blockade between Nepal
and India. The demonstration
coincided with a visit from Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi to the UK.
Despite coinciding with the
religious holiday of Diwali,
hundreds of Nepalese people
attended the march on Londons Parliament Square. Over
three dozen Nepalese organizations, including Gurkha regiments and other prominent
Nepali figures, joined in solidarity, hoping to raise awareness among Nepalese and Indi-
s ",/'