The capital’s Thamel district is home to exotic food and drinks. But waiters here inform hesitantly that most of the food on the menu is not available because the kitchens are not functioning owing to shortage of gas.
They regret to inform that the only items available are the beverages and salads. So patrons have no option but to chew green veggies while staring at the menu that lured them with promises of “Trout platter” and “Awesome Burger.”
Tourist flow thinsThe gas scarcity which is the result of the blockade on the India-Nepal border has impacted the tourist flow most severely.
“The tourism season coincides with the festival season of Nepal which begins with Dasein and goes on till Chrismas and New Year. But this year, we have extremely low tourist inflow,” said Robin Thapa of the New Orleans Café of Thamel. The gas scarcity and the tourism sector’s problems are however not the most visible parts of the suffering caused by the blockade.
The acute sufferers are the transport workers who spend days on the streets of Kathmandu waiting for fuel.
Diesel is however available in the black market and have turned the city smoggy with fume. But the most shocking impact of the blockade has been the almost near absence of vehicles on the streets for most of the day as private vehicle owners prefer to walk instead of using cars.
The worst affected are agricultural workers and people who dwell in the mountains as they depend on gas and diesel to keep themselves warm from the chilly high altitude weather.
The poultry sector is another victim as farm owners use diesel run generators to keep their hatcheries warm. “But unable to source petrol, dozens of tonnes of eggs are being thrown away,” said former foreign Finance Minister, Surendra Pandey.
The local mood has turned dramatically against India as the blockade enforced by Madhesi parties viewed as pro-India have taken the light out of Dasein/Dussehra.
Anxiety is high about the next fifty days when Nepal will witness the Dasain, Diwali and Chhat festivals.
While connections with Indians are fondly mentioned, most of the harsh criticism is reserved for the present Indian government.
The full intensity of the fuel shortage has hit Kathmandu, which has already begun receiving the early winter wind.
Harsh winter ahead“The winter will be difficult for us. I really do not know how we are going to survive through the winter if the blockade does not end,” said Krishna Gopal Shreshtha, member of the Central Secretariat of CPN-UNL.
The saddest part of the blockade is that youngsters who visit nightclubs can only to listen to music as food is not of offer due to the gas shortage. Nevertheless the music goes on.
