Nepal simmers with rage as there is a shortage of essential supplies and tourism income as a result of India’s blockade.
At 11 pm, Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal is fast asleep. Barring a few taxies there is no sign of life on the roads. Our contact told us that since taxies were hard to find, it would be better for us to find a hotel room for a night somewhere near the bus stand. Since September, Nepal is suffering an acute shortage of fuel. Public transportation is hit the hardest and taxies are running on fuel from the flourishing black market. They charge 1500-2000 Nepali rupees (NR) for distances as short as 4-5 km. It isn’t our first trip to Nepal so it is even more disturbing to see one of the most happening cities of South Asia go dead, silent. The government, desperate to allay the crisis, has cut down on electricity supply and resorted to load shedding of more than 11 hours a day.
This story is from the January 30 2016 edition of Tehelka.
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This story is from the January 30 2016 edition of Tehelka.
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