The new generous gift of this year's Dashain, 250ml of petrol
Dashain, a time of sacrifice and festival in Nepal is a huge holiday. It is a time families from throughout Nepal and abroad come together. In Kathmandu, more than half of the population goes "home" to the family village. It is even more important this year, after the double earthquakes of the spring. But this could be a sad Dashain.
There is a continuing blockade on fuel and other goods into the country. But the Nepalis continue to be a generous people in a time of hardship.
Young Nepalis are tired of their energy dependency on India and want solutions. Social media sites for ride sharing have popped up. There is a shortage of bicycles in the shops, so maybe a new mindset will prevail after this crisis.
The fuel shortage has and will continue to restrict movement.
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| Few vehicles = crowded rides |
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| I hope they are watching for low hanging wires! |
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| An Electric Bus, over flowing with people. |
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| One of many lines of empty vehicles waiting for diesel fuel. |
The vehicles that should be taking people to their homes for Dashain, sit idle.
After the second world war, my father started a taxi company in Ontario, Canada. It failed. When I see these vehicles on the side of road, I think of men and woman, like my father, who took a chance and invested in either a truck, a van, a taxi, or bus. A down payment, and a loan to provide a better life for their families. But first mother nature and now a nation, is strangling that dream. For them it must seem like some twisted version of "It's a Wonderful Life" and the "Grinch." However, few in the world seem to care.
I don't see a happy ending, but wish for one.
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