National Transport Entrepreneurs Association Nepal (NTEAN), the umbrella for all the private sector transport entrepreneurs, has challenged the Maoist-led government by defying the new transport fare rate.
Association leader Dinesh Bhandari has publicly announced he and his association alone have the authority to fix transport fare and not the government. He has even instructed bus owners not to follow the government order for decreasing the transport by 13 percent.
The Nepali government yesterday decided to decrease the transport fare by 13 percent as the oil prices in the international market have sharply gone down. Earlier, the government declared a down in fare by six percent, still defied by the entrepreneurs.
The entrepreneurs have further disobeyed the other seven percent down in fare announced by the government yesterday.
This shows that the Nepali consumers are extremely vulnerable and prone to conflicts. Vehicle owners have already begun to beat and mistreat their passengers; however, the government has not been able to take appropriate actions though it has arrested and released a few drivers and owners.
In Nepal, business tycoons and entrepreneurs control the government.
So far, business owners have not implemented the government’s decision of a minimum remuneration standard for workers.
Most Nepalis belong to one-dollar-a-day category.