Although the Nepal government, through its mass media, declared on 25 February that the Essential Services Act would be enforced immediately, local people in the Kathmandu valley complain that millions of litres of petrol, diesel and kerosene have been hidden in underground tanks of black marketers and that the government officials, including security personnel, have nexus with them. Hundreds of vehicles have still been queuing up day and night for oil in the Kathmandu valley and there has been no obvious improvement in the situation.
Although political workers, political party sister wings and civil society members, including consumer forums have frequently been urging the government to raid the stores and houses of oil dealers, the government has not made the public feel the presence of administration in the country.
Taxi driver Bidur Lama says, “There is no law in the country. It’s difficult for the workers to survive.” A local tea shop owner nearby a petroleum pump says, “Many drivers get exhausted just because it’s not sure to get oil even after a wait of 12 hours.” She says this situation is not good for the general public though she can sell more tea and get more money because of the gathering of more drivers and vehicle owners.
Many oil dealers have close relationship with the executives of the government-owned Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC). There are yet-to-confirm reports that dozens of Nepal’s private petrol pumps are owned by the family members and relatives of the nation’s oil officials. The 22-month long oil scarcity has become quite mysterious.
Should the new government with a new mindset and a different moral character be formed, many government officials, smugglers and black marketers are likely to be dragged into legal actions. Blackbusiness people definitely prefer this crisis to prolong.
At present, Nepal is under a peace process monitored by the UN after a decade-long insurgency that sought the eradication of feudal rule for the political and socio-economic transformation of the Nepali society. The Nepalis want multidimensional transformation in their lives but feudal warlords have been setting barriers to the ongoing peace process.
The Nepalis have observed Indian regional hegemonism and the US Administration as the chief external barriers to this peace process because they have been doing their best to prevent the insurgents from coming to power. Should they be barred from participating in the peaceful political activities, the revocation of war is more possible. Frightened by such a possibility, the Nepalis, including the insurgents, have been determinedly going ahead with preparations for the coming Constituent Assembly polls schedule for 10 April 2008. Should the polls be held successfully, a new multi-ethnic and inclusive constitution aiming at the restructuring of the country is expected to be formulated.
However, monarchists have vowed to thwart this peace process. They have always stressed on monostructural rule based on the exclusion of all other majority communities in the Nepali society. They base on the feudal ideology dating back to centuries.
At present, monarchists have completely depended on the landlords and warlords of the Terai region of Nepal and also on the Hindu extremists of India who regard monarchy as the incarnation of Lord Bishnu. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other related Hindu pressure groups in India have adopted a strategy of foiling Nepal’s peace process by cutting supplies to Nepal. The current shortage of supplies of oil has been considered part of the strategy. Yet, the Nepalis believe this is not the only cause for the crisis. They equally blame on domestic reactionaries resisting the possibility of any change that may not favor their petty interests.
In this context, the Nepal government appears to have failed to take the state’s mechanisms under control. Some other forces seem to be doing that. Without government control of state mechanisms, it will not be possible to implement the Essential Services Act. Without effectively putting the Essential Services Act into actions, the polls cannot be held when the nation stops due to the cut-off of petroleum products throughout the country.