We are now in the third month of this blockade. We wrote at
the end of September about how the Nepali border with India had been closed.
Nepal is landlocked and so depends very heavily on India for pretty much all
its imports.
Queuing for kerosene... |
A lot of people have now run out of cooking gas and so are
cooking on wood fires – the air is noticeably smoggier.
Petrol is being sold in very limited amounts. What petrol
there is being prioritised to schools, hospitals, buses and government agencies.
Shop shelves are looking sparse as all imported goods start
to run out.
Electricity is erratic as those who can afford it have
bought electric induction plates and other similar things for cooking and are
stretching the system. From tomorrow our regularly scheduled power cuts will
increase to 8 and 9 hours a day due to the increased electric usage. Although
the fuel shortage has meant a number of business have shut down, reducing some
power usage, so it could be worse.
The black market is doing a roaring trade though. Roads are
not as quiet as we thought they would be, so some petrol is getting through,
but is reportedly costing 3 or 4 times the normal price and gas bottles are about
5 times the normal price.
... on our route to school. |
The government has allowed gas distributors to sell half
full bottles – but transporting them is the next challenge. Our local store
apparently has half full gas bottles about 2 hours outside Kathmandu, but the
distributors won’t deliver them due to petrol shortages and fears for their own
safety.
We heard of one local organisation that had a supply of
partly used gas bottles ready for their heaters this winter, but decided to “raffle”
them off to staff who had none for cooking. There was apparently much dancing
and celebrating from those who won! KISC has made the decision to not use any
gas to heat this year and just keep what we’ve got to keep cooking lunches for
staff and students.
So as the weather turns cold here most people are preparing
themselves for a cold and grim winter with no fuel, but the bigger danger now
is that there is also a big shortage of medicines and vaccines putting many at
risk if they have an accident or become ill. This does not count those who lost
everything in the April and May earthquakes here and haven’t received the aid
they need to get them through the winter – much of it is in country, but can’t
be delivered to rural areas due to fuel shortages.
The Nepali people are tough and they are resilient, but they
have had a tough year and they deserve a break. People are suffering, people
who have already survived two massive earthquakes and hundreds of terrifying
aftershocks, people who have buried their loved ones, who have lost homes and
possessions.
It is so frustrating to be here in Nepal and feel completely
helpless. Please join us in praying that a resolution will be found to this
situation quickly.
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