BY D. M. THAPA
This author used to say what a depressing chore it has become to watch news on TV, where wars, violence and misery dominate the stories. It is no different in Nepal these days, where dozens of prominent newspapers and TV channels have prolifited and all seem to be doing pretty well, though the country is suffering.
Perhaps it is to escape such misery and realities that the people are enjoying comedy movies and stand up shows more now.
Anyway, none less than a doctor told me very recently, “Don’t read newspaper these days, they will only depress you instead of informing you”. This is indeed true, but as newspaper reading has become a habit for thousands of people all across the country, they feel more comfortable to start the day with a cup of tea and a newspaper in hand or just flipping through a TV channel or two.
Just a few days back, a leading vernacular daily had a banner news, which screamed at readers that the price of vegetables, a staple diet, had gone up by a whopping 309 per cent on an average. Naturally the businessmen took advantage of the situation and also increased the price of such things as almonds, pistachio, cardamoms and other things, which may be vegetarian, but have nothing to do with the vegetables we eat every day.
The sad side was that the increased money even when so steep, did not reach the actual farmers and only the middle men and retail shops were making profits.
This is an alarming situation in a country, which is already tottering because of a weak economy, and where people normally grew their own vegetables, whether in small spots in the urban areas or more open spaces in the rural areas. But now we have to import vegetables worth millions, on top of that they are not fresh and healthy. To add to this huge problem faced by the public, the government and experts don’t seem to be too bothered. The media just informs us and they think their work is done. They never question how this situation has come about. The illegal plotting of farmable lands, the lack of vision of the planners and also the total indifference of the government, which has set big targets for development but doesn’t seem to see a growing problem right under its nose.
“There is nothing wrong in making big plans and thinking about bringing railway lines and ships into Nepal, but the dire needs of the common public must be addressed first”, said a knowledgeable man during a TV talk programme recently. He further added, “Even the wrangling among the political parties seem like diverting from what we have to do at once. For example, our constitutions have been good, it is just the implementation part where the authorities have gone wrong”.
Apart from the steeply uphill market prices, the scourge of corruption also seems to be hitting the economy hard. The same vernacular printed in a headline news that “high profile” people are also being investigated. Ironically, two of those under investigation are the chief of the CIAA (Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority), the highest body to look into corruption in the nation.
But such noises of filing cases against “high profile” politicians, bureaucrats and others seem to be just that, mere noises to divert the attention of the people and actually catch none of the big fishes.
The “land mafia” people are also hand in glove with the authorities, just like those who illegally dig sands and rocks from rivers and big time businessmen who cheat the government huge amounts of taxes. I know many of the richest men in the country who were, rebelling but poor politicians, ordinary businessmen or small time civil servants who have amassed wealth beyond the dreams of any common man in the streets. The question is, not only declaring one’s wealth while assuming some office in the government is enough, it is more important to reveal their source of income! A person could say he has one million rupees in the bank, two houses, plots in Kathmandu, 100 tolas of gold and much jewelry when he or she is actually penniless. The question should be put right in the beginning how he has come to own so much property and wealth, when going out of office, the person may have already earned illegally, what he declared in a simple government forms in the beginning.
For example, the former CIAA chief is said to have owned billions of rupees worth of property, but how could he earn so much when he was just a civil servant? The investigations and the cases filed seem very weak and many get away free and a few small time corrupt people are given light sentences with small fines. The clever politicians, bureaucrats in the right places and also police personnel seem to earn more than any rich businessman. How is this possible?
Visionless politicians, Ph.D holding planners, greedy land mafias and other crooked individuals seem to be pushing the nation into a real tight economic corner, This is distressing,
God forbid that a day will come, when a person has to go to the market with a bag full of money and come back with a plastic bag half filled with vegetables. We have heard of such things happening in other places. If such a time comes, and even naïve observers believe we are headed in this wrong direction, then the people may come out on the streets not for political reasons but for a better economy to sustain their daily existence.
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