Does anybody have a choice “All fired up” (THT, Dec. 5, Page 8)? It is becoming more and more difficult to live or work in this beautiful country without having several plans up our sleeves for sourcing essential supplies and utilities. For business as well as personal use, we need to arrange our own private water supply and electrical energy. Many of us are already fulfilling our domestic needs for electricity through micro inverters and solar panels. With load-shedding going up, and diesel and cooking gas supplies drying up, hotels will have no choice but to install heavy duty alternative source of clean energy for electricity and cooking, preferably mini-hydel or solar plants. In addition, a low cost biogas plant has become an inevitable backup in every Nepali kitchen to deal with the uncertainties of low voltage even in the best of days. Obviously hotels will need large waste plants to be on standby to surmount the cooking gas and diesel crisis. Fire woods, however romantic, nostalgic and adventurous, cannot be a cooking solution in this day and age, especially in commercial hotels and restaurants. We cannot go back to the stone-age. Everyday promises a new adventure which can take even locals like us by complete surprise. We need to have armour of strong survival instinct to insulate us from the daily surprises. One way out is to continually think out of the box and innovate so that we are not stuck in the air. Some smart eateries in the capital have already come up with new ideas for Spartan Nakabandi menus. We may have to introduce Maha Bhukampa menus too if the current crisis prolongs. Talking of innovation and thinking out of the box, here are some ideas for theme parties – free of costs. Smart hotels could organize Nakabandi and Maha Bhukampa nights in the coming New Year’s Eve. Hotels can use their imaginations to make these nights exciting, heart-stopping, colourful, alluring and as realistic as possible to the real things. Manohar Shrestha, Kathmandu Black market For Nepal it is a time of shortage of every essentials which has seriously hit everyone. As the border blockade has created severe shortage of petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas, during such difficult situations, the trend of black marketing has increased rampantly which has arouse tension and frustration among ordinary residents. Black marketing is not going to provide any benefit to the nation rather it is creating unnecessary problems in the nation. If you have money, you can get everything in the black market. This must stop as soon as possible. Getting every item at double price in the black market has made the common people believe that they do not have a government to take care of them. All in all, the concerned authorities make commitments to take action against black marketeers, but their actions do not prove they are serious. Rachana Shrestha, Kathmandu