Kathmandu

With the shortage of fuel in the country, from September 27 the regulation of plying vehicles with even-odd number plates on alternate days has come into effect. The number of vehicles has reduced considerably on the roads. Not only those with their own vehicles have been affected, those who rely on public transportation services are also bearing the brunt. Our college students too are feeling it.

Reaching college on time? No way

The morning classes in colleges usually begin from 6:15 or 6:30 am. So, those students attending morning shifts have to begin their day really early. For those living within walking distance from the college, the fuel shortage poses not much of a problem for them to make it to class on time. But for students who take one hour to reach college from their residence even in vehicles, it has become almost impossible to reach college on time.

Prajita Baniya from Dharmasthali and Sushmita Dhital from Goldungha, both studying in Class XI in People’s Campus, Pakanajol are facing difficulty as currently there is no vehicle running from their residential area. Baniya expressed, “We are facing much trouble to reach college as there is no public vehicle running in our area. We walk for an hour to reach Bypass, Balaju and then get a vehicle to Pakanajol.”

“It is good to walk, but walking in the early morning for classes and then back home in the scorching heat is difficult. We do not think we can do that every day,” added Dhital.

Prabin Bhattarai, a student of BSc (CSIT) VIIIth Semester of Orchid International College, Gaushala missed his class on September 28 as he was unable to get a ride in a public vehicle. Bhattarai from Koteshwor shared, “My class starts at 6:30 am and yesterday I could not board the vehicle as there was no space to even put one foot. But today I somehow managed to reach college, but most of my classmates were absent. There were only 18 students present.” The total number of students in his class is 32.

Another student Bristi Joshi, a student of Class XII at Gaurishankar College, Kalimati said, “I am waiting for my results and I don’t have to go to college. But my brothers are facing difficulty as they have to walk from home to college and they are getting late for their classes.”

It’s not just the students who are missing college or reaching college late. The staff of colleges and teachers too are facing the same difficulty. About this Bidur Dahal, Chairman of Orchid International College, Gaushala shared, “We have teachers who attend classes in four different colleges. They have an estimated 15 minutes to reach one college. And as they have to use public vehicles, they are also missing classes.”

What’s next?

According to Dahal, as the students and staff members come to college from places like Banepa, they have no other alternative but to shut down the college for the time being. “We will run the college for two more days, but it’s not possible to run the college in this situation. Everybody is facing problem be it students, staff members or teachers.” However, he added, “This situation has taught us that in our curriculum itself we should make students aware about being independent as these students are the ones who will be the country’s policy makers after 10 years or more.”

Everybody is waiting and watching, expecting an end to protest and getting things to run smoothly. Baniya suggested, “The blockade at the border areas should be removed and our leaders should talk to the leaders of the Madheshi parties. It’s not only the problem of transportation, but we are facing problem in many other things as well.”

Likewise Bhattarai added, “Our country is not independent yet and we should be independent which is possible when we also deal with China for our needs. There should be a balance in dealing with both countries for the solution to today’s condition.”