Let us hope that this Dashain will be celebrated in the right spirit by the Nepali people, with new resolutions to make the country prosperous

The Nepali people are celebrating Dashain which is one of the major festivals of Nepal. Looking back at this year, we found that nature has been harsh on us. The mega earthquake of April 25 and several strong aftershocks in its aftermath caused the death of around 9000 and damaged property and infrastructure worth billions of rupees. This tragedy united the nation as the political parties stopped their altercations for a while, and rescue work and relief was provided to the needy. Yet the spirit of the Nepalis remains undaunted even as they are suffering from the acute shortages of essentials like food, petroleum products, medicines and cooking gas. This has hit hard the country like never seen in recent times. Industries are closed and tourism has been hit as many hotels are closing as they have no fuel to prepare food. Moreover, due to the more than two months of the bandhs in several parts of the Tarai, people’s normal lives have been severely affected. The supply of fossil fuel from Nepal’s sole supplier has been restricted since the Constitution of Nepal was promulgated. Only a few vehicles carrying fuel are trickling in through the border.

Seeing the hardships that the Nepali people are undergoing it is very tragic that many of them would not be able to observe this Dashain jubilantly as it used to be in the past also because many people will not be able to go to their hometowns for Dashain reunion with their families. Usually half the people from the capital valley flock to their respective homes in the districts in order to celebrate the festival. Passengers also have to commute in a perilous manner by sitting on the rooftops of buses. The air tickets have already been booked for the most part and they have become more expensive too; airliners are saying they would be operating extra flights, provided they are able to procure the necessary fuel which these days they are compelled to airlift from various countries.

Let us hope that wisdom and peace prevails and the bandhs and protests and blockade are stopped. Still as we observe the Dashain festival let it spread goodwill among all Nepali people. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the situation many traders are resorting to hoarding and selling essential commodities, including petroleum products, on the black market. The consumers have to queue in long lines, and there is no guarantee that they would be able to get oil. In the meantime, like always, the Nepali people have shown that they are a resilient lot. They have been supportive of the government despite the great hardship and asking it to diversify Nepal’s trade, depending less and less on any single supplier, at the same time generating alternative sources of supply, particularly of petroleum products, within the country itself. However, we can take some comfort from the fact that the new Constitution has finally materialized. Let us hope, defying all the odds, that this Dashain will be celebrated in the right spirit by the Nepali people, with new resolutions on the part of all, particularly the political leaders, that they will spare nothing to make the country prosperous and less and less vulnerable to the decisions of others.

Eat healthy meat

It is the Dashan festival during which people consume meat the most. But most of the meats to be sold by the slaughterhouses or butchers are found to be sub-standard or in some cases, also sell the meat of she-goats or unhealthy animals unnoticed to the consumers. The agencies responsible for monitoring the meat shops or slaughterhouses seem to be ineffective to ensure that the healthy meat has been sold to the consumers. A report from Chitwan reveals the fact that most of the meat shops are flouting the rules set by the law that requires checking the livestock’s health before being slaughtered or sold alive.

The doctors and consumer rights activists have advised the consumers not to eat any kind of meat that contains excessive amount of fat. They have also advised the people to eat the meat only after boiling for a few minutes. It is good to eat chicken or fish as they contain less fat and contain high amount of protein. Doctors have also advised the consumers not to eat meat in the form of sekuwa, barbecue or roasted on firewood as such cuisine contains hydro-carbon that can cause cancer of stomach, intestine or skin. Eat less meat to be healthy.