High cost of living sending families back to villages

KATHMANDU: Som Kumar Adhikari, a schoolteacher at Chabhil, called his family of five to Kathmandu some four years back hoping that they would be able to sustain themselves in city. Bhawana, his wife and a university graduate, left Ramechhap with her three children. Three years passed but Bhawana could not land a job. Adhikaris had to face tough time educating their children in private institutions. As last resort, Som had to send his family back to the village.

Adhikaris are not the only ones forced to leave Kathmandu. Manoj Gurung from Gorkha also had to do the same after he failed to find a lucrative job to fund two children’s schooling. “I left no stone unturned to get a sustainable job here but in vein,” Gurung, a master’s degree in political science from Tribhuvan University, told this correspondent. “The number of people heading to the capital is on the rise. Educated youths exceed the employment opportunities available in Kathmandu,” he rues.

The soaring cost of living, coupled with prevailing unemployment, has led hundreds of middle-class families to abandon their dream of living in the capital.

Dr Shankar Sharma, a prominent economist and former vice-chairman of National Planning Commission, blames decline in industrial investment in government and private sectors for the trend. “High cost of living in the city is the driving force behind the exodus. Housing is the most expensive,” said Dr Sharma. He added that 14 per cent inflation had not made things easier despite the much-hyped seven per cent economic growth rate in the current fiscal year. “A Living Standard survey is slated to be commissioned next year and it will show the extent of the problem,” he added.

He expressed confidence that huge investment in industrial sector and employment generation could minimise the problems facing the people living in urban centres. At a conservative estimate, average housing rent has gone up approximately 40 per cent in the past two years and it continues to soar.

Dr Krishna Bhattachan, a sociologist, said this trend could traumatise the isolated family members and could lead to divorce. He added that changing lifestyle, a tilt towards western civilization and self-centred attitude of individuals were posing a threat to social and family fabric.

The soaring cost of living, coupled with prevailing unemployment, has led hundreds of middle-class families to abandon their dream of living in the capital.