While the entire country has come to a standstill due to an acute shortage of the petroleum products, it seems that it has made little impact on political leaders. Cycling to work today, I was shocked to see a minister being escorted by 5-6 gas guzzling SUVs. It is not fair when ordinary citizens have to queue for hours and days to receive a rationed quantity of fuel and the private vehicles are not even eligible for this meager fuel supply. On the other hand - oblivious to the country’s situation - political leaders are cruising with their security escort. When will the political leaders of Nepal be accountable to the people they are elected to serve?

Gaurav Katwal, Kathmandu

Food security

A couple of days ago at Gangabu, on my way to school I saw an old man of around 60 collecting rotten apples strewn by a street vendor. No sooner had he collected the apples than started gobbling them. I was shocked and said to the old man, “Why are you eating these rotten apples, father? It’s bad for health”. He replied in no time, “Good things are stored but to decay! And we poor people are here to eat garbage at last”.

Later I came to know that he was an earthquake victim from Rasuwa. The old man represents those people hit hard by the natural disaster. Tons of foodstuffs provided by the international community are said to be stored in warehouses but the people like this old man were deprived of the needed assistance.

However, due to the lack of proper distribution mechanism and mismanagement of food distribution, thousands of people are still bearing the brunt of these gruesome scenarios. Everyone has right to safe food. Nepal’s newly adopted constitution has also a provision in this regard. Can’t the government distribute the foodstuff stored in the warehouses to those people displaced by the quake?

Som Nath Ghimire, Kawasoti

Blockade

Apropos of the news story “NC to name own candidate for premiership” (THT, Oct. 5, Page 1), Speaker Subas Nembang seems to be excited about getting a new PM by October 11. However, the people are more worried about getting cooking gas and petroleum products by that date to celebrate Dashain on October 13. They are already looking at the worst Dashain in living memory. With no cooking gas and kerosene, we will have no option but to celebrate Dashain with raw food. As much as we detest undeclared blockade, we are also against tacit unofficial agreements, gentlemanly or not, to elect to such high offices as prime minister, president, vice-president, speaker, etc. These high offices are not

like that of a chairman of public transport association or president of FNCCI which at times is decided through agreement and understanding among a few high and mighty people. The parties should desist from reducing such high offices to that of a chairman of taxi drivers’ association, FNCCI or CNI.

J. Talchabhadell, Bhaktapur