I felt as if I pulled off a win in a war. I was chuffed to the bits; I acted as if I made it to the top of the Mount Everest. It was when I my two-wheeler entered the Lagankhel’s gas station after passing through the longest queue of oil-empty vehicles ever imaginable. But my ecstasy soon vanished into thin air. I knew the pump was dispensing just two liters instead of five liters of petrol to the private motorbikes as announced earlier. Oops! My all day long waiting paid off a little. Anyway, I silently tapped the two liters and rode off.

Putting a sad face, I reached Satdobato. A big bellied man popped up and yelled my name. I receded to a halt and listened to him. “It’s urgent, my brother is admitted in the hospital; I need to be there at any cost. Please, help me.” It was my neighbor who was pleading. His request was really undeniable; I concealed the misery I had at the petrol pump and dropped him off at the Bir Hospital.

When returning, a young man with a leg injury asked for a pillion ride to Gwarko. I could not disappoint him too. I reached home with almost an empty reserve. I need at least one liter of petrol a day to make a round trip to and from my office. So for the next day I had no option but to take a public transport.

I left for office earlier on foot. At the nearest micro bus stands, there was a throng of people to catch a shuttle. A few crammed micro-buses zoomed past without stopping. Finally one, half occupied stopped. The first row seats are for females. The second and third ones are earmarked for the elderly and the disabled.

It is a good thing that nobody dares to infract this reservation rule. The rest are occupied by those who can fight the fiercest in the scuffle to get in. It was excruciatingly painful to stand crooked inside a bus that had to be held up in a traffic jam caused by a queue of vehicles in Harisiddi petrol pump.

Repeating the same ordeal of journey I reached home in the evening at eight that day and had a half cooked meal as the gas ran out in the middle of the cooking.

We know Nepal Oil Corporation has rationed the petroleum product distribution owing to an unofficial embargo imposed by India. The sufferings caused by the oil shortage have been increasing. Still, there seems to be no solution in sight. There were nice sessions of House, elections of the prime minister, speakers and even the president.