Kudos to student unions
The Himalayan Times
18
February 2013
The government was forced to reverse its
decision with regard to unscientific hiking the price of cooking gas. Thanks to
collective protest made by the students’ union. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai led
coalition government had tried to feel the nerves of the people by abruptly
hiking the price as reported in “NOC jacks up LPG price by Rs. 630” (THT, 13
Feb. Page 1). There must be big kickback involved in doing so considering
the amount of price hike. It’s very sad to see the government’s anti-people
working style that has hard hit the lives of the common people. The recent
price increase in kerosene has already made the lives of the common people
miserable.
It was totally unjustifiable decision of
the government to abruptly increase the price of LPG by Rs 630 without doing
any proper homework for introducing dual cylinder systems in the market. What
was the purpose of asking the consumers to collect the subsidized amount of
Rs.550 from the bank rather than providing the gas cylinder in the subsidized
rate from the gas depots?
Whichever political party or parties
ascended to the political helm, no concrete measures were taken to scientifically
improve the pricing system of either LPG or other petroleum products. None of
them seemed serious in privatizing the NOC or inviting the private parties to
take up the business. What are the benefits of not doing so has been the
peoples concern. Unless the government privatises the NOC, the pricing monopoly
of the government and NOC will persist.
Rai Biren Bangdel
Maharajgunj, Kathmandu
