I am posting the following observation on this blog because a lot of people had strong opinion about it. Context: Water association called for a strike and halted water supply since Thursday (withdrawn on Sunday).
A toxic mix of entrepreneurs, politicians and politico-entrepreneurs guided by quick gains from business and politics = Continuation of cartels and syndicates, though illegal, who bring the government to its keens and force it to backtrack decisions made in the interest of the public. As a result, you have cartels running the show from essential items to luxury goods supply:
(i) Water cartels shutting down supply because the government is trying to enforce strict standards; (ii) Petro cartels halting supply because the government isn't increasing commission and is monitoring their businesses for regulatory compliance; (iii) Gold cartels pulling down shutters because the government is inspecting their businesses in order to stop adulteration and to make them comply with weighing standards; (iv) Truck cartels halting vehicle movement because they are not allowed to charge three times the normal fare; (v) Taxi cartels calling for sudden chakka jam because they are not allowed to rig meters and charge astronomical fares to travelers; (vi) Veggie cartels shutting down veggie supply because the government wants to lower middlemen commission and regulate the market for any wrongdoing; (vii) Bus cartels vehemently opposing new vehicle addition to specified routes even though a majority of the existing ones are best suited for scrap works; (viii) Construction cartels resorting to violence in districts to win contracts for public construction, which are hardly constructed to the standard.
Few examples of how the cartels run the political and economic spheres in Nepal. Meantime, the government is just trying to adjust to these, without an urge to go hard on them.
Sourced from Facebook.
