E-Kantipur

Hello darkness, my old friend”, the first line from the song “The Sound of Silence” by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, brings to my mind the fast approaching terror of extended load-shedding in Nepal. For many years now, the practice has been that the power cut increases when the winter season sets in, and we have no option but to stare at the face of darkness. The darkness resulting from the power outage is sure to wreak havoc upon our lives.

After seeing almost half a year of political absurdity, the next half is going to be even more bizarre because of the partial brightness. Science says, “Light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight.  Likewise, electricity was discovered ages ago. However, in Nepal, we are yet to find this reliable source of energy. I vividly remember the previous year’s power outage. The hard day hours at college; and in the evening while returning home, the darkness is giggling at me.

In this digital era when the means of communications run faster than our heart beat, in Nepal time seems to travel in reverse gear. The dream shown by our leaders at the apex post also brings on blackouts. So we are left in the lurch, and we accept the darkness as our fate. If feels abysmal that in our part of the globe, darkness still exists. The rest of the world is on the path of gigantic economic growth, but we Nepalis are still in search of light.

However, this year we saw some light at the end of the tunnel as the then energy minister Gokarna Bista did much to curb power theft, develop hydropower projects and address problems in transmission lines. His few initiatives brought some light of hope, but as the government in which he was a minister has fallen, we are left wondering what the recently appointed Energy Minster Posta Bahadur Bogati will do to continue the positive effort started by Bista.

In order to address the power crisis, state officials and private power stations should work hand in hand to prevent further woes created by load-shedding. The shortage of energy is deteriorating from bad to worse. That and the chaos in the political situation combined with the snail’s pace of economic development is sure to break our bones.

Some of the blame must go to the citizens who are oblivious to the fact that prevention is better then cure. We should voice our concern and be aware of our rights. During the monsoon and the summer season, we get electricity; but in the chilly winter, we are left without options. If this situation is not addressed soon, the doors and windows of our houses could break with everybody crooning in unison “Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again”.

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