Back in Kathmandu the petrol queues are no shorter than they were when I left for UK ten days ago. But then again it's been like this for months. A driver will queue for four or five hours for ten litres of petrol and then rejoin the queue for a second allocation. The problem has arised because the Nepal Oil Corporation which imports fuel from the India Oil Corporation hasn't been paying its way. The saga began a couple of years ago when the Nepalese Government tried to introduce a petrol price hike (that would reflect the true import costs) that led to riots in the streets and the Government having to back down. The trouble is that no Government subsidy has been paid to the Nepal Oil Corporation to compensate in the shortfall in the price at the pumps, meaning that a substantial debt has accrued. Now the India Oil Corporation has had enough and reduced the flow of petrol across the border.
This morning we moved a box of toys from our upstairs store room in advance of transferring it to the children's home. Fourteen month old Alisha was fascinated with the partially opened box. Bev noticed her fiddling with the masking tape that had secured it and then with a large rubber band that was attached to the tape. Alisha was stretching it as if it were a bungee. On closer examination Bev realised that it was a little toy snake that she remembered having purchased some time ago. But then the "toy" snake moved...oh yes, it was alive. Heaven alone knows how the creature got into the house but it has been released now and Alisha has survived to tell the tale - one day!
