Nepal, potentially one of the largest sources of hydroelectric power in the world, suffers under regular scheduled power cuts or "load shedding". Last dry season this peaked at 42 hours of cuts per week. Then with the onset of the monsoon in June the power cuts dwindled but, very unusually and ominously, didn't entirely go away. Last week load shedding was unexpectedly increased to 17.5 hours with the rationale being that the reservoirs were unseasonally low and, ironically, that the grossly mismanaged surplus of water that caused extensive flooding in south Nepal and north India had destroyed a vital electrical link with India. Today it has been announced that the load shedding burden is to be doubled to 35 hours with immediate effect - and we are still two weeks short of the end of the monsoon. Heaven alone knows how things will stand at the peak of the coming dry season. But we'll not be able to turn on our TV when we feel the urge for quite some time to come. Predictions are that in the absence of plans for any new dam constructions these power restrictions will continue for another five years, paralysing the nation's development and degrading its quality of life.
On a lighter note, I noticed the other day a huge advertisement for insurance cover
that appears in the car park of our local department store, Saleways in Lalitpur. It offers substantial pay outs in the event of a range of unforeseen calamities that might occur as you browse the supermarket shelves oblivious to the dangers that may lurk behind them. However the compensation paid is linked to how much you have spent in the store over the preceeding twelve months and, hilariously, after the deduction of the cost of your shopping on the day of the injury or untimely death. I wonder how this compares with public liability insurance at Tescos?
