21.12.15

Nepal: Humanitarian Crises That Are Worse Than Earthquakes

When the fuel shortage earlier was at its worst, the vehicles in capital city Kathmandu all had to wait in long queues for petrol. (Photo source: website of The Himalayan Times)
(Translated by Elaine Ng, proof-read and edited by Mitch Silver)

The current fuel shortage in Nepal has significantly worsened the humanitarian crisis there. In addition to the extremely high prices as well as the shortage of fuel for transport and cooking, there is a critical medical drug shortage and ambulances are unable to operate normally.

The 7.8-magnitude huge earthquake that occurred in Nepal on 25 April this year attracted the coverage and attention of the world’s media. Although no longer in the news, Nepal is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. The fuel shortage has resulted in reconstruction works stopping; materials are not being sent to destroyed villages where villagers are still freezing in tents during this exceptionally cold winter; hospitals and clinics lack medical resources. Even ordinary citizens have to collect twigs and sticks for cooking, and walk long distances to go to work and to school due to lack of transport.

I have been following the reports these months, and have been making observations personally in Nepal and discussing with the local people. Let me make a brief account.


On 20 September 2015, Nepal passed a new constitution. It received strong opposition from India as well as the residents of the southern Terai region of Nepal. The new constitution controversially divided the country into 7 provinces leaving the Terai residents as well as India unhappy with the new level of autonomy. Months of political unrest in Tarai obstructed oil tankers from India and the transport of food and medicine. India was alleged by the Nepalese government to have unofficially blocked the border (but denied by India), causing the serious fuel shortage.

For the past few months, the Nepalese people have been protesting against border blockade imposed unofficially by India. (Photo source: website of The Indian Express)
At its peak, some 40 civilians and policemen died during the political unrest. Nepal was in turmoil for over a week, without any fuel, food or drugs. The situation eased up a bit, but shortages and prices continue to wreak havoc on day to day life as well as Nepal’s economy.  China has promised assistance with fuel coming via the Tibet border, but the black market is still the primary source of fuel.

I thought that traffic in Kathmandu would have dropped substantially, and that there would be less air pollution. Yet there are still many vehicles on the road, and the air remains dusty. Taxi drivers use fuel shortage as an excuse to charge high fares.

I said to my local friend – it does not seem too bad judging from how the city looks like. My friend replied, “Of course – for the rich (and for the tourists), things still work although they are a lot more expensive. But think about the poor who cannot afford the prices – no gas for cooking, no money to take the taxi, and they may not even be able to find room squeeze to a bus roof. As for those in the mountainous areas who have to stay in tents due to the destruction of their houses during the earthquake, they have to collect branches for cooking and for keeping warm.” And among Nepal’s population of 28 million, 42% are below the poverty line, meaning earning less than USD2 every day.


Now whenever I take the taxi, the fare is double or more compared to before. So my local friends and I often walk – one morning, we set out at around 5am and took one hour to walk to the bus station. As I walked, the streets were full of locals who were walking or cycling to go to work or to school. It is not impossible to take the bus, but I am not sure if I will be able to tuck myself on the bus roof.

Public transport packed with passengers is commonly seen in the streets of Kathmandu.
The capital city of Kathmandu and second largest city Pokhara still appear peaceful and prosperous. You would not think that Nepal is facing such a serious situation, as visitors still have access to transportation, can still get food in restaurants and still have hot showers in hotels. They do not realize that if the coaches did not get black market fuel, it would take a few days’ queuing to refill petrol; the entire country basically does not have gas for cooking, and while some restaurants may be able to buy small amounts of gas at extremely high prices, many residents are using twigs for cooking; although some high-end hotels are being able to get gas for hot water, most guesthouses rely on solar power to get hot water for showers. If visitors were not sick or admitted to the hospital, they would not know that hospitals do not have enough oxygen for patients nor enough anaesthetics for surgery.

Nepal Red Cross Society has indicated that the 100 local blood centres seriously lack blood bags.

UNICEF also warned last month that there would be a new humanitarian crises in Nepal.


I enquired with Anjani Kumar, president of the Nepal Medical Association, about the drug shortage situation. He noted, “92 types of basic drugs (including emergency drugs) that are currently used by government hospitals and given away free to patients are in shortage. Some of them may last for 3 months, but some will be used up in a month.” He said that the government was trying different means to acquire drugs, but if this could not be done within 3 months, the plight is not optimistic.

A restaurant in Pokhara looking busy in the evening.

In fact, most restaurants use twigs to cook outdoors.

Even those who can afford to buy gasoline for cooking have to queue for a long time.
Amrit, president of Pokhara children’s home Edventure Nepal, was also concerned, “If it were just me, the problems of fuel shortage are still bearable; but I have 12 children in need of care here, and twigs are not as easily obtainable as you imagine. If any of the children gets ill, I can’t be sure if the hospitals can provide the necessary drugs.”
Edventure Nepal children’s home set up a stove outdoors for cooking.
Nepal typically undergoes power cut for 8 to 12 hours each day. Electricity mainly comes from hydropower. When there is a power cut, most organizations including hospitals generate electricity using back-up generators fuelled by diesel or petrol. Operating rooms, surgical instruments and emergency equipment require electricity, and infant incubators also need electricity to keep premature babies warm. Many hospitals have low fuel storage. If not supplemented in time, most can only last for about 50 hours. It is easy to imagine the certain lethal disaster that will occur if all power is lost when important surgeries are being done.

The coach I took from Kathmandu to Pokhara could not escape from the long queue for petrol.

Armed forces on duty in petrol stations.
A friend observed that instant noodles became harder to get. I asked why. My friend said, “Without electricity and fuel to power them, factories cannot manufacture.” I have forgotten how much modern industry relies on fuel. It can be imagined that many food supplies will be exhausted (if it continues to be difficult to import food).

I thought that the problems could be solved by the entering into agreement between Nepal and China, and the proposed setting up of 7 border points. But on a quick research, I discover that the border points between China and Nepal are all above 2000m (the highest at 6495m). A friend added, “When winter comes, those border points will be closed for 6 months due to heavy snow.” The reality is that currently there is only one open border crossing between Nepal and China, The importation is severely limited by physical and practical constraints of the border situation as well as political failings.

The current situation in Nepal is far from positive. While local reports say that Nepalese officials are negotiating in India, no consensus has been reached yet.


I hope to be able to make more reports here to let people know about the present dire circumstances in Nepal. If you care about Nepal and hope to prevent the humanitarian crisis, I urge you to spread the message so that there may be more international aid.

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