Bhagwati Nepali: The Extra Month

Stated in a very simple layman's language, the solar calendar and the lunar calendar do not coincide all the time, because the phases of the moon do not add up to 30 days every month. Therefore, every third year there is an extra lunar month. That month is called Purushottam month, Adhik Mas or extra month. We are today on the 9th day of this month. Coming Thursday would be the full Moon and as usually at this time of the year, it doesn't rain and the weather is very pleasant. It is usually a peaceful relaxing full Moon. How one wishes one could say the same about the country.

As I write, Kathmandu traffic has been brought to a standstill by the striking teachers, because there was a fracas between the teachers and the Police on the gates of Kaiser Mahal, the Ministry of Education and Sports, next to the newly opened 'garden of dreams'. Needless to say, 7.8 million students are still being denied education from last week. Nobody seems to be very serious, through many key players pay lip service.

Hisila Yami is adamant about Severn Trent and Asian Development Bank is pulling out and it looks like Melamchi is going the way of Arun III. The water woes of the Kathmanduites are going to be compounded every year.

The Nepal Student Union convention is being held in Chitwan. It is full of conflicts but hasn't reached the level of last year when it ended in mayhem in Pokhara. More than 1,000 policemen have been deployed and one wonders if half of them were available in time in Gaur, could the carnage have been avoided.

Today, U.S. Ambassador Moriarty's vehicle was stoned and greeted and greeted with black flag by the Young Communist League (YCL) on his way back from Beldandi refugee camps in Jhapa. Luckily, he wasn't hurt. We wouldn't want him to carry back a Communist inflicted scar when he goes back home soon.

This week the Maoists were successful in bullying the Prime Minister and the government in terms of ensuring Rs.100 per person per day in the PLA cantonments beyond providing free food and accommodation and the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works headed by Maoist Hisila Yami has got the responsibility of building barracks in the cantonments, earlier pushed by the prime minister to the domain of Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction.

However, comrade Prachanda was hauled up by the European Union Ambassadors and questioned about YCL, the general law and order situation and commitment to Constituent Assembly polls. Those who helped the noble cause of Jana Andolan - II seem to really worried now.

Former Prime Minister Soorya Bahadur Thapa spoke strongly against declaring Nepal a republic before the Constituent Assembly elections upon his return from India and people are reading a lot into it.

People here are having eerie feelings.

ENDS

© Scoop Media