Rusha Thapa

Bhaktapur. Four decades ago, Nepal was largely self-sufficient in almost everything. We had enough of our own food, timber and other necessities. Almost every person had farmland or some kind of land. People produced the grains and vegetables they needed themselves. At that time, cooking gas like today was not available. Food was cooked using firewood. Trees were cut from forests and brought home. Leaves, corn husks and other agricultural waste were also used to light traditional stoves. Gas arrived much later. Even today, people in remote districts and villages still use firewood for cooking. Firewood is also used to prepare food for cattle. Cooking with firewood provided warmth as well.

At that time, houses were not made of cement and glass like they are today. They were built with stone and mud. Roofs were made from straw, tiles, thatch, tin and other traditional materials. There was usually a cattle shed near the house. People lived in the main house while cattle were kept in the shed. Today, houses are built closely together, leaving almost no open space. In many places, sunlight cannot enter the houses, and even natural light is limited.

In those days, houses had plenty of open space. There were courtyards within the homes, and farmland was often located right in front of the house. Sunlight entered the homes from early morning. Storerooms were filled with rice, maize, millet and wheat, as well as buckwheat, horse gram, mustard, beans, lentils, sesame and other food grains sufficient for the whole year. Since cattle were raised at home, milk, curd and ghee were also available in sufficient quantities.

People also raised goats, chickens, ducks, pigeons, buffaloes, sheep and mountain goats themselves. People at that time often wore torn clothes and went barefoot. Even so, they were satisfied. They ate plenty of food and slept adequately. Since they worked throughout the day, they were able to digest whatever they ate. They also actively participated in community work.

Villagers collectively built stone spouts, wells, ponds, temples, rest houses, public shelters, schools and bridges. There was unity among the people. They were happy. No one was burdened by heavy debt. The country itself also had very little foreign debt. Until 1988, the Nepal government even sold or provided food to foreigners as aid.

In 1990, the Panchayat system ended and a multiparty democratic system was introduced. After that, the plotting and fragmentation of agricultural land began. At that time, some individuals owned hundreds of ropanis of land. But land had very little value. Even selling one ropani for five to ten thousand rupees was difficult. Land brokers then began buying farmland from farmers for around ten thousand rupees per ropani. They brought in bulldozers and flattened the agricultural terraces. During this process, streams, canals, wells, ponds and traditional water sources were buried.

On February 13, 1996, the Maoists launched the armed conflict. They promised to abolish the monarchy and bring the authority of Singha Durbar to villages. They raised slogans about reclaiming Nepali territory allegedly occupied by China and India, ending foreign interference, and eliminating exploitation and feudalism. The Maoists demanded donations from people they considered exploiters and feudalists in villages.

After that, many people moved to cities and district headquarters. They locked their houses and cattle sheds and left their farmland barren before moving to urban areas. Cities became increasingly crowded. Land brokers took advantage of the situation. Land that once could not be sold for ten thousand rupees per ropani was later sold for millions per aana. As a result, villages became empty while cities became unbearably crowded. On May 28, 2008, Nepal abolished the monarchy and became a federal democratic republic.

Dr. Ram Baran Yadav became the country's first president and Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda became the prime minister. It has now been 19 years since the democratic republican system was established. During this period, houses and roads have been built, but Nepal has reached a situation where people could face starvation if foreign countries stop supplying food. There is almost no farmland left in Kathmandu Valley and other urban areas.

There are only modern houses. Children born in the Kathmandu Valley often do not even know what farmland looks like, where grains grow or where milk comes from. Villages have become almost completely deserted and silent. Farmland lies unused. In Kathmandu Valley and other urban areas, people have built houses on plots as small as one to four aana, with buildings ranging from five to as many as 19 floors.

These houses are built and rented out. Depending on the location, a single room can cost between Rs 7,000 and Rs 30,000 per month. Apartments can cost between Rs 20,000 and Rs 400,000, while commercial shutters can cost between Rs 30,000 and Rs 2.4 million per month. Empty commercial shutters are reportedly bought and sold for Rs 2 million to Rs 6 million. Charges for electricity, water, garbage collection, internet and other services are also imposed arbitrarily. The government does not regulate house rents, and landlords can set whatever rent they want.

For several months, people ranging from landlords to tenants in Kathmandu Valley and other urban areas have been seen standing in lines for cooking gas. Some of them, despite wearing gold jewelry around their necks and hands, say they have had to remain hungry because there is no gas. At present, there is only a shortage of cooking gas. But what will happen if foreign countries stop supplying food altogether? Having a huge house means nothing when there is nothing to eat to survive.

Bricks, stnes and cement cannot be eaten. People survive by consuming food and water. What will happen when even those become unavailable? If Nepalese people are being affected so severely by a shortage of cooking gas today, what will happen during a much bigger crisis in the future? Sooner or later, the country could face a food crisis, and it is difficult to imagine what the situation would be like then. Today, Nepal has become a major trading market for neighboring countries such as India and China.

We import almost everything, from salt to gundruk. Almost every food item cooked in our kitchens is produced abroad. The clothes we wear and the vehicles we drive are also manufactured by foreign countries. We have become consumers who mainly purchase foreign products. Nepal has become so dependent on other countries that if any foreign country stops exporting a particular product, the impact on us will be enormous. Unfortunately, the government does not appear to be paying enough attention to this issue.

The government is neither moving seriously toward making the country self-sufficient nor taking meaningful steps to revive the deserted villages. During the election campaign, Prime Minister Balendra Shah (Balen) asked voters in Jhapa whether they had eaten vegetables grown on this side of the border or the other side. He then said that people should now eat vegetables produced locally.