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Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has ultimately surrendered before the undue donor pressure to take what's not only unpopular but financially problematic decisions against the country's already poor people.

Although considered earlier as somewhat "bold" leader who rejected several donor pressures to effect significant hike in the prices of essential services such as electricity and fertilizer, the fourth timer Prime Minister who snatched the power from his own colleague just 100 days back, bowed down to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) the other day to raise electricity tariff by another 30 percent--thus effecting over 100 percent hike in just eight months!

Until October/November last year, the consumer price of electricity per unit was four rupees. But with the new decision of 30 percent hike--second in eight months--the tariff per unit would be eight rupees and eleven paisa.

And notably, all this has been done against ADB's most materialistic threat that, otherwise, no amount will be released from a 3.5 billion rupee loan deal--akin to a rich man bullying a poor on a pittance! (one US dollar=71 rupees at current exchange rate)

Price rise to continue
What's more, the latest agreement with the ADB also stipulates that the bill be raised every six months as per the ratio of inflation to be monitored by the country's central bank, viz., Nepal Rastra Bank. This, many consumers feel, would surely keep them 1 off their lights, compelling them to virtually cut off their power supplies.

"How can you expect me to continue with power supplies when every minute of it would mean additional burden on my limited purse?," says Ramesh Nath Srivastav, 42, who ekes out his life by roadside vending in the capital. "Do they (the decision maker politicians) think money comes so easily to us as it might do to them?"

Alekh Khadka, 51, who sells stationers at a small roadside stall in New Baneshwar also looks unhappy. "Life is getting really miserable. They say we are the second richest in water resources in the world. I think we are that from the bottom.... "

Khadka, a primary school teacher till sometime back, places all the blame on "the rouges, these politicians and bureaucrats" for the country's downward economy and the poor standard of life.

And there are many like Khadka and Srivastav who find it difficult to live properly with the increasing prices of essential services and goods of everyday use. With the gap between the rich and the poor ever widening, the problem, naturally, would further

No doubt the donor agencies like ADB, IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank often exert undue pressure on the government to raise service tariff as a strong precondition for granting loan assistance for LDCs like Nepal. But this time, Nepal Electricity Authority's decision to buy the power from local private sector projects at a higher price, and that too in US dollars, is more responsible, according to power analysts.

It is learnt that NEA has to pay nearly 7cents (about 6 rupees) for each unit of power generated from Khimti and Bhote Koshi hydel projects, both undertaken by private operators in the country's Ramechhap and Sindhupalchowk districts respectively.

Only 15 percent of over 22 million population have access to electricity in the country although its potential is said to be second largest in the world, next only to Brazil.