Saumyaa Jha
After Dashain, it was my first day at school on last Friday. Very few students were there in my school. In my class, there were only 15 students out of 40. My friends could not come to class because they did not get bus to come to school. In Kathmandu, there are very few public buses on the road. Some buses are there but they are overcrowded and the small children can’t get on the bus. Most of the schools and colleges are closed because they do not have fuel to run their buses and they do not have enough cooking gas to feed their students staying at hostel.
We did not study at school on the very first day after Dashain vacation. All students were asking with other students about their Dashain. Nobody celebrated this festival because they did not have cooking gas, nor they could go anywhere. No one enjoyed Dashain.
Now the school is opened and my friends are worried because they do not have cooking gas at home and so they can’t eat delicious food. Even I have the same problem. Since a long time, I have not eaten bhat,dal tarkari and achaar. I like non-vegetarian items but my mother do not cook because it needs more cooking gas. I have to eat bhat and tarkaari or bhat ,daal and aaloo chokha. I find myself lucky to have a heater but some of my friends do not have heater also and their mother have to cook in wooden chulho. All chidren were worried because it takes long time to prepare meal on heater or wooden chulho and they will be late for school.
Doctors say that the growing children should take balance diet. Balance diet means food that contains protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamine, mineral and water. The children must take more nutrients but how can they? They are forced to eat less food like me. These days, I do not have many option for food. It certainly will affect my health.
It is very serious matter. If our situation is like this, how the children of Terai are living ? They are facing banda for 78 days. How the children of mountain area are living? The earthquake has destroyed their home, they do not have enough to eat and wear. They are sent everything from town. Food stuff, medicine and everything are sent from town and for this bus, trucks are needed. Nowadays, there are no buses and trucks because there is no fuel. Everyone is at danger and children are at more risk but who cares about children, their likes, dislikes and their needs !
The country’s situation is worsening day by day but our government is not listening. Our government has made us poor. I think, now it is the time to warn our government. Government is not allowed to give pain to citizen. We all should raise our voice against government.
(Writer studies in class 6.)
