Kalikot has never been without problems. Food has always been scarce and prices for the basic necessities high.Schoolchildren do not have enough books, the sick do not have doctors or medicine and news of people dying from curable diseases like diarrhoea, the common cold, measles or pneumonia is nothing new in Kalikot.

The victims of conflict are waiting for relief, the budget has been frozen since the end of the fiscal year because no work has been done, the phone lines are dead and the banks do not have enough cash. The opening of the Karnali Highway has increased deaths and injuries because of accidents.

It may seem wrong to compare Kalikot to Kathmandu. But there are shortages now in both places. Scarcity of food and basic commodities has been a way of life in far-off rural areas like Kalikot. Since the April Uprising, the capital too has been plunged into a life of shortages.

But the well-off population seems to be getting on fine. Even at the time of the worst shortages, gas, kerosene, petrol and diesel seem to reach their homes without any problem. They don't need to stand in queues for hours. But for the middle and the lower classes, Kathmandu has become a city of crises.

Hoarding is rife and businessmen are profiting from the scarcity of gas, kerosene, diesel and petrol. The consumers are still silent, but the government needs to address these issues before their patience runs out.