Much as I would like to, it is becoming more and more difficult to find something to feel good about Nepal. Reading your page one piece "Nepal oil corruption" (#19) was for me the final straw. Something as open and direct as adulteration cannot be stopped even when the culprits are mixing kerosene with petrol in broad daylight. And boasting about it! It points to failure of governance and a failure of civil society. When a middle class becomes so apathetic that it cannot be outraged by something as glaring as this it has a sinister implication-it means democracy is not working as a check and balance. You in the media may highlight these issues, but what use is it if the institutions that are supposed to act on it (the legislature, judiciary, consumer groups and government) don't care?

Sam Shrestha
via Internet



Why are our party leaders such a bunch of jokers? Madhav Nepal with his supporters protested in front of Singha Durbar (#12) but instead of protesting about the hike in petrol prices they should first think about the real problems our country is going through like unemployment, education, corruption and Maoists who are causing chaos in the villages.

Max Mali
Pune

Thank you for your front page on petroleum adulteration (#19). Through your paper I, as a Nepali consumer, want to tell this to the government, I don't care about rising prices. In fact, double the price of fuel-but make sure we get what we pay for. And I have another message for the opposition: stop shouting about fuel price hike, do something about adulteration and the corruption that feeds it.

J Alders
Pokhara