What's fanning the flames in Nepal yet again?

Introduced without much fanfare (ribbon cutting, coconut smashing, big promises and all that jazz), this column aims to offer a cursory reading of news reports appearing mainly in the Nepali print media. Though no big name in the Nepali media firmament, yours truly will try through this forum to offer an unbiased and insightful analysis of the stories by not discriminating against any publication big or small. The effort will be on coming up with this column daily, though yours truly admits that the task will not be that easy for a juggler. Hope you all will be with yours truly through thick and thin. 

Another long season of political instability looms large in Nepal after a brief period of relative peace, it appears.
Today's media reports indicate just that.

The Annapurna Post daily reports that the Biplav-led CPN-Maoist has attacked 35 NCell towers in 21 districts. 

The report, quoting Bipin, a member of the party's Seti-Mahakali bureau, says: The party has adopted a policy of destroying NCell towers because it has not paid taxes worth Rs 73 billion to the government. As per the party's central circular, we will destroy NCell towers throughout the country.  

However, in a press release, the telecom giant has denied evading tax and said it is abiding by all relevant regulatory and legal provisions. It has further claimed to have contributed more than Rs 2.1 billion as of the fiscal 2075-076 BS. 

It should be noted that the government had banned the Biplav-led Maoist party after it attacked an  NCell tower in Lalitpur, resulting in the death of a civilian.  

The company has also lambasted what it called the use of mass media to tarnish its image by publishing misleading reports on the alleged tax evasion. 

Tax is but just one issue fanning the flames. 

The KP Oli-headed two-third majority government is becoming more and more unpopular with each passing day, thanks to its alleged nexus with the medical mafia, major scams like the Lalita Niwas Land Scam and the Wide-Body Scandal as well as efforts to introduce the very very controversial Citizenship Bill and the Guthi Bill. 

The royal ways of our new dignitaries, including that of the President, are not helping the newfound federal republican order, either. 

Whenever the head of the state has to travel by road to attend certain functions, there's a virtual curfew on the road. Whenever the Prime Minister heads abroad, air traffic comes to a halt. And whenever speeding ministerial carcades pass by with security escort, people wonder what is this unprecedented security all for? Why should they fear the citizens, who elected them if they are discharging their duties honestly?      

Whenever leaders take ill, they head abroad for treatment using the state coffers. Even when they are paying their own bill, it's apparent that one cannot amass huge amount of wealth to pay for costly junkets and medical treatment abroad without indulging in irregularities.
What's more, these junkets, medical or otherwise, are often intended to meet sleuths for some shady deals that effectively sell the country down the river, yet again.    

At home, people die for want of treatment of even minor diseases. They die of hunger, they die in disasters like floods and landslides, thanks to a state that probably thinks it has done its bit by issuing flood warnings. Every day, according to estimates, around 3, 500 Nepalis head abroad in search of greener pastures and most of them written home in coffins. 

All these anomalies are probably fanning the flames, not to mention foreign players that think prolonged unrest in Nepal will benefit them. While there's no guarantee that another bout of instability, another bout of low or high-intensity insurgency will bring in much-desired changes, what is probable is that foreign powers may yet again get an opportunity to use Nepal as a playground to fulfil their vested interests, at the cost of the Nepalis.