Posted by Sushant Wagley
As a Nyaya volunteer, my recent travel to Bayalpata Hosptial was delayed by a week due to national and regional strikes called by the various political parties. The political situation in Nepal is in constant flux, and these strikes – typically in the form of road blockades and business closures, and more commonly referred to as bandhs – have become a common occurrence in the lives of Nepalis. During bandhs, everything from schools to public transportation to shops are closed, completing halting daily life. The last bandh lasted for more than a week in Dhangadi, a major city in southern Nepal that serves as the entry point and distributor of food and other supplies for many surrounding districts. Achham (where Nyaya works) and its neighboring districts get the majority of their supplies from Dhangadi.
Recent protests in Kathmandu. Protests and bandhs throughout the country can have significant impact upon business and transport, limiting resources even for hospitals.
I was traveling to Achham with medical and food supplies for Bayalpata Hospital via Dhangadi. I began my journey in Kathmandu but my trip to Dhangadi had already been delayed due to another nation-wide three-day bandh. After my arrival, I was told that the regional district bandh had been called for an indefinite amount of time and that my departure for Bayalpata Hospital would be furthered delayed for an unknown period of time. Locals informed me that multiple meetings had taken place between the political parties but no agreement had been reached. Dhangadi, usually a bustling business center, was now a quiet town with shuttered shops. Large rocks and burnt tires – typical elements of bandhs – lined the streets blocking all vehicular movement. Lorries packed with supplies for northern districts were parked alongside the roads waiting. The bus station was filled with stranded passengers hoping for a political agreement.
After three days, the bandh in Dhangadi was lifted. It was during my ride from Dhangadi to Achham that I witnessed the effects of the weeklong bandh. Food and supplies in the stores alongside the highway had run out. While stopping for lunch, the shopkeeper informed me that he had run out of vegetables and other items since they are normally sent from Dhangadi. Similarly, the surrounding shopkeepers were eagerly waiting for the arrival of supplies. The bandh had also affected Nyaya’s team at Bayalpata Hospital. Hospital supplies, especially lab test kits and kitchen supplies, were running very low while some items had already run out. Our biochemical blood analyzer, used daily for investigations, was in need of a software upgrade. Without the upgrade, the machine could no longer function. Our clinical team went 3 days without the i-stat analyzer since I was carrying the upgrade package and my arrival was delayed due to the bandh.
Bandhs are so common throughout Nepal that the website NepalBandh.com documents known scheduled bandhs for the public to plan their lives around.
Currently, there is news about future potential bandhs. A sense of uncertainty about whether tomorrow is a bandh is always present, and with it, an uncertainty of what supplies, food or basic materials will be available. For Nyaya Health, bandhs pose a significant challenge as we rely on shipments from Dhangadi to operate a hospital in a very resource-poor region. As more bandhs are certain in the immediate future, Nyaya Health works to maintain its medical and pharmaceutical supplies so that clinical service at Bayalpata Hospital is not compromised.
