According to a recent report unveiled by Nepal Rastra Bank, Kathmandu Valley saw an inflation rate of 13.2 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year. Likewise, the hill region recorded 12.4 percent inflation, the mountain region 10.3 percent and the tarai plains 10.2 percent during the review period.The protracted agitations and strikes in the tarai and the Indian blockade are being blamed for the spiralling market prices.
Adhikari, who has just completed his graduate degree, is a senior technician working for a private cable television company. He complained that all his earnings are spent on food, room rent and other basic daily necessities. "I could not save anything, here. I hope I can also get part-time work in Malaysia and save some money," he said.
Adhikari started working for the cable television company as an apprentice some six years ago. His salary was just Rs 3,900 then. He toiled hard as he saw a future in that company. "Inflation was not so high then. My salary was enough for me to live comfortably and for my further education," he said, adding that his present income is no longer sufficient.
According to Adhikari, his room rent then was Rs 900 per month. A kilo of rice used to cost Rs 30, sugar Rs 35 and a cooking gas cylinder Rs 900. "Now a kilo of rice has reached Rs 70, gas is Rs 10,000 in the black market," he complained. He now pays Rs 3,500 as rent per month, not counting the electricity and garbage disposal costs.
Ganesh Gurung, an expert on migration, said that rising inflation is triggering the migration abroad. He said one could save money overseas even with a limited income as the inflation rates there are not high and you can also find part-time work on the side. Moreover, the migrant workers do not have to pay house rent and some companies even provide food free of cost.
Economist Chandra Mani Adhikari said that the double digit inflation has hit the poor and the middle class hard. "The purchasing power of ordinary people has declined. Most of their income goes into basic necessities like food, education and clothing," he said.
"Opting for foreign employment is a way for the youths to release their frustration. They would otherwise choose to revolt," he added and suggested that the government clamp down on the black market and ease the supply of goods in the market.
Over 1,700 youths like Adhikari, the cable technician, fly out to the Gulf countries in search of employment every day. Over 3.5 million Nepali youths are estimated to be working in the Gulf already and on an average day three bodies of dead workers are brought back from those countries. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of Nepali youths are also estimated to be working in India as laborers.
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Soaring inflation pushing youths into work abroad
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