With one of the most cherished festivals Dashain fast approaching, Kathmandu denizens are worried over whether they will be able to return to their hometowns. The protracted Tarai protests along with India’s unofficial trade blockade has left the Valley in severe shortage of petroleum products.

Twenty-seven-year-old Om Shankar Thakur, who appeared for an examination of Electrician at the Nepal Electricity Authority last week, is struggling to return to his hometown, Janakpur, for Dashain. Thakur fears that the petroleum fiasco will not allow him to go home.

Pukar Karki, 20, an engineering student at Pulchwok Engineering Campus, is also worried whether he can make it to Jhapa for Dashain. “If petrol is available, I will go on a scooter,” said Karki. “At present, it is easier to go to the US than to Jhapa,” he sarcastically added.

As Dashain approaches, there are over hundreds of thousands of people like Thakur and Karki who anxiously wait to travel to their homes for the festival. According to the National Population and Housing Census, Kathmandu Valley has about 2.3 million people.

But the government and transport entrepreneurs are still not sure when to open bus ticket bookings. The Department of Transport Management had planned to open the bookings in the first week of October but the plan was postponed due to strikes in the Tarai region and fuel shortages for the past week. Normally, but ticket bookings for Dashain starts some 15-20 days ahead of the festival.

It is estimated that more than 1.5 million people leave Kathmandu Valley for Dashain celebrations. According to transport entrepreneurs, more than 50 percent of the people living in the Capital leave for their homes. Since airfare is expensive, a majority of the people have no other option but to use road transportation. Karki, who stays in a rented room at Tinkune, said the last option for him is to stay in Kathmandu. “I have my cousin in Bhaktapur so I might be celebrating here because it’s not possible to ride 14 hours on the roof of the bus or a stool in a packed bus,” Karki said.

But for Thakur, even staying in Kathmandu is getting tough. “The cooking gas in my kitchen is empty now. I have been eating meals in a hotel, but it will also close from Wednesday due to the gas shortage,” Thakur said.

Similarly, a few of the schools in the Valley have stopped their classes, and almost all schools and colleges are conducting early terminal examinations in view of sending their students home early. N-Pabson Chairman Karna Bahadur Shahi said they have been pressuring the government to provide fuel service to school buses like the once announced for public transport, security forces, food suppliers and ambulances this week. “If this doesn’t work the last option is to close educational institutions,” said Shahi.