Just this week, for travelling three kilometres, the taxi driver charged me three hundred rupees when, in fact, the actual cost should have been much lower. Although I tried to negotiate with the driver, he stood his own ground on the reasoning that it is Dashain. With no other option, I paid him the amount according to his demands. But later, I felt embarrassed for what I did when I realised that, even as an educated and conscious citizen, there was nothing that I could do to negotiate a fair price.

With the approach of festivals, most of us are victims of various festive frauds. Many of the shops and public vehicles charge illegitimately high prices which we are bound to pay. Local public vehicles do not provide student card discounts, with the sneaky reasoning that it is the festive period, and long-route vehicles rarely provide any relief for students looking to visit home for Dashain. When the seldom discount is given, it is usually just to show the authorities they are still abiding by the rules. Even then, those receiving discounts are provided with the most uncomfortable seats during their travels.

Similarly, shopkeepers have their own trick to scam customers during the festivals. They create a shortage of high demand goods in their shop fronts, while outside the shop they are able to sell the goods at a higher price on their own little black market. They try to act innocent, and they in fact do provide discounts and sales on some products—but only those in low demand. Although many city dwellers are cognizant of this fact, they are left with no other choice.

During Dashain and Tihar, there are many festive drinkers who are involved in various crimes and frequent road accidents. Strict and frequent checking policies of traffic police become ineffective because of low-level corruption.

Low-level officers are more tempted to earn a bonus in the form of bribes from the drivers. Hence, as soon as the crook is caught, he or she gets freed after providing a small stack of bills. Likewise, the cost of parking also doubles during the festival and despite paying for the security of the vehicle while parking, no security assurance is provided.    

Scorching inflation during festivals is more unbearable for the middle and low-income earners. But authorities who are well aware of this fact seem reluctant to act against it. Various public notices are published in many of the media to warn about these frauds but these are just limited to words. No strict action is taken and various monitoring groups to protect consumer rights have not been effective to identify these frauds.

Proper implementation of the rules and regulations is necessary to overcome these problems. Besides, all the consumer groups should work to unite and actively protest against these festive frauds that have been actively bamboozling their customers. Wish you all a Happy Dashain and Tihar!