Soaring fuel prices force Afghan citizens to switch to bicycles

Amid rising fuel prices in Afghanistan, residents of Kabul are now switching to bicycles in order to cover short distances, reported TOLO News on Wednesday. The change in daily commute in the city came as the fuel prices soar almost double within three months. The local media report said the fuel prices were 35 Afghanis during the Ashraf Ghani government while it has towered to 76 Afghanis during the all-men Taliban government. "I cannot afford to pay the taxi fare. I often use a bicycle and sometimes walk instead of using a taxi," said Abdul Qadir, a Kabul resident. "Using bicycles is cheap and it is also good for the environment because it does not have any emissions," said Mukhtar Ahmad, a Kabul resident. 

Afghans wrote to central bank 

Some residents also expressed their "inability to pay" taxi fares as their work stopped and hampered their daily income. 
Notably, in October, it was reported that the Afghans had weakened against the dollar and this has greatly reduced business in the markets. In order to address the issue, several residents of the national capital wrote to Afghanistan's central bank to take steps to control the currency markets to pave the way for more robust business. Meanwhile, reacting to the current development in the country, several money exchangers in Kabul said that the lack of cash in banks is the reason that the Afghan currency has dropped.

It is worth mentioning that the condition of the war-torn country further deteriorated after the extremist group took control from the democratic government on August 15, this year, resulting in the total collapse of the system. Though the Taliban formed an interim government nearly a month after ousting Ashraf Ghani, it was too late to address the concerns of citizens. Those who were working with the government organisations and private companies had to sit at home. Even today, the condition there is unstable.

"All is not well" in Afghanistan

Several international organisations including WHO, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), UNICEF and NHRC who visited Afghanistan raised grave concerns on several occasions. A top official from NRC who had visited Afghanistan noted that the common people of the country have limited access to their savings as the country has been facing a huge cash crunch since the Taliban regime come to the power. The official said the limited access to the banks has forced the people to live without basic facilities. Also, he highlighted the problem of food scarcity in the national capital and said the families were forced to sleep without having a meal. However, the Taliban refused to accept it.

With inputs from ANI

Image: Pixabay/PTI