Nepal is considering rationing oil and fuel, after hundreds of trucks have been held up at the India border for the past few days.
Nepal is considering rationing oil and fuel, after hundreds of trucks have been held up at the India border for the past few days due to protests against the country's new Constitution, according to officials.
A spokesperson of Nepal Oil Corporation, Deepak Baral said, "If we do ration petrol and oil, we can manage for a couple of weeks."
In Lalitpur, a city south of capital, Kathmandu, hundreds of motorcycles were lined up at a petrol station, anticipating a fuel shortage.
Reshma Shrestha, a restaurant owner nearby, said she had about a month's supplies to keep her business running. "But we won't be able to go on like this for too much longer," she said.
Last Sunday, Nepal adopted a new Constitution to promote unity and stability after years of civil war, but it has upset people in the southern parts of the country, who fear that the new federal structure will marginalise them. At least 40 people, mostly protestors, have been killed in violent clashes since August.
The violence has led to an obstruction in supply of essential goods coming from the Indian side. About 900 trucks carrying food, fuel and other items are awaiting clearance into Nepal at the Raxaul-Birgunj border, said a senior official of Nepal's customs department, Kamlesh Kumar.
Nepalese officials have blamed their biggest trading partner, India, for not allowing trucks into their country. The Indian embassy has rejected these claims, and said that the reported obstructions were being caused by Nepalese groups, in a statement.
© Thomson Reuters 2015