Nepal rations fuel amid blockade by protesters

Nepal today began rationing petroleum products as blockade on cargo vehicles entering the country from India continued due to protests against the new Constitution.
The measures introduced today restrict weekly sales of fuel to three litres for motorcyclists and 10 litres for cars, according to sources at the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), the sole state organisation entitled to supply petroleum products.
The move comes after the country decided an odd-even license plate system for plying of vehicles on alternate days and asked international airlines to refuel planes abroad amid a fuel crisis due to the blockade.
"The protesters blocked one of the key trading point at Birgunj-Raxaul, 200 km south of Kathmandu, to press for their demands," a Home Ministry officials said.

"Although there were enough security in other trading points, the Indian customs officials and security personnel did not allow our cargo vehicles filled with fuel, cooking gas and other essential supplies to enter Nepal," he said.
Not a single cargo vehicle moved into Nepal for the last four days due to the blockade, Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, spokesperson at the Home Ministry, said, adding two consignment of fuel and one consignment of cooking gas were allowed to move into Nepal today.

The agitating Madhesi Front claims that the Constitution does not guarantee enough rights and representation to the Madhesi and Tharu communities residing in southern Nepal.

Madhesis are Indian-origin inhabitants of the Terai plains bordering India.
At least 40 people have died in over a month of clashes between police and protesters from the Madhesi and Tharu communities and ethnic minorities who the seven province federal model incorporated in the new constitution leave them under-represented in the country's Parliament.
Every day hundreds of trucks carrying petroleum products and other essential supplies used to move from India to Nepal, whose 70 per cent of imports come from India.
"The Indian Oil Corporation has not provided oil to our tankers citing security reason and the Indian security and customs office are not releasing cargo vehicles bound to Nepal," Dhakal added.

Besides Raxaul, four other major trading points including Kakarvitta, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj have also been blocked.
People has to wait for hours in long queues, some as long as one kilometer, in Kathmandu's all major petrol pumps for filling their vehicles today.