Fuel stock runs out in Nepal

Nepalese youths holding placards take part in a movement demanding the government to act against the ongoing fuel and cooking gas shortages in Kathmandu yesterday.

DPAKathmanduNepal’s state oil company will not be able to distribute petrol to the public unless more supplies arrive in the country, the firm said yesterday, as the country struggles with a prolonged fuel crisis. Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) asked people who had been queuing up at petrol stations for days to go home, saying there was only enough fuel for emergency services. Nepal has been rationing fuel in the face of a crisis that hit the Himalayan nation two months ago after supplies from India were blocked. Last week, NOC distributed fuel donated by China. Domestic flights resumed normal operation yesterday after facing cancellations of up to 80% in the past few days. “We have been able to renew operation today because the Nepal Airlines Airbuses have flown down aviation fuel from Calcutta (Monday),” said Bhola Prasad Guragai, the spokesman of the Civil Aviation Authority. “If Nepal Airlines can continue supplying, it should not be difficult to continue operation. The international flights have been bringing their own fuel while flying into Nepal.” But tickets for domestic flights had nearly doubled in price, as many prepare to fly to their home districts for the religious festival of Tihar. Nepal has been hit hard by the fuel crunch since India blocked the border, citing security reasons, after violent protests broke out in the southern plains of Nepal three months ago. The plains-based parties representing the Madheshi community have been demanding greater autonomy in the new constitution, staging daily protests in the course of which nearly 50 people have been killed. The protesting Madheshi bloc called off talks with the government on Monday after starting a protest in the parliament. Nepal has also asked the Indian government to ease restrictions on supplies, saying emergency services like hospitals are reeling under the scarcity of medicines. In Kathmandu, people have turned to cooking over firewood and cycling or walking to their destinations after the limited buses became crammed with commuters. “It’s scary to get on the bus because you can see them tilt due to overloading. I’d rather walk,” said Binod Dongol, a pedestrian. Last week, at least 36 people died as an overcrowded bus plunged downhill in central Nepal.