DPA/Kathmandu
Nepali protesters clashed with Indian citizens in the border area overnight amid tension over the blockade of freight trucks entering or leaving Nepal, news reports said yesterday.
Clashes broke out late on Wednesday when an Indian truck was blocked by the protesters at the Birganj-Raxaul crossing in Nepal’s Parsa district, according to News 24 channel.
The Indians were complaining that their businesses had been affected by ongoing Nepalese strikes, the report said.
Five Nepalis were hospitalised, the Kantipur daily reported.
Protesters in the southern Terai belt of Nepal have been demonstrating over the new constitution, requesting greater autonomy for the local Madheshi community.
More than 50 people have died in the clashes in the Terai since August.
Trucks from India, which supply much of Nepal’s fuel and other goods, stopped travelling to the country in September, citing security concerns.
But Indian authorities on Wednesday said “There is no hindrance from the Indian side.
“The primary crossing of Raxaul-Birgunj, which accounts for two-thirds of our trade, remains closed from their side for more than two months,” officials said in a statement.
A Nepalese man prepares food on a kerosene stove amid shortage of gas cylinders in Kakarbhitta on the Nepal-India border.
