Nepal imposes vehicle curbs due to fuel shortage fears

AFP, KATHMANDU: Nepal yesterday imposed nationwide restrictions on vehicle use due to growing fears of a fuel shortage after protesters seeking changes to a new constitution blocked a major border trade route. Drivers are allowed on the road only on alternate days, depending on whether their licence plates end in odd or even numbers, as a result of the blockade on the India-Nepal border since Thursday night. “The government has decided to limit the number of vehicles moving across the country due to the fuel shortage,” home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal told AFP. “We are facing a huge problem because of the blockade in the south and are trying to use the fuel we have effectively,” he said.
The blocked checkpoint in the town of Birgunj, 90 kilometres (55 miles) south of the capital, serves as the key hub for oil and food imports into landlocked Nepal. The movement of cargo through other border checkpoints has also declined, officials have said. The protesters, who belong to the Madhesi community, are angry about plans to divide the Himalayan nation into seven federal provinces under the charter adopted on September 20.
More than 40 people have died in weeks of clashes between police and protesters from the Madhesi and Tharu communities, ethnic minorities who say the new internal borders leave them under-represented in the national parliament.

Nepal imposes vehicle curbs due to fuel shortage fears

AFP, KATHMANDU: Nepal yesterday imposed nationwide restrictions on vehicle use due to growing fears of a fuel shortage after protesters seeking changes to a new constitution blocked a major border trade route. Drivers are allowed on the road only on alternate days, depending on whether their licence plates end in odd or even numbers, as a result of the blockade on the India-Nepal border since Thursday night. The government has decided to limit the number of vehicles moving across the country due to the fuel shortage, home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal told AFP. We are facing a huge problem because of the blockade in the south and are trying to use the fuel we have effectively, he said. The blocked checkpoint in the town of Birgunj, 90 kilometres (55 miles) south of the capital, serves as the key hub for oil and food imports into landlocked Nepal. The movement of cargo through other border checkpoints has also declined, officials have said. The protesters, who belong to the Madhesi community, are angry about plans to divide the Himalayan nation into seven federal provinces under the charter adopted on September 20. More than 40 people have died in weeks of clashes between police and protesters from the Madhesi and Tharu communities, ethnic minorities who say the new internal borders leave them under-represented in the national parliament.