PTI reports that interacting with media persons at his office in Kathmandu, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae said that India has not imposed any embargo on the movement of goods and the obstructions were caused by the unrest in the country.
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India denies carrying out an economic blockade, maintaining that its trucks have stopped entering Nepal because of security concerns and blockades by protesters.
Among them are the Madhesis, who inhabit Nepal’s southern plains along the border with India known as the Terai, home to half the population and where numerous deaths occurred.
“Why is India imposing a blockade against us?”
Public rage is mounting over Indian government’s perceived meddling in Nepal’s internal affairs. “We need fuel at this moment, not vegetable and fruits”.
India’s efforts to stall the announcement and reach a more inclusive conclusion have included actors at the highest corridors – from Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar’s two-day visit to Sushma Swaraj’s remarks and Prime Minister Modi’s telephone call imploring his counterpart, Nepali Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, to obtain, “consensus, not numbers”.
The Federation of Nepal Cable Television Association (FNCTA) had made a decision to block Indian television channels to protest the blockade of a key trade checkpoint with India by agitators opposing Nepal’s new Constitution. Historically the two majority-Hindu nations have been close allies, sharing an open border crossed regularly by more than 3 million Nepalis who hold jobs in northern India.
The fuel crisis appears to have implications beyond Nepal’s borders. Airport authorities had earlier indicated that there could be shortage of aviation fuel because supplies were not coming in to the country.
But city residents prepared for further shortages on Thursday after the government implemented a ban on petrol sales to private vehicles.
Nepal’s fractious political parties, which had missed multiple deadlines to draft a new constitution since 2006, finally seemed spurred to action by the April 25 quake that left almost 9,000 people dead.
Protesters in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu could be seen with an effigy of the Indian premier, shouting: “Down with Indian expansionism!” “A group of 400-500 protesters fled across to the Indian side of the border after police fired tear gas at them”, said Bhusan Yadav, who is the Birgunj bureau chief for the Kathmandu Post.
This is a great pity given that the people of Nepal have waited for nearly seven years for this exercise of consensual drafting and having in place an approved constitution, as the former monarchy makes the transition to a modern democracy.
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MNN suggested that Christians around the world pray for the government of Nepal; for the wisdom of Nepal’s leaders; for the people of Nepal; and especially for Nepalese Christians as they continue to practice their faith under the hard circumstances.
