KATHMANDU, Dec. 13 (IANS)—
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Sunday said his dream to develop Nepal as a “vibrant” Himalayan nation had been shattered by the “embargo imposed by India”.
After being elected prime minister, Oli said he made many commitments to the nation, including ending the long daily load-shedding, plying electric vehicles in Kathmandu and building a self-reliant economy.
Oli admitted on Sunday that he has not been able to fulfill his commitments following the unrest in Nepal’s southern plain for the last four months.
Due to protests and demonstrations at the Nepal-India border entry points, thousands of Nepal-bound freight vehicles are stuck on the Indian side of the border.
This has brought the economy of the landlocked Himalayan nation to a grinding halt. The country is facing shortage of essential supplies like drugs, fuel, food and other materials.
Officials say that if the standoff continues, Nepal will soon face a humanitarian crisis.
Kathmandu describes the situation as an embargo imposed by India while New Delhi maintains that supplies of essential commodities have not been able to move across the border because of the four-month-old Madhesi agitation in Nepal against the country’s new Constitution which was promulgated on September 20.
The Madhesi political parties and indigenous groups of the Nepal Terai oppose the new Constitution as discriminatory and demand that it be amended to make it more representative in character.
Receiving a memorandum submitted by academicians on Sunday, Oli said his plan to make Nepal a developed nation was under a cloud.
“I had dreamt several dreams on becoming prime minister,” he told the academicians.
Nepal’s economic growth witnessed a sharp downfall following the April 25 earthquake which claimed more than 9,000 lives and devastated vast areas in the Himalayan nation.
“The nation has witnessed jolt after jolt due to the quake and the embargo,” Oli said.
“I became prime minister in a very difficult situation. As we were trying to overcome the pain caused by the quake, the embargo along the border came as a serious jolt.”
“I have been trying my best to overcome the pain and suffering,” he added.