KATHMANDU, Nov. 9 (Xinhua)–Nepal has asked India to remove the ongoing obstruction at the border between the two countries and resume the supply of fuel and essential commodities to Nepal.
A meeting of the council of government ministers chaired by Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli passed a special resolution on Monday and asked the Indian government to end the obstruction of medicine and gasoline supply at the Indo-Nepal border.
“The government urges the Indian government to contribute toward maintaining a cordial relation with Nepal by resuming fuel and essential commodities [supply] to Nepal,” Prime Minister Khadga Oli’s Press Adviser Pramod Dahal told Xinhua following the meeting.
Thousands of Nepal-bound cargo vehicles and tankers carrying medicines, basic commodities and fuel have been clogged at the Indian side of border. Nepal said the Indian government has imposed an embargo against it since Sept. 22, just two days after the promulgation of the new constitution in Nepal.
“India’s reservation on our new constitution is completely irrational as the constitution is purely an internal document of Nepal. We urge India to end the ongoing economic blockade and treat us as a friendly neighbor,” deputy prime minister of Nepal, Chandra Prakash Mainali, told reporters in Kathmandu.
Earthquake-devastated Nepal is now reeling under acute shortage of fuel and essential commodities. The Himalayan country had been fully dependent on gasoline imports from neighboring India for years.
However, India has denied any kind of embargo against Nepal and cited ongoing protests by Madhesi parties of Nepal behind such obstructions at the border.