Nepal is considering rationing oil and fuel, a Nepal Oil Corporation spokesman said on Saturday, after hundreds of trucks were held up this week at the India border when protesters against a new Constitution gathered to block the road.
Nepal adopted the charter last Sunday to promote unity and stability after years of civil war, but its demarcation of provinces has upset people in Nepal's south who fear the new federal structure will marginalise them. At least 40 people, mostly protestors, have been killed in violent clashes since August.
About 900 trucks carrying food, fuel and other items were lined up on the Indian side of the Raxaul-Birgunj border on Saturday, said Kamlesh Kumar, assistant commissioner of customs at the border point, as protestors from the Madhesi Morcha party blocked the road in Nepal for a third day.
"If we do ration petrol and oil, we can manage for a couple of weeks," said Deepak Baral, a Nepal Oil Corporation spokesman.
In Lalitpur, a city south of Kathmandu, hundreds of motorcycles were lined up at a petrol station, anticipating a fuel shortage.
Reshma Shrestha, a restaurant owner nearby, said she had about a month's supplies to keep her business running.
"But we won't be able to go on like this for too much longer," she said.