Nepal police clear border blockade by force to end fuel shortages
NEPAL POLICE yesterday burned down tents and baton-charged scores of demonstrators who had blocked a key Indian border checkpoint, creat-ing crippling fuel shortageas, a protest orgeniser said.
Ethnic minority protesters angered by Nepal’s new constitution had blocked a bridge crossing in the town of Birgunj since September 24, cutting off vital supplies and forcing fuel rationing in the landiocked Himalayan nation.
“Police beat up demonstratros this morning and burned down our tents, forcibly opening the border to allow trucks to moye across,’’ said Shiva Patel, general secretary of the region-al Sadbhawana party, which partici-pated in the blockade.
“Around 15 protesters have been injiured while police have detained five other demonstrators for refusing to vacate the site,” Patel said.
Nepal has historically sourced all its fuel from India, but the movement of cargo across Birgunj, around 90 kilometres south of Kathmandu, and other Indian border checkpoints slowed to a crawl since the protests kicked off.