AFP/Kathamndu

Hundreds of people queued in Kathmandu yesterday to buy firewood after the Nepal government said it was putting thousands of kilos on sale to try to ease a crippling fuel shortage.
The move came as Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli called on neighbouring India to end what he called an “undeclared blockade” that has left the country desperately short of fuel and other supplies.
The government has been forced to ration fuel, forcing many vehicles off the road, and leaving many people without enough gas to cook food as the winter sets in.
“We will continue to supply until the fuel shortage ends so that at least the public will not have problems cooking their meals,” said Birendra Kumar Yadav, general manager of the state-run Timber  Corporation.
About 44,000kg of firewood was sold on Sunday, he said.
Balkumari Shrestha, who runs a grocery store in the capital, said she had been queueing since 5am.
“Our gas finished over a month ago and we’ve been cooking on firewood,” said the 44-year-old. “This crisis has made life very difficult.”
Landlocked Nepal has historically relied on neighbouring India for all its fuel, but trucks have been stranded at a key border checkpoint for over a month following protests over a new national constitution.
The movement of cargo across other Indian border checkpoints has also slowed to a crawl, prompting the prime minister to accuse New Delhi of deliberately holding up
imports.
India denies the charge, but has urged dialogue with the protesting Madhesi ethnic minority, who have close cultural, linguistic and family ties to
Indians living across the border.
The constitution was meant to cement peace and bolster Nepal’s transformation to a democratic republic after decades of political instability and a 10-year Maoist insurgency.
But it instead resulted in deadly violence in the southern plains belt, home to around half the country’s population.
The protests and fuel shortage have piled further pressure on a country already reeling from an earthquake and large aftershock that killed nearly 9,000 people earlier this year.
“The economic, social and psychological damage caused by the ongoing protests and the undeclared blockade is several times more than the quake,” said Oli in a speech Sunday.
The move to import fuel from China was not directed against any country, Oli said without naming India.
Oli, in a televised address to the nation, said: “The decision (to import fuel from China) is not directed against any country. It is a step to make Nepal’s trade relations diversified and balanced.”
Nepal has formally asked China to supply petroleum products after it suffered a huge crisis as India allegedly blocked all supplies. India has categorically
denied the allegation.
Following the request, China signed a framework agreement with Nepal in October for
supply of petroleum products.
“The roads connecting China will be upgraded and efforts to bring fuel from other friendly countries would also be initiated,” Oli was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
A team has already reached Bangladesh to discuss the possibility of importing fuel from there, local media earlier reported.
The prime minister said the Nepalese people had to suffer as a result of over-dependence on a single country (India) when the southern neighbour imposed “undeclared embargo”.
He said Nepal was pushed to the brink of a humanitarian and economic crisis after fuel, medicine and food items were stopped on the Indian side of border.
“This incident has shown that Nepal’s trade relations are unbalanced and one-sided,” said Oli. “It will be our duty to take steps to develop a self-reliant economy.”