Hundreds of protesters have blocked a major trading checkpoint between India and Nepal, cutting off vital supplies to the landlocked Himalayan nation as anger deepens over its new constitution.
“We blocked the crossing overnight and we will not budge until the government listens to us and makes changes to these new borders in the constitution,” said Shiva Patel, general secretary of the regional Sadbhawana party. Disruption in supply of petrol products from India due to protests in southern plains has forced Nepal to start an odd-even system for vehicles beginning on Sunday. Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala, arguing that carrying sword and spear would not resolve disputes but the talk, has urged the agitating Madhesi leaders to put forward their demands through dialogue. Various Madhesh-centric political parties have been waging agitation in many districts across the southern plains in protest of state delineation.
