Fuel crisis will push almost a million people into poverty

Kathmandu December 13- Since September, 50 people have died in protests at border points with India, where demonstrators have blocked trucks carrying everything from petrol to medicines from entering the landlocked nation, still reeling from two deadly earthquakes.

The crisis has prompted the United Nations to express deep concern over what it said is a ‘critical’ shortage of lifesaving medicines and fuel, and warns this could put at least three million children at risk of illness in the coming winter months.

Experts say this economic and humanitarian crisis is likely to have a much wider and longer-term impact.

“The fuel shortage will push more than 800,000 people below the poverty line. This is our estimate based on the study of the losses faced by agriculture, industry and service sectors,” said Trilochan Pangeni, a spokesman for Nepal’s central bank.

“These people are wage earners, marginalised and low-income people. We have derived this figure after a detailed and close study in all these sectors. This will hit the economy badly.”