Nepali border area with India hit by petrol shortage

The increasing smuggling of petrol towards India has caused shortage of petrol in bordering cities of Nepal, an official at Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) said here on Saturday.

"The shortage of petrol has been experienced in Nepali bordering cities because of increasing smuggling to bordering region of India as the price of petrol in Nepal is cheaper than that of India," Rabin Adhikari, central regional chief of the NOC, only government-own petroleum products supplier of Nepal, told reporters.

The petrol in Nepal is cheaper by 14.60 Nepali rupees (0.21 U.S. dollar) per liter compared to Indian market, Adhikari revealed.

Nepal and India share an open border and smuggling of petrol and other goods is a common phenomenon at the bordering areas of Nepal.

The local petrol pumps have put up boards with 'No Petrol' written on them in Birgunj city of central Parsa district, some 100 km south of Kathmandu.

However, the NOC would take necessary step to ensure there is no shortage of petrol, Adhikari added.

Source: Xinhua