Three-day ultimatum given to govt to ease fuel supply, end black-marketing

Kathmandu, November 23

Nepal Students’ Union today gave a three-day ultimatum to the government to end black-marketing and ease the supply of petroleum products and other daily commodities to the public, students and academic institutions.

The student union today expressed concern about the humanitarian crisis created by the Tarai protest and unofficial blockade on the border.

A delegation from NSU today visited Ganesh Man Pun, minister for commerce and supply and submitted a five-point memorandum. The students have demanded easy supply of daily commodities and essential items at fair prices; control of black-marketing and effective monitoring; and creation of conducive environment for transporting medicine, fuel and other essential items.

UP Lamichhane, spokesperson, NSU said, “We have demanded that the government provide petroleum products to students on the basis of their identity cards and provide fuel to academic institutions on priority basis to ferry students from home to school and vice versa.”

He further said that the union also demanded that Minister Pun probe the involvement of authorities in black-marketing and take legal action against the guilty.

“We have given a three-day ultimatum to the government to fulfil our five-point demand,” he said adding, “If the government fails to address our demands, we will be forced to announce severe protest programme and the government itself will be responsible for the untoward situation.”

Meanwhile, addressing NSU cadres, Pun said the government was talking to stakeholders regarding easing the supply of petroleum products for students and academic institutions.

He said, “The government was positive towards the demands put forth by NSU and would be taking initiative to resolve the problems at the earliest.”

Lamichhane also stated that the union was going to draw the attention of the prime minister and Indian Embassy in Kathmandu regarding the short supply of petroleum products in the country.

Many students in Kathmandu Valley are going to academic institutions without eating cooked meals due to shortage of cooking gas and kerosene, while many academic institutions are on the verge of closure due to lack of petrol and diesel to run school vehicles.