Higher Fuel Prices In Nepal Spark Protests In Kathmandu - Himalayan Times

[hatrack]

Kathmandu witnessed street protest marches today after the government raised the price of fuel on Wednesday to beat a shortage and reduce losses at the state-run Nepal Oil Corporation, the sole importer of petroleum products in the country.

Student and consumer activists marched on the streets demanding that the government withdrew the price hike. Traffic movement was disturbed at various places of Kathmandu due to the protests.

The Maoists also criticised the price hike. "The government must readjust the prices on the basis of a general consensus and effectively control the commission, corruption and leakage in petroleum products," the Maoists said in a statement.

The sister organisations of the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party also organised protests in Bhaktapur and Kathmandu in the morning.
The Maoist student wing All Nepal National Independent Student Union (Revolutionary) organised an hour-long chakkajam in the valley from 2 to 3 pm in the afternoon to protest the price hike.

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