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Nepal has been gripped by a blockade in the country's south for the past two months, leading to acute shortages of fuel and medicine.

The blockade is led by ethnic minorities who say they are discriminated against in the new constitution. The government also accuses India of deliberately worsening the embargo - something India denies.


1. Chopping trees


Logs to be sold by the government as firewood
Image caption A fuel shortage has increased demand for firewood
The crippling shortage of essential fuels such as liquefied petroleum (LP) gas, widely used for cooking in Nepal, has clearly put a lot of pressure on the country's forest resources.

Nepali newspapers are awash with reports of incidents of illegal logging in several forests in the unrest-affected Tarai plains of southern Nepal, which boasts some of the country's best lush green forests and national parks.

Officials say that, right now, things are still under control - but if the fuel supply situation doesn't return to normal, more and more trees could be chopped down by loggers and those in need.

Thakur Bhandari, an official at the Federation of Community Forest Users Nepal (FECOFUN), the umbrella body of the country's nearly 19,000 community forest user groups, says community-managed forests are safe as of now.

"But our forests have become vulnerable and difficult to protect now," as the demand for firewood for fuel surges, he told the BBC.

2. Medicines running low


One of the worst-hit supplies has been essential medicines.

Nepalese activists and hospital patients rally against the block on humanitarian supplies at the Nepal-India border, in Kathmandu on November 23, 2015
Image caption Protesters have called the blockade "inhuman"
Procurement procedures, airport red tape and other factors have so far prevented hospitals in Nepal from flying in urgent medical supplies - and doctors warn of a humanitarian crisis within weeks if the shortages are not addressed.

Even major hospitals have said that they are running short of life-saving drugs such as those used in intensive care units.

In November, Unicef warned that more than three million children under the age of five were at risk of death or disease due to the acute shortage of fuel, food, medicines and vaccines.

Queues for LPG cooking gas
Image caption There have been long queues for cooking gas
The government says it is trying to "fast-track" the process of buying essential medicines.

The protesters are accused of failing to keep a promise to let essential medicines through the blockade.


Nepalese Ethnic Madhesi leaders and supporters observe a minute of silence in the memory of people killed in protest while marking 100 days since the beginning of ethnic Madhes protests in Kathmandu, Nepal, 23 November 2015
Image caption Madhesi activists say the government has used excessive force against protesters

3. No paper, ink or books


People carrying cooking gas in Nepal
Image caption The shortage of cooking gas has hit families hard
Due to lack of diesel to run their buses, many schools have been forced to hold brief holidays.

The government has started rationing diesel to schools to twice a week. "We have not totally closed schools but we are hit very hard," says private schools association president Lakchyya Bahadur KC.

The lack of fuel, paper and ink have also obstructed the printing of textbooks.

"We need to print 15 million textbooks in next four months. If the situation does not change, we will face shortages shortly," said a senior official at the Janak Educational Materials Centre - a government body that prints school textbooks for public schools.

Nepalese school children shout anti India slogan during a protest rally in Kathmandu, Nepal. 24 November 2015
Image caption Nepalese school children have taken part in anti-India protests against the blockade. 

People carrying cooking gas in Nepal
Image caption The shortage of cooking gas has hit families hard
Due to lack of diesel to run their buses, many schools have been forced to hold brief holidays.

The government has started rationing diesel to schools to twice a week. "We have not totally closed schools but we are hit very hard," says private schools association president Lakchyya Bahadur KC.

The lack of fuel, paper and ink have also obstructed the printing of textbooks

Source : bbc.co.uk

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