Nepal anger over fuel price rise

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People across Nepal are without public transport after bus operators went on strike over rising fuel prices.

Transport companies say the government is preventing them from putting up fares in line with the price of fuel, which rose by 25% this month.

There have also been angry protests by students in Nepal, one of the world's poorest countries. They reached a deal on fare discounts on Monday.

The government says price rises are needed to pay for Indian fuel supplies.

India raised fuel prices last month. Correspondents say rising world prices made the increases inevitable.

Demands

Anger over fuel has caused chaos in Nepal in recent days, with strikes and protests by a number of different groups.

Transport companies have been on strike in and around the capital, Kathmandu, since Saturday.

On Monday they extended their protest nationwide.

"Transport fares have not gone up for the past eight years when fuel prices increased many times," said Saroj Sitaula, a spokesman for the operators, Reuters news agency reports.

The government wants fares capped at 25% - while bus companies want rises of up to 35%.

"We can't run any vehicles with a mere 25% hike in fares," Mr Sitaula said.

The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu says traffic levels on the streets of the capital are drastically reduced, with thousands forced to walk or cycle to their destinations.

There are few or no buses on the roads.

Student discount

Earlier in June the prices of four basic fuels - petrol and diesel, kerosene and cooking gas - were raised because the Nepal Oil Corporation could not service its huge debt to its Indian counterpart which supplies all the energy.

Our correspondent says Nepalese authorities have generally shied away from raising fuel prices.

They were raised last October. But on at least two other occasions in recent months, price rises prompted large-scale street protests leading the government to hastily reverse the rises.

On Monday, the authorities announced that students would receive a discount of 45% on fares.

For several days groups of students affiliated to political parties had attacked government vehicles, burned tyres and threatened drivers in Kathmandu.

The fuel price protests add to the prime minister's troubles - he is struggling to keep his administration together after Maoist ministers said they were resigning from the cabinet.