"We have packed this mini truck with fuel. Diesel, petrol and gas has been loaded to its fullest capacity, "elated Giri said. "Life had come to a halt due to this blockade. Though its costly, I've been able to buy sufficient fuel," he said sighing with relief.
Giri is just an example. Each day, hundreds of individuals and businesspersons reach out to Thori to buy fuel. Black marketing of fuel by Indian nationals in the border point that lies 70 kilometers away from Birgunj is rife following the Indian economic blockade.
However, Illegal transaction of fuel is not limited to Thori, Parsa nowadays. Fuel is openly sold by unauthorized dealers and individuals even from Bhikhana area of Bihar. With no dearth of sellers and buyers of fuel, the markets, run round the clock. Delighted consumers from Nepal have even begun to call these markets 'heaven of oil'.
What is even more interesting is, in the Thori market, petroleum products prices are openly bargained in front of the office of Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and the Custom. Most of the sellers of are Indian nationals and buyers Nepalis.
Temporary petrol pump at every house
Fuel market in Thori attracts people from several parts of Nepal. On Tuesday, locals of Kathmandu, Bharatapur, Nuwakot, Sindhupalchowk, Kavre, Dhadhing, Baglung, Gulmi, Pokhara, Tanahu, Chitwan and Hetauda, among other districts had come to Thori to buy fuel. They had booked either mini or big trucks to transport petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders to their destinations.
What was equally noticeable was the presence of temporary petrol stations on the way to Thori in every household. Nirmalbasti, Bijaypur, Brahmasthan, among other localities, which are around 20 kilometers away from east - west highway, offered such petrol pumps. Indian porters were seen carrying gallons of fuel to doorsteps. This has given Nepali consumers the privilege of stopping at any house they liked for fuel and LPG cylinders.
On the other side of Tute River at Thori, Bhikhana, there is a check point of Indian border police (Seema Suraksha Bal - SSB). Those who are involved in illegal fuel transaction need not fear SSB, according to the sellers. "We just need to please them," said Bhupendra Chaudhari, a local of Kharthaka village, of Bihar. "We have to coordinate with SSB, Nepal police, Nepal Armed Force and other departments," added Chaudhari, who has been openly but illegally selling fuel for weeks now. He brings oil from Jamuniya petrol pump of India and sells it at Thori.
Chaudhari further informed that around 1, 50, 000 liters of fuel comes to Thori from petrol pumps of India's Jamuniya, and Naraktiyajgunj every day. "These days, transaction of fuel is the only profession of the locals in the Indian villages along the border side," he said.
According to Chaudhari, Indians have been easily selling at least 500 liters of fuel in a day to Nepali buyers these days. "And hundreds of people have been doing this job," he said.
There is temporary base camp of Armed Police Force at sub customs office on the way to Thori. The police checks and registers every four wheeler vehicle on the route. This data puts the transactions over 1, 50, 000 liters of oil and LPG on a daily basis. While the transaction through motorbikes or two wheelers in not included in the data, huge number of people carry oil in these vehicles.
In Thori, petrol's rate per liter is Rs 175. Multiplied the amount to 1, 50, 000 liter of petrol, the transaction through Thori route alone reaches Rs 260 million per day. When the oil reaches Kathmandu, the oil is sold between Rs 300 to Rs 500. Thus, the value of the fuel brought from Thori alone in the black market value is around 500 million per day.
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