Kathmandu, May 24. India has blocked a number of relief supplies from the United States to help Nepal with the coronavirus pandemic. The Nepalis residing in the US have sent 110 oxygen concentrators and more than 500 oxygen measuring oximeters to Nepal which have been stalled in New Delhi.

According to news sources, these materials have been stuck in Delhi for more than a week now. Homkant Bhandari, Economic Counsel at the Nepali Embassy in US, has informed the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi and requested to send the goods to Nepal as soon as possible. The goods were facilitated by Sewa International.

Nepali organizations have also drawn the attention of the Nepali Embassy in the United States to the fact that India has often posed as an obstacle to receive goods from third countries to Nepal.

Bishnu Nepal from the Nepalese Association of Houston in Texas, USA, urged for immediate initiatives to send the materials to Nepal. He said so in a virtual discussion organized by the Nepali Embassy in the United States on May 23.

It is difficult to fly directly to Nepal from the US and chartered flights are expensive. So, the goods were sent through Delhi.

In responding to India’s blocking of relief supplies, Dr. Yuvraj Khatiwada, Nepal’s Ambassador to the United States, urged Nepali organizations based in the United States to consider sending goods via Doha or Dubai.

He also informed that the embassy was working towards sending the materials to Nepal.