Kathmandu, July 9 -- Ram Prasad Chaulagain of Sindhupalchok supports his family by running a tea shop in Shiva Chowk, Gokarneshwor Municipality-6, Kathmandu. These days, his business consumes the equivalent of one cooking gas cylinder every day.

Under normal circumstances, a full cylinder would last him two days. But since the government began distributing half-filled liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders in mid-March following the escalation of the West Asia conflict, he has had to buy the equivalent of half a cylinder every day.

Each time he transports a cylinder from the depot to his shop, it costs him Rs100. Buying half-filled cylinders has therefore increased his transport expenses by around Rs1,500 a month. Had he been able to p...