Nepal, March 13 -- Long lines of frustrated consumers have become a daily sight at gas depots across Kathmandu Valley as a shortage of cooking gas grips the market. The scarcity comes amid over a week of ongoing tensions in the Middle East, forcing households to wait hours-and sometimes days-to get a cylinder.

The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) says the shortage is largely due to panic buying, with consumers stockpiling cylinders out of fear they will run out. "Imports from the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) have continued regularly, but demand has surged sharply as people rush to secure gas," said NOC Managing Director Dr Chandika Prasad Bhatta.Nepal Travel Guide

Pramod Rijal, waiting at a Banasthali gas depot, said he had to wait three to ...