NEPAL: The United Nations, the European Union and several international aid agencies have warned that Nepal is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis.
It will be caused by the conflict between its security forces and Maoist guerrillas which has left civilians and refugees exposed and often cut off from essential supplies and medical help.
In a statement, the UN, EU and nine western aid agencies recently urged both sides to respect human rights, following the February royal coup in which Nepal's King Gyanendra dismissed his government and assumed direct control of the impoverished kingdom for a three-year period.
Hundreds of political activists, journalists, students, human rights defenders and lawyers have been arrested since then, mobile phone networks closed down and strict press censorship enforced with military help.
According to the overseas aid organisations, Nepalis are frequently denied access to humanitarian and medical supplies because of roadblocks set up by Maoists.
Children were among the worst affected, it says, with many suffering from a lack of vitamins and essential drugs.
Reports from Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, have revealed in recent weeks that some women died in childbirth, unable to reach medical help, the statement added.
There is also concern for the fate of 100,000 Bhutanese refugees in eastern Nepal, who are dependent on relief but find the flow of aid regularly blocked.
"Insecurity, armed activity and Maoist blockades are pushing Nepal towards the abyss of a humanitarian crisis," the aid groups concluded in a statement.
But Nepal's government said the criticism was misplaced and that the Royal Nepal Army was overcoming rebel blockades that threaten to paralyse the country.
Economists, meanwhile, have warned that Nepal's economy is on the verge of collapse and the frequent Maoist blockades could push it over the edge. According to official estimates, Nepal lost nearly 1 per cent of its estimated gross domestic product of $6.6 billion during the fortnight-long Maoist blockade last month.Tourist traffic had considerably slowed down while industrial activity and commerce, limited at the best of times, was virtually non-existent.
This situation is expected to slide further downwards as the rebel's try and enforce their threat of a 1000-day blockade sometime over the next few weeks. Even the World Bank has withheld a $70 million budgetary support package to Nepal following the King's power grab adding to the looming economic crisis.
In a separate but related development, the International Committee of Jurists, a human rights group that visited Nepal recently, criticised King Gynanendra's declaration of a state of emergency.