High gas, diesel prices in India prompt smuggling of fuel

NEW DELHI: Pump prices are so high in India that some of the gasoline and diesel exported to neighboring countries is being smuggled back through porous land borders.
A tanker loaded with 1,360 liters of diesel that was being smuggled to India, where pump prices are at a record, was held last week in Nepal, the police said in a statement.
Pump prices of gasoline, which have breached the Rs 100 a liter mark in several parts of India, are the highest in the South Asian region, according to data compiled by GlobalPetrolPrices.com.
That’s resulting in illegal trade as the country grapples with soaring fuel prices.
Ironically, Nepal gets all its petroleum fuels from India, which also exports to neighbors Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.