Prolonged fuel crisis caused by the border blockade has threatened the business of Bhaktapur’s yogurt makers who are famed for Juju Dhau (king curd).

Yogurt makers in Bhaktapur say they have not been getting enough amount of milk because of the fuel crisis these days.

“In the past three months, the milk supply has gone down significantly because the suppliers have also been affected by the fuel shortage. Now we do not have cooking gas and firewood to boil milk,” said Bishnu Bhata Sintakala, vice-chairperson of Bhaktapur Juju Dhau Sangh (BJS).  

Even firewood is hard to find in Bhaktapur these days. One kilogram of firewood costs up to Rs 30 these days.”Because of cooking gas and kerosene shortage, many people have chosen firewood as an alternative. So firewood is also getting scarce,” Sintakala said.

According to BJS Chairman Krishna Gopal Saiju, Bhaktapur boasts more than 55 Juju Dhau shops. Before the blockade, the district used to produce 8,400 litres of yogurt. “The production has slumped drastically in the wake of the Indian blockade. Many shops are closed,” Saiju said.

Around  70 percent of the Bhaktapur’s Juju Dhau  is supplied to Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Kirtipur, Pokhara, Dharan and Chitwan.

The yogurt makers say their supply has gone down to below 25 percent mark after the blockade.

 “If this situation is to continue, then we can’t run our business. There is no alternative for survival for Juju Dhau sellers,”Sintaka said.