Nepal will begin rationing cooking ⁠gas amid ⁠fears that the Middle East conflict could create a nationwide shortage, Al Jazeera reports.

Chandika Prasad Bhatta, executive director of state-run Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), has said authorities would refill ⁠only half of consumers’ empty cylinders starting from Friday to make its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stocks last longer.

Bhatta added that consumers are panicking despite ⁠repeated assurances that Nepal had enough ⁠supplies of LPG.

Consumers carrying empty ⁠cylinders have formed long queues outside refilling plants throughout the country, ⁠which is completely dependent on ⁠India for its supplies of fuel, including cooking gas.