The rebels declared the blockade in protest at King Gyanendra’s power grab on February 1 when he sacked the government, appointed a pro-royalist cabinet headed by himself and declared a state of emergency.

The Maoists say the blockade, which so far is being enforced by threats of violence rather than a physical show of force, will continue until Gyanendra reverses his actions that have been condemned at home and abroad.

As the blockade which began at the weekend continued, the government urged the Maoists to join mainstream politics and abandon their armed struggle to topple the monarchy which has left more than 11,000 dead since February 1996.

“There is no rationale... in transforming the country into a dead nation by destroying the development infrastructure and killing innocent people,” Information Minister Tanka Dhakal said in the state-controlled Rising Star newspaper.

He called on the Maoists to “forget past prejudices and misunderstandings and become united for building a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Nepal.”

In Kathmandu, shops were open and vehicles jammed the streets but outside the capital there was little traffic on the main supply route to India and across the rest of the Himalayan kingdom.

A senior police officer manning a checkpoint on the outskirts of Kathmandu told AFP the flow of traffic entering and leaving the city had reduced to a trickle as a result of the blockade enforced through threats of Maoist violence.

“During a normal 24 hours we have around 500 buses, 500 to 600 trucks and around 170 vehicles entering the city,” he said. “But between 6:00 am and midday we’ve had five buses, seven trucks and 12 light vehicles,” he said.

“It’s the major road joining India and other cities, fuel, food and medicine are imported by this road,” the officer said. “If it’s blocked, scarcities will occur. I don’t know how much is stockpiled.

“There is no obstruction yet on the road,” he added.

The officer said traffic was equally light in areas up to 100 kilometers (60 miles) away that he had contacted by radio.

Security forces were providing armed escorts and using helicopters to protect vehicles leaving the Kathmandu valley during the protest aimed at halting supplies to the capital.

Two similar transport strikes and road blockades called by the rebels in the past six months were enforced by more by threats rather than by physical force. They left the capital empty of essential goods and sparked price rises.

The government has warned of punishment for those caught hoarding or engaging in profiteering during the latest blockade, which the rebels said would continue until the king reversed his power grab.

Army spokesman Brigadier Dipak Guru said traffic was moving normally and urged people not to be afraid of defying the blockade that that Maoists also called to mark the ninth anniversary of their revolt.

“People should come forward, we will give them full protection, full security,” he told AFP.

The United States, Britain and India, the main suppliers of financial aid and military equipment to Nepal to crush the Maoist threat, are pressing for an end to emergency rule and to the detention of political leaders and others.

Political parties say up to 1,000 people have been rounded up since the king launched his crackdown. The army puts the figure at around 100.

India, which has supplied the Nepalese army with helicopters, guns and other equipment, has recalled its chief envoy to Nepal, Shiv Mukherjee, to New Delhi, for consultations due to take place Monday.

Analysts say the dilemma faced by military donors is whether to suspend aid to pressure the king to restore fundamental rights or watch the guerrillas make gains against the ill-equipped Nepalese army.

India, which shares a nearly 1,600-kilometer (990-mile) border with the kingdom, is particularly concerned fearing Maoist violence in Nepal could spill into Indian states where radical leftist groups are powerful.