Kathmandu: India has chipped in to speed up the ongoing peace negotiations between the coalition government and the Maoist guerrillas, handing over 70 containers to store the arms of both sides.

The containers arrived Tuesday in Birgunj town in southern Nepal and were handed over by Indian consul-general C.G. Rao to Sushil Jung Bahadur Rana, a senior official of Nepal's home ministry.

The Indian government has footed the bill for obtaining the containers as well as transporting them to Nepal, an expense reported to be running into millions of Indian rupees.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's government signed a comprehensive peace agreement with the Maoists on Nov 21, when both sides agreed to confine their soldiers to barracks and keep an equal number of arms locked up under UN supervision.

Following the inking of the pact, Nepal requested India to provide 70 storage containers, half of which would remain in the barracks of the Nepal Army and the remaining in makeshift cantonments where the People's Liberation Army guerrillas are housed.

The containers would be fitted with locks and kept under a sophisticated surveillance system with a camera and siren.

New Delhi rushed to meet the request following a blast in a cantonment in which four guerrillas were injured after a grenade went off. The incident highlighted the need to build infrastructure quickly to house Maoist weapons, especially explosives.

More Indian assistance is likely in the coming days. Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu on Dec 17, his first visit after assuming office.