Hoarding prolongs fuel shortage

Hoarding prolongs fuel shortage
eKantipur.com, 12-Oct-07

Even though Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) says it is supplying more than the regular volume of petrol, a shortage of the popular vehicular fuel prevails in the market.

Queues are visible at all the refilling stations, and consumers have not been able to get hold of the fuel with ease. Petrol pump operators say they cannot issue as much petrol as the consumers demand, as they have to ensure that everybody who lines up at the station gets at least a few liters.

A manager at the Sajha refilling station said he has reduced the quota per person to Rs 300 worth of petrol. Previously, the pump was providing Rs 500 worth of fuel.

Consumers, on the other hand, said they did not believe the supply would become normal anytime soon. "The best way to ensure future availability is to maintain personal stocks at home," said Rajan Nakarmi of Gwarko.

Talking to the Post at the Sajha petrol pump, Nakarmi said he queued up at the pump twice during the last four days and managed to get 20 liters of petrol for the reserve he was keeping at home. "I am relaxed now. The stash will be enough for the next two months," he said.

Officials at the NOC said that lines still prevail at the refilling stations solely because of the increased tendency to hoard the fuel.

Ichchha Bikram Thapa, NOC spokesperson, said that the corporation supplied on average 200,000 liters of petrol daily in the market for the last 15 days.

"We pumped out 25 percent more petrol than the normal daily demand. If the problem of hoarding had not arisen, the supply would have become normal by now," he said.

NOC records show that the corporation distributed 135,000 liters of petrol on Wednesday and 200,000 liters on Thursday.

Since Friday was a public holiday, it did not provide any supply in the market. As a result, all the gas stations remained closed today.

Thapa said that the corporation has been receiving 2,000 kiloliters of petroleum products from India every day, which is equivalent to the country's normal fuel demand.

He added that the corporation would distribute petrol on Saturday, despite its being a holiday.

Sarad Bhandari, general secretary of the Nepal Petroleum Dealers Association, said that the corporation would need to maintain the current supply level for yet another week to improve the situation.

He admitted that the rise in the incidence of hoarding was largely prolonging the crisis.