Meager oil volume enters Kathmandu

Meager oil volume enters Kathmandu
eKantipur.com,17-Feb-08

Banda in tarai brought imports of petroleum products through Raxaul, the largest import point, to a grinding halt for the fifth straight day.

While that prevented replenishment of the stock, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), with just about a day's supply in store, distributed meager volume of fuel in the market.

NOC Director Madhav Dhungel told the Post that the corporation distributed a mere 60,000 liters of petrol, 128,000 of diesel and 12,000 liters of kerosene in the Valley Sunday.

"The distribution had become possible only after the corporation received fuel consignments from Amlekhgunj and Bhairahawa," he told the Post.

Except the four dealers who used their tankers to transfer the stock and thus won half the volume of consignment as the government had committed, all the supply was made to the security agencies' and Sajha petrol pumps.

Barring those four private dealers, all private sector operated dealers remained dry and closed throughout the day. The situation prevailed in almost all parts of the country.

Long queues were visible at public refilling stations, while the number of vehicles, particularly passenger vehicles plying on the roads has also gone down substantially. Shortage of cooking gas and kerosene - common household fuels - has seriously hit general consumers.

On the day, NOC had received 60,000 liters of petrol, 128,000 liters of diesel and 36,000 from Amlekhgunj and Thankot. "Efforts are on to bring in more fuel from Bhairahawa and make additional imports from Mugalsarai depot of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)," said Dhungel.

Officials stated that although the Commerce Minister himself was leading the talks, owners of some 250 tankers operating along Amlekhgunj-Raxaul route continued to refuse to ply their vehicles, citing personal threats received by owners and risks faced by the staff.

Drivers of about half dozen tankers, which were escorted towards Raxaul from Amlekhgunj, absconded at Parwanipur after agitating groups got into a scuffle with security forces on Saturday.