ESA enforcement from Tuesday

Fuel import and transport stalled since Sunday

Private dealers shut down refilling stations

Severe shortage hits consumers

Just 28,000 liters of petrol distributed on Monday

KATHMANDU, March 30: As queues of vehicles start to grow at the only few operating refilling stations, Ministry of Home decided to activate Essential Service Act (ESA) to end strike of petroleum transporters and force them to resume supply of fossil fuel. [break]

“However as Ministry of Home needs approval from Ministry of Law to issue a notification that will tag the petroleum sector as an essential sector and ban the strike, the Act is likely to be enforced late Tuesday only,” said Digambhar Jha, managing director of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).

Earlier talking to myrepublica.com, he had said the notification would be issued by Monday evening.

The government decided to enforce ESA after the agitating Nepal Petroleum Transporters’ Federation (NPTF) and Nepal Petroleum Dealers’ Association (NPDA) cold shouldered Nepal Oil Corporation’s call for talks to end their strike.

NPTF’s strike, launched to compel NOC to revoke its decision to replace tankers that are 20 years old, has brought imports and transport of fossil fuel to a grinding halt from Sunday.

NPDA has also expressed solidarity with the federation and stopped retailing fuel demanding that the government fulfill its demands, which, among others things, asks the government to fix dealers’ commission (profit margin) at 3 percent and revoke the decision that granted a subsidy of Rs 10 per liter of diesel for industrial firms.

In the meantime, Ministry of Supplies has issued directives to the petroleum transporters and dealers to resume their business. It has also promised to provide security to those transporters who agree to resume their operations.

NPTF, on the other hand, has issued a circular to its members, warning them of strong action if they went violated the strike.

“With the security arrangement, I am optimistic majority of tanker operators will resume their duty,” Jha opined.

The strike has sparked fuel shortage in the market. As some 103 dealers in the Kathmandu Valley have stopped selling fuel, long queues of vehicles were built in the refilling stations run by army, police, Armed Police Force and Sajha Cooperative, which are not affiliated the NPDA, and hence are not in a strike.

As agitating tankers disturbed distribution of fuel, NOC on Tuesday issued mere 28,000 liters of petrol and equal amount of diesel to refilling station of army at Bhadrakali and Sita petrol pump at Tahanchal.

“Private dealers too have approached us for supply, however, they have also sought support from the government to prevent them from possible action that their agitating associations might take,” said Mohan Karki of NOC.