These people seem to be doing brisk business at a time when people are thronging to gas stations only to join queues as long as half a kilometer because of fuel shortage.[break]
A snap survey conducted by Republica found that fuel brought in from Khasa, a Chinese town on Nepal-China border, costs up to 73 percent more than the local markets. Yet, people don´t mind paying more as long as they can fill their tanks.
“People are paying higher costs not out of choice, but out of compulsion,” Nirmal Hari Adhikari, chief of Tatopani Customs Office, told Republica.
Petrol is available in Khasa for Rs 115 per liter, while diesel costs Rs 105 per liter. But by the time these fossil fuels reach Tatopani, petrol price surges to Rs 150 per liter, while diesel is traded for Rs 130 per liter - up 42 percent and 73 percent, respectively, compared to prices in Nepal, where petrol costs Rs 105 per liter and diesel is priced at Rs 75 per liter.
It is said containers that reach up to Khasa to deliver goods for Nepal carry the Chinese fuel into Nepal. The drivers of these containers, with 260-liter tank capacity, take up to 10 liters of fuel or cash equivalent to this amount in return for carrying fuel into the country.
The supply of diesel and petrol has remained scarce for last three weeks and one week, respectively, after Nepal Oil Corporation, the state-owned petroleum import monopolist, failed to make adequate payment to the Indian supplier to ensure normal supplies.
However, after securing around Rs 2.5 billion in loans from Citizens Investment Trust and Employment Provident Fund, NOC Tuesday received 2,000 kiloliters (KL) of petroleum products from Raxaul depot of Indian Oil Corporation.
The import was well over 200 KL than the quantity it received on Monday. Yet, the supply situation is far from normal.
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