Last week, Kishor Poudel of Maitidevi took his empty Nepal Gas LPG cylinder to join the queue at a dealer's at Ghattekulo. The dealer, however, asked Poudel to come to place his cylinder in the queue after one month. Frustrated, Poudel went to a dealer at Anamnagar who accepted his cylinder but said there was no chance of getting a full cylinder before two weeks.Poudel, who visited his home district of Parbat on some business Friday, came back with an LPG cylinder of Shakti brand. "Finding a place in the LPG queue was like fighting a battle. I spent two whole days registering my LPG cylinder with the dealer," Poudel said, adding, "As no option was left, I brought a new cylinder from my home district."
Poudel's case is just one among many. Many LPG consumers have kept their LPG cylinders in queues since months back and are still awaiting their turn. Ram Gautam of Boudha kept his Baba Gas cylinder in queue for two months at the company's Chabahil-based dealership. He is still uncertain when his turn will come.
"I have been visiting the dealer almost thrice a week since the last two months," Gautam told Republica, adding, "However, the dealer only urges me to wait another week, saying the company has not made any LPG deliveries."
This clearly shows that the increased LPG supply has brought no relief to consumers.
Figures at Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) show that the supply of LPG was 4,498 tons in the month of Asoj, 5,013 tons in Kartik, 5,287 tons in Mansir, 9,142 tons in Paush, 14,091 tons in Magh and 21,685 in Falgun. Similarly, the supply figure for the current month of Chaitra (till the 21st') is 17,341 tons.
As per NOC, the demand for LPG in the domestic market is around 29,000 tons per month.
"The supply has turned normal and Indian Oil Corporation has been supplying as per our demand," Mukunda Ghimire, spokesperson of NOC, told Republica, adding, "However, the unabated crisis in the market hints at anomalies at another level."
Stating that the unsettled LPG crisis now calls for in-depth investigations, Ghimire said NOC is preparing to probe the LPG black market, with support from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA).
LPG dealers, meanwhile, blame LPG bottlers and the fragile distribution mechanism for the prolonged crisis. "Due to shortage fears, a consumer today accumulates at least three LPG cylinders while hotels and restaurant accumulate dozens of them," said Gyaneshwor Aryal, president of Gas Dealers Federation Nepal. "As a result some are getting dozens of cylinders while others fight for a single one."
Aryal also said that to avoid charges of black marketing, dealers have been selling LPG to any consumer that comes along instead of to those who have been waiting in queue. They are also wary of action by the government if they are found keeping LPG in stock, even though such stocks are meant for those already in the queues.
Bottlers also say that the crisis is due to hoarding by consumers. "As the state has failed to assure consumers that there won't be any LPG crisis again, consumers have been hoarding the fuel," Shiva Ghimire, president of Nepal LP Gas Industry Association said. According to him, the government should increase the LPG import quota to 50,000 tons per month for at least three months in order to fully address the crisis.
However, consumer activists say that NOC, bottlers and dealers are all responsible for aggravating the situation. "While the government has no sense of responsibility toward the people, the bottlers and dealers are out to squeeze as much profit as possible," said Madhav Timalsina, president of Consumer Rights Investigation Forum (CRIF). According to Timalsina, the crisis will remain unresolved for months unless all stakeholders develop a sense of responsibility towards the general public.
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