Vehicles queue for fuel obstructs roads

KATHMANDU, Jan 4: Passengers have been stranded as roads are obstructed with the vehicles lining up because of the shortage of petroleum products in Kathmandu valley.



There are petrol pumps from Kathmandu´s Shantinagar Gate to Pul Bazaar of Banepa and transport of dairy products and vegetables have been uneasy as vehicles are stopped for 15 to 20 minutes in each place.[break]



It takes hours to reach offices and difficult to make a living, said an office staff Hariram Gautam.



There is a shortage of petroleum products for the past three weeks because of obstruction in oil supply until Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) pays the old dues to the Indian Oil Corporation.



The Employee Provident Fund has agreed to provide Rs. 1.5 billion and the Civil Investment Fund Rs. one billion to NOC for paying the loans. For NOC which is bearing a deficit of 1.28 billion each month, the loans provided is only a meager amount, said Nepal Petroleum Dealers Association Chairman Saroj Pandey.



Minister for Commerce and Supplies Lekhraj Bhatta has said NOC is bearing a loss of Rs 423 per cylinder of gas, Rs. 18 in diesel and 12 in kerosene and Rs 6 in petrol. NOC has said the supply will be smooth as soon as the due is paid.

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