Petroleum dealers under Nepal Petroleum Dealers Association (NPDA) went on strike all of a sudden and refused to retail the fuels after Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and District Administration restricted them from charging additional commission on retail rates.[break]
The dealers on Thursday were charging additional 70 paisa and 80 paisa per liter of petrol and diesel respectively over and above the retail rates. NPDA that favored additional commission argued that this was necessary to cover the transportation cost, which went up due to price-hike of fuels.
However, Kathmandu District Administration on Friday summoned the four petrol pumps that forced consumers to pay more than the government set retail rates. NOC also warned of cancelling the license of pumps if they are found manipulating the retail rates enforced by NOC.
As a result of this dispute, only nine pumps run by security agencies and Sajha Cooperatives, and only about a dozen out of 102 private pumps, took supplies from NOC on Friday. More than 90 pumps remained out of service, not accepting supplies from NOC.
"Hence, we could pump out only 86 kiloliters of petrol in the valley," said NOC Spokesperson Mukunda Dhungel. The supply is barely enough to meet 25 percent of the normal daily demand.
Talking to Republica, top NOC officials vented ire against petroleum dealers for going on strike so suddenly.
"While instructing them to adhere to the government-fixed rates, we invited them for talks if they had any grievances. However, instead of coming for talks, they stopped retailing. This is very irresponsible on their part," Dhungel said.
The dealers, however, came forward for talks after the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies approached them for negotiations. Though the negotiation ended without any result, the dealers, however, agreed to accept the supply and resume retailing from Saturday.
"Retailing will resume from Saturday. We have even requested NOC to distribute the fuel on the weekend as well," said NPDA President Saroj Pandey. The dealers agreed to resume supplies mainly after Minister for Commerce and Supplies Lekh Raj Bhatta chided them for ´not supporting´ the government at a time when it is being criticized by different quarters for the price-hike. "As for our concerns, the ministry has invited us again on Sunday for talks," said Pandey.
Amid mounting losses, the corporation that faced troubles in managing its inventory and fund flow has been supplying less fuel in the market. As a result, consumers across the country have been reeling under shortage of petrol, diesel and LPG over the last three weeks.
In a bid to plug the losses and manage supplies, the government on Wednesday raised the petroleum prices by well over 11 percent. This has compelled consumers to pay Rs 115 per liter of petrol, Rs 1,500 per cylinder (14.2 kg) of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and Rs 85 per liter of diesel and kerosene.
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