KATHMANDU, June 14: While stating that they were denied vaccine against the COVID-19 even as they are forced to work amid serious threat to the infection of COVID-19, operators of the petroleum transporting trucks have halted supply of the petroleum products in Kathmandu Valley beginning Sunday.
At the call of the Nepal Petroleum Tanker Drivers' Association (NPTDA), the transporters have stopped taking loads of fuels from the Thankot-based depot of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC). This has disrupted petroleum supply to the gasoline stations operating in the Kathmandu Valley.
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Issuing a press statement on Sunday, the association said that the family members concerned of petroleum suppliers have been at high risk due to the failure of fuel tanker operators to receive the COVID-19 vaccines.
Abhishek Thakur, chief of NOC’s depot in Thankot, said the private sector transporters have not supplied the petroleum on Monday as well. According to him, only the petroleum tankers owned by security forces and Sajha transported 70 kl of petrol and 46 kl of diesel on Sunday. On an average, the depot had been selling 450 kl of petrol and 550 kl of diesel daily during the period of prohibitory orders.
A total of 11 people associated with petroleum supply have lost their lives while around 1,000 individuals have been infected by the pandemic, according to the NPTDA. The NOC officials said the state-owned enterprise had informed the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies about the situation, requesting it to take necessary initiatives to avail fuel tanker operators of the COVID-19 vaccines.
