KATHMANDU, Sept 3: Cooking gas is now being bottled outside the Kathmandu Valley and transported to the federal capital after the road at Krishnabhir along the Prithvi Highway sank.
Gas-carrying tankers have been unable to enter Kathmandu even through alternative routes, prompting companies to fill cylinders outside the valley and transport them by truck.
Salt Trading Corporation has started filling its STC Gas cylinders at Manoj Gas in Birgunj and sending them to Kathmandu.
LPG being bottled outside Kathmandu to maintain Valley supplies
According to Bimal Kalakheti, operator of Baba Gas, Baba Gas in Chitwan filled and dispatched 1,500 Shree Gas cylinders on Tuesday. Shree Gas has a plant in Naubise, Dhading. Likewise, Sai Baba Gas in Chitwan filled and sent 900 of its own cylinders to Kathmandu. Nepal Gas Gandaki filled and dispatched 1,200 cylinders belonging to Nepal Gas in Balaju.
Janaki Gas in Gaindakot filled cylinders for Shriram Gas in Naubise, while Sahara Gas in Hetauda filled cylinders for Kathmandu based Everest and Sugam Gas.
“Salt Trading Corporation has started filling STC Gas cylinders at Manoj Gas in Birgunj and sending them to Kathmandu,” Kalakheti said.
According to Kalakheti, Sagarmatha Gas in Banepa has started filling cylinders at Chandi Gas in Parasi. Banepa-based Popular Gas, Super Gas, Tara Gas and others have also begun filling cylinders at various gas plants outside the capital and sending them to Kathmandu via the Tribhuvan Highway.
Kalakheti, who is also a member of the Nepal LPG Gas Industry Association, said gas imports from India have not declined. Industries unable to transport their gas tankers to Kathmandu are filling cylinders at other plants and sending them by truck, so a gas shortage is unlikely.
He said Nepal received 60,200 metric tonnes of LPG from India last month, describing it as the highest volume received so far. According to him, imports are continuing at a similar level, so there is no immediate risk of a shortage.
Devan Chand, president of the Nepal LPG Gas Industry Association, said Nepal Oil Corporation has allowed gas companies to fill cylinders outside Kathmandu Valley. Sixteen industries based in the valley and neighbouring districts have coordinated with gas plants in Bara, Parsa, Chitwan, Makwanpur, Nawalparasi East and Nawalparasi West to fill cylinders and transport them to the valley.
According to Chand, Kathmandu Valley and its neighbouring districts account for around 40 percent of the country’s total LPG consumption
