Contrary to the demand of tanker owners operating on the route, NOC during the talks proposed Nepal Petroleum Transporters´ Federation (NPTF) to scrap the Amlekhgunj-Barauni route. “For that, we even promised to absorb them and provide business on Raxaul-Kathmandu route,” said a member of the NOC negotiating team.[break]
But, the NOC´s proposal flared up differences between NOC and tanker owners operating on the route. It also split the NPTF into vertical half, as tanker owners operating on other routes agreed with NOC´s stance that direct import from Barauni refinery was not necessary, especially when it can get the supply from much closer depot at Raxaul.
“Given the differences in opinion within operators, we could not agree with the NOC´s proposal right away. We will hold consultations on the matter with our members, before responding to it,” said Siddhi Lal Shrestha of NPTF.
NOC had shut operations on the route after Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) -- the constitutional anti-graft body -- directed it to limit the supply of petroleum products through Barauni-Amlekhgunj route.
Investigation by NOC employees has revealed that the state-owned petroleum monopolist was incurring an annual loss of Rs 210 million while importing fuel from Barauni.
While delivering fuel from Barauni route, NOC has been paying a higher fare of Rs 1.13 per liter to tanker operators and suffering loss of 135 liters per tanker due to higher temperature along the route compared to other routes.
Tanker operators had announced protest following CIAA´s direction and had threatened to bring import and distribution of fuel to a grinding halt. However, they withdrew their protest program and agreed to sit for dialogue, citing ongoing festive season.
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