Following the confirmation of oil theft, NOC board members Wednesday directed the management to stop imports from Barauni with immediate effect.[break]
“The technical team has confirmed oil theft. Tankers operators appointed in Barauni-Amlekhgunj have been found cheating NOC and making handsome money,” an NOC source told Republica.
The loss that the operators were inflicting was in addition to the technical loss, which is unavoidable. According to a report of Amlekhgunj depot, owing to temperature difference, the depot was also suffering almost two-fold rise in technical loss because of the management´s decision to import fuel from Barauni, compared to Raxaul. Based on such reports, the staffs of the depot have been demanding the management to halt imports from Barauni and step up imports from Raxaul.
“The management had continued to turn deaf ears to our call. But the probe team has finally confirmed that our claim of increased anomalies in Barauni-Amlekhgunj route was right,” said an official at Amlekhgunj depot.
The NOC had formed the probe team under the leadership of its engineer Birendra Goit after Republica filed series of news on wrongdoing by the tanker operators, something which has been inflicting loss to the corporation and adding cost to consumers.
Commerce Secretary and NOC Board Chairman Purushottam Ojha, who was in Amlekhgunj on Wednesday, informed Republica that he has instructed the corporation to immediately stop the imports from Barauni.
“It was inflicting unwanted loss to NOC. Hence, we took such a decision,” Ojha said. He, however, refused to relate his action with the findings of the technical team.
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