Miscellaneous
Only ‘10 pc’ tankers get fuel
Nepal Oil Corporation has said Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has drastically cut supply to NOC tankers, providing fuel only to 10 percent of the tankers that have reached several depots in India.Nepal Oil Corporation has said Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has drastically cut supply to NOC tankers, providing fuel only to 10 percent of the tankers that have reached several depots in India.
“Our loading agents at the IOC depots have said the Indian firm has curtailed fuel supply citing order from the higher authority,” said NOC spokesman Deepak Baral.
As a result, only 50 tankers received their load on Tuesday. The NOC used to import fuel on 350 tankers on a normal day. The IOC provided load to 35 tankers at Siliguri, nine tankers at Baitalpur, four at Barauni and two at Gonda.
According to the NOC, 24 loaded tankers entered Nepal on Tuesday—10 each via Biratnagar and Kakadvitta while four arrived via the Trinagar customs in Kailali. Of the 35 tankers loaded in Siliguri, only 10 got through.
In a sign of further tightening of the fuel flow into Nepal, IOC officials in Siliguri told drivers not to approach the IOC depots from Wednesday for fuel. The Indian customs at Jogbani did not allow 12 tankers to cross over to Nepal citing technical problems.
As the fuel crisis deepens, the government on Tuesday said private vehicles would not get fuel before the supply situation eases.
A joint meeting of the Home Ministry, NOC and the Commerce Ministry decided to uphold its earlier decision to provide fuel only to public carriers. “At present, our main priority is to provide fuel for public and emergency services,” said Baral.
NOC has been providing 30 litre diesel to a bus, 20 litres to a mini bus and 15 litres to a microbus every other day. Pick-up and delivery vans that ferry essentials and emergency utility vehicles such as ambulances are given 10 litre fuel every alternate day. Taxis get 10 litre petrol in a week.
Meanwhile, the NOC office in Biratnagar dispatched five tankers of petrol and six tankers of diesel to Kathmandu. Of the 25 tankers that arrived on Monday, police escorted 11 trucks to the Valley.
(With inputs from our district correspondents)
Indian Oil Corporation tightens nozzle
- Only 50 tankers got their load on Tuesday: 35 at Siliguri (only 10 entered Nepal), 9 at Baitalpur, 4 at Barauni and 2 at Gonda
- 24 fuel tankers entered Nepal on Tuesday: 10 each via Biratnagar and Kakadvitta, and 4 from Trinagar in Kailali
- IOC officials in Siliguri tell drivers not to approach depots from Wednesday for fuel