The government has planned to distribute gasoline to private vehicles next week, and it has also developed software to implement a queue system and prevent petrol stations from being overrun by frenzied motorists.

Commerce and Supply Minister Ganesh Man Pun said the computer program would help to manage the distribution of fuel. “The software will tell motorists when they can get gasoline, and also prevent vehicles from getting refuelled twice on the same day,” he added.

Rabin Sharma, chief of the Thankot depot of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), said they had developed the software in a bid to streamline distribution. “The

software named Queue Management System is expected to help

manage the crowds at the petrol pumps,” he said.

The software will text motorists with information about the date, time and place where they will be able to buy gasoline, according to Sharma. “This should help avoid the chaos and hardship that people had to face on previous occasions when fuel was distributed,” Sharma said.

According to NOC, it plans to issue fuel from all the gasoline stations in the Kathmandu Valley. Sharma said that they would be distributing fuel according to the valley’s electoral constituencies.

“We will be sending the schedule for distributing fuel by SMS to motorists based on the area code,” Sharma said. There are 15 constituencies in the valley—10 in Kathmandu, three in Lalitpur and two in Bhaktapur.

NOC has issued gasoline to private automobiles twice in the last two and a half months since India imposed an unofficial embargo and shipments came to a halt.

The last time NOC distributed fuel to private vehicles was on November 5-7. Motorists were given fuel based on the series number of the licence plates of their

vehicles, but many had to return empty-handed even after staying in line for two days.

According to Sharma, they have tested the software at Sajha’s petrol pump in Pulchok, Lalitpur.

Shiva Prasad Tripathi, under-secretary at the ministry, said they were yet to fix the date for distributing fuel.

“Motorists will be given fuel out of the limited shipments that we have been receiving through the Nepal-India border,” he said.