Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has said it has received just 60 percent of the daily demand for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from India over the past week, while the supply of petrol and diesel has stood at 72 percent of the demand.

NOC Spokesperson Deepak Baral said they were receiving only 35-40 bullets of cooking gas per day, against the daily demand of 50-55 bullets. “As a result, we have not been able to maintain adequate supply of cooking gas,” he said.

NOC’s sole supplier Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been reiterating that it will provide adequate petroleum products, but IOC’s Raxaul-based depot has been providing just 1,500-1,800KL of petroleum products daily, against the supply of 2,500KL during normal times. “Compared to the high demand currently, the supply is inadequate,” Baral said.

NOC has been facing severe criticism for its failure to ensure smooth fuel supply even two weeks after the blockade was lifted. The general people are still struggling to get fuel During a meeting with the stakeholders here on Thursday, NOC said it would take at least two more weeks for the situation to normalise.

Deepak Subedi, joint-secretary at the Supply Ministry, said they were trying

hard to ease the supply.

NOC has been supplying 350KL of petrol and 450KL diesel to the Kathmandu Valley on a daily basis, he said.

“We have directed NOC to increase the supply to the Valley even by diverting petroleum products imported through border points other than Birgunj.”

Nepal imports 70 percent of the petroleum products from Raxaul-based depot through Birgunj. The rest is imported from IOC’s depots in Barauni, Siliguri, Gonda and Baitalpur.