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Rumours prompt long petrol queues
Motorists queued up at refuelling stations on Wednesday too amid rumours the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) would extend the distribution for another day.Motorists queued up at refuelling stations on Wednesday too amid rumours the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) would extend the distribution for another day.
Prem Shrestha, who queued up his motorbike at Trilochan Enterprises, Panipokhari, said he could not receive petrol on Tuesday despite waiting for more than 12 hours.
Petroleum dealers blamed the NOC’s mismanagement for “severe pressure” at petrol pumps.
Lilendra Prasad Pradhan, president of Nepal Petroleum Dealers’ Association, said only 40 percent of the people who lined up on Tuesday got fuel.
“Had the NOC distributed petroleum to two- and four-wheelers on different days or had it implemented even-odd number system, the distribution would have been much easier,” he said.
The NOC had distributed fuel to private vehicles on Tuesday under quota system (5 litres for two-wheelers and 15 litres for four-wheelers). It distributed a total of 600,000 litre of fuel.
Consumer rights activists also criticised the NOC for the mismanagement. Madhav Timilsina, president of the Consumers’ Right Investigation Forum, said the
distribution just created chaos among the people.
An NOC official, however, said the fuel distribution was targeted at people who planned to leave the valley for their homes for Dashain.
An NOC source said it would distribute fuel to private motorists next week if supply increases.
IOC cuts oil supply again
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) cut petroleum supply to Nepal once again on Wednesday after boosting the supply on Tuesday, according to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).
NOC Deputy Managing Director Shushil Bhattarai said only one-third of the tankers sent to IOC depots were refilled. “Out of 189 tankers sent, only 55 were refilled,” he said.
At IOC’s Barauni depot, only 21 out of 40 tankers were refilled, while 7 out of 38 tankers got fuel at Baitalpur depot. Seven out of 12 tankers were reloaded at Banthara depot, 14 out of 19 tankers at Gonda and 6 out of 17 tankers receive petroleum at Siliguri, according to NOC. “Of the 63 tankers sent to Raxaul depot, none received fuel,” he said.
Meanwhile, 60 fuel tankers and 7 cooking gas bullets entered Nepal through Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Kakadvitta customs points on Wednesday. According to NOC, six tankers, including two diesel tankers and four petrol tankers, and 6 gas bullets crossed the border through Bhairahawa customs point.
Of the 31 tankers that entered through Nepalgunj customs point, 23 were of diesel, 6 were of petrol and 2 tankers were of kerosene. A gas bullet also entered Nepal through Nepalgunj. Nepal received 18 tankers through Kakadvitta and 5 tankers through Biratnagar.