The Nepal LP Gas Industry Association (NLPGIA) has claimed that 50,000 cylinders of cooking gas were distributed in the Kathmandu Valley in the last three days.

Bottlers said that they had started issuing half-filled cylinders of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) weighing 7.1 kg each from Friday in a bid to tide people over till the situation improved.

However, a large number of people who have been queuing up round the clock for two-three days without getting any LPG dispute these claims. Consumers have also criticized the bottling plants for not selling the fuel through their dealers.

NLPGIA President Shiva Prasad Ghimire said Sunday that only Nepal Gas and Everest Gas had not been distributing LPG through their dealers for security reasons, while the other factories had been doing so.

“The local administration has not allowed these two companies to dispatch their products to their dealers citing security reasons,” said Ghimire, adding that crowds had occupied their premises.

According to the association, eight companies—Ugrachandi, Trishul, Shree Ram, Satyanarayan, Nepal, Everest, Siddhartha and Salt Trading Corporation—have been distributing LPG in the valley. Refuting reports that there was black marketing in cooking gas, Ghimire said that it was being sold under the direct supervision of the local administration, general people and the police. “However, we have provided a number of cylinders to hospitals and a few hotels for emergency services,” he said.

According to the association, the bottlers have received 19 bullets of LPG as of Sunday. Another 19 bullets are on their way to the valley.

Valley denizens have not been able to obtain LPG for over a month since India imposed a trade embargo. Recently, Nepal Oil Corporation started re-routing LPG shipments through other border points as tankers could not enter Nepal through the Birgunj customs point. Last week, the government allowed bottlers to sell half-filled cylinders considering the fuel crisis.

An estimated 250 LPG bullets remain stranded on the Indian side of the border, and among them, 178 have already cleared customs procedures both in India and Nepal.

Ghimire said that an inadequate number of bullets could pose a hurdle to the transportation of LPG in the coming days if the situation continued.