The supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be regularised within a week as shipments from India have improved, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Sunday.

Addressing the Supply and Consumer Welfare Sub-Committee of the parliamentary Industry, Commerce and Consumers’ Welfare Interests Committee, NOC Managing Director Gopal Bahadur Khadka said that Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) had been increasing LPG deliveries in recent days. IOC provided 36 bullets on Wednesday and 42 bullets each on Thursday and Friday, he said.

After the southern neighbour imposed an unofficial blockade on September 22, LPG supplies had dropped to 20-22 bullets daily against the daily requirement of 55-60 bullets. Khadka said that IOC officials had indicated that regular LPG supplies would resume by the weekend.

According to him, delays in sending LPG bullets that were rerouted during the blockade to IOC depots had also led to a drop in supplies.

People have been facing extreme hardships to obtain cooking gas since the Indian trade embargo began. A few customers have received half-filled cylinders under a government plan to ration the essential fuel, but they complained that they were given short measure.

Lawmaker Rajya Laxmi Shrestha said that the authorities had been involved in irregularities under the plan to issue half-filled LPG cylinder. “If the current practice of black marketing is not controlled in time, it will be devastating for the whole distribution system in the long run,” she added.

Lawmaker Shuvash Chandra Thakuri criticized the government for not having a scientific mechanism for storage, pricing and distribution of cooking gas. According to him, customers have been suffering because gas dealers do not accept cylinders of other brands in exchange.

“The current system of not allowing customers of a particular brand to get fuel from other brands has meant that many people have not been able to get LPG even though supplies have improved,” he said.

NOC Chief Khadka said they were holding talks with gas bottlers and dealers to permit the exchange of LPG cylinders of other brands. “As supplies have improved, we are also planning to scrap the current provision of issuing 7.1-kg cylinders and issuing regular 14.2-kg cylinders,” Khadka added.

Meanwhile, NOC said that gasoline shipments had swelled to 80 percent of the requirement since India lifted the economic blockade.

In the last few days, oil shipments have risen to 3,000 kilolitres daily while demand amounts to 3,700 kilolitres. As per NOC records, it received 12,796 kilolitres of petrol, 43,221 kilolitres of diesel, 2,632 kilolitres of kerosene and 13,790 tonnes of LPG between mid-January and February 11.