Gasoline dealers have called off their protest programme scheduled to start on Tuesday following assurances by the government that their grievances would be addressed.

They had given Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) a 10-day ultimatum to revise the existing allowance for shrinkage loss or they would shut down petrol pumps in the Kathmandu Valley, Nuwakot, Dhading and Kavrepalanchok.

As per NOC, shrinkage loss occurs in fuel shipments when they are transported from warm locations to cooler places. Gasoline dealers have been demanding that

NOC increase the allowance for shrinkage and evaporation loss.

Currently, the state-owned enterprise has been compensating gasoline dealers for shrinkage loss at the rate of 5 litres per 1,000 litres of petrol and 2.6 litres per 1,000 litres of diesel. However, dealers have been complaining that NOC has been supplying up to 90 litres short on every measure of 4,000 litres of petrol.

Achyut Bahadur Khadka, president of the Bagmati Petroleum Dealers Association, said they had postponed their protest following an assurance from Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. “The prime minister has said that the issue will be addressed shortly,” said Khadka, adding that they met with him on Sunday.

Khadka said they also held talks with NOC on Monday. According to him, NOC has promised to revise the existing allowance for shrinkage loss by mid-July. “If it fails to do so, we will stop selling gasoline from July 18,” said Khadka. He denied that they had been pressurising NOC to raise their commission.

Fuel sellers said they were compelled to launch a protest after the problem of shrinkage loss worsened from April when NOC started importing Euro IV standard gasoline.

They have also been complaining that the traditional and defective calibration system being used by NOC has been causing financial loss for them. NOC has been using dip rods to measure gasoline.

According to them, a shipment of 3,000 litres of petrol supplied to Rushcutter Petrol Pump, Kirtipur on May 4 was 56 litres short while another shipment of 3,000 litres of diesel was 48 litres short.

Last November, the government had formed a five member committee under the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) to study issues such as the calibration system, double lock system, shrinkage loss and commission paid to fuel sellers. However, the NBSM has not been able to produce a report even though eight months have passed.

NBSM Director General Bishwo Babu Pudasaini said they were holding talks with stakeholders. “We have aimed to issue a report next week,” Pudasaini said.