Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) said it will initiate action against petroleum tanker operators who obstructed the fuel supply in Bhairahawa on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A few days ago, District Court Rupandehi issued a verdict—a three-year jail term— to a tanker operator on the charge of killing an individual. According to NOC, the tanker operator has been charged with deliberately killing a commuter in a road accident.

The petroleum transporters in turn staged a protest, disrupting the regular supply of fuel imported through Bhairahawa customs point. The fuel transporters completely halted the fuel supply for two days at NOC’s depot in Bhairahawa.

NOC’s Acting Managing Director Sushil Bhattarai said they were unable to supply fuel to the gasoline station due to the truck drivers’ protest.  “Although a number of tankers have already received customs clearance, they did not transport the fuel to the NOC’s depot,” Bhattarai said.

According to him, the enterprise has asked the protesting truck drivers and concerned transport entrepreneurs to appear with clarification in three days. “If they fail to do so, we will stop issuing purchase delivery orders to fuel transporters for the next three months,” said Bhattarai, adding that the transporters have agreed to supply fuel from Wednesday.

The government has imposed restriction on all kinds of strikes by providers of essential services including petroleum products supply. A few months ago, the government, through publishing a notice in the Nepal Gazette, banned the disruption in supply of essentials.

However, fuel transporters on various pretexts, have been violating government rules time after time. Previously, the transporters even protested the NOC’s initiative to install a locking system in the fuel supplying trucks.

A total of 250 tankers are used to transport petroleum products to Bhairahawa. NOC then supplies fuel imported from the Indian Oil Corporation depot in Banthara to various parts of the country via Bhairahawa.