Kathmandu, August 31: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) is set to facilitate the supply of petroleum products to the Kathmandu Valley by using alternative routes. The move comes after the road connecting the Kathmandu Valley was disrupted when floods damaged the road at Krishnabhir along the Prithvi Highway.
NOC Executive Director Nagendra Shah said there would be no shortage of petroleum products in the market as fuel would be brought in through alternative routes. Tankers will transport fuel via the Tribhuvan Highway route of Hetauda–Bhaise–Palung–Naubise–Kathmandu. Gas cylinders, however, can also be transported in smaller vehicles, so other roads will be used as well. He said efforts would be made to facilitate fuel supplies as much as possible by using other routes with less traffic congestion. “Most of the gas plants are located in the Tarai. We will have the gas loaded there and bring it through alternative routes,” he said.
The corporation said that since oil would continue to arrive through the pipeline according to demand, private transporters and dealers would use smaller tankers with capacities of 20 kilolitres and 12 kilolitres to transport it. “The main backup for fuel supply is the Amlekhgunj Depot,” Shah said. “Since oil comes directly through the pipeline, there will be no problem with the supply of petroleum products in Kathmandu.”
The decision to facilitate petroleum product supplies through alternative routes was taken during a meeting held on Sunday among the NOC, petroleum transport entrepreneurs and gas industry operators.
Under normal circumstances, the Kathmandu Valley consumes around 700,000 litres of diesel and 500,000 litres of petrol daily. However, the NOC said diesel demand would decline because large vehicles would be unable to leave the Valley due to the road obstruction.
Likewise, the NOC said it had instructed gas industry operators to facilitate the supply of cooking gas to Kathmandu Valley and surrounding districts by refilling cylinders at gas plants located in Chitwan and Nawalparasi and transporting them in small trucks. Gas companies that distribute LPG in and around the Valley will now coordinate with industries in Bara, Parsa, Chitwan, Makwanpur and Nawalparasi, among other districts, to facilitate supplies.
In view of possible emergencies arising from floods and road obstructions, the NOC has instructed gas industries in various districts to mandatorily maintain adequate stocks.
Diwan Chandra, president of the Nepal LPG Gas Industry Association, said it had been decided that industries in Dhading, Chitwan, Makwanpur, Bara, Parsa, Kathmandu and Kavre districts would be required to maintain 18 metric tonnes of gas in reserve.
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