Kathmandu, September 3: Salt Trading Corporation Limited has begun collaborating with private gas companies to fill its ‘STC cylinders’ with cooking gas in an effort to keep supplies running smoothly.
After the Trishuli River eroded the road at Krishnabhir in Dhading last Sunday, completely disrupting the Prithvi Highway, the corporation began looking for alternatives. It has adopted a policy of filling its ‘STC cylinders’ at the gas plants of private companies and bringing them to Kathmandu through alternative routes.
The highway disruption has also affected the corporation’s LPG plant at Jugekhola in Dhading. As gas bullet tankers can no longer reach its own plant, the corporation has immediately coordinated with private-sector gas plants located in accessible areas, including Manoj and Baba Gas, to fill its empty cylinders and transport them into the Valley via alternative routes.
Assistant Chief Executive Officer of the corporation, Bajresh Jha, said the policy was adopted in view of the difficult natural-disaster situation to ensure that consumers do not face a shortage of cooking gas.
He said, “In the first phase, the gas cylinders filled at the two private plants will arrive in Kathmandu by Friday.” The corporation has also diverted some gas bullet tankers originally destined for its own plant to the private companies.
Nepal Oil Corporation has been providing the corporation with a limited quota, or PDO allocation, meaning that it cannot sell sufficient quantities of gas even when it wants to. The corporation is reportedly entitled to only 53 of the 3,025 gas bullet tankers contracted by Nepal Oil Corporation from Indian Oil Corporation.
This amounts to about two percent of the total allocation. The corporation currently sells around 55,000 to 60,000 STC cylinders a month.
Consumers have been facing difficulties as private-sector gas companies cite the Gulf crisis, the recent disruption of the Prithvi Highway and other reasons for supply problems. The corporation has currently been facilitating distribution through a coupon system. Assistant CEO Jha said, “When we distribute coupons to consumers, we also ensure the date on which they will receive the gas.”
Iodized salt
In line with the government’s policy of ensuring easy access to iodized salt for the general public and implementing that policy fully, the corporation has maintained stocks sufficient for six months.
Jha said that as of Wednesday, Bhadra 17, the corporation had 127,361 metric tonnes of salt in storage. According to him, annual demand for iodized salt across the country has been more than 200,000 tonnes. The corporation distributed approximately 210,000 tonnes of salt in the last fiscal year.
Iodine is an essential micronutrient that the human body needs every day. The government has been urging people, using the two-children symbol on salt packages, to “eat less salt and consume it in the right amount.”
Consumer-rights advocates have been calling for salt, as an essential commodity, to remain within the government’s policy framework and for the private sector not to be allowed to enter its distribution. They argue, “The private sector cannot ensure a smooth supply of salt during difficult circumstances. The corporation has proved itself to be an exemplary public institution by demonstrating what role public institutions should play during disasters and other difficult situations.”
Market intervention in sugar
Meanwhile, the corporation has intervened in the sugar market by streamlining the distribution of sugar, whose international price has been steadily rising in recent days.
While private-sector retailers have been selling sugar for as much as Rs 135 per kilogram, the corporation has been selling it for Rs 100 per kilogram. According to the corporation, it imported 600 tonnes of sugar on Bhadra 9 alone. The institution has been selling sugar in accordance with government policy. In recent days, the corporation has already released 3,000 tonnes of sugar into the market.
Although the prices of daily consumer goods such as rice, lentils, pulses and cooking oil have been steadily rising, the corporation says it has succeeded in keeping the prices of the food products it distributes stable.
Assistant CEO Jha said, “The objective of this government-owned corporation is not merely to make a profit, but to ensure the continuous supply of daily essential commodities, including salt and other food items, even under difficult circumstances.” The role and necessity of public institutions appear to become even more important during disasters.
Login to add a comment