Gas traders withdraw agitation
KATHMANDU, MAR 21 - Gas traders on Saturday withdrew their agitation that was scheduled from Sunday.
After the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) committed to supplying a bulk of 16,000 tons from March 31, both dealers and sellers announced the withdrawal of their protest.
The move by traders to withdraw their announced agitation came after the NOC issued a public notice to ensure smooth supply from the next month.
Earlier, the traders said that they were forced to stop supplying gas as the NOC had cut deliveries of the fuel by more than 50 percent.
"Both sides, the NOC and traders were called by the Chief District Officer on March 19 to settle the issue," said Suresh Prajapati, general secretary of Gas Industry Nepal.
The total amount of gas imported in the country was at 33 bullets on Thursday and Friday. However, with the available bulk, customers are likely to face gas shortage until Tuesday. One bullet contains 17.5 tons of LP gas or one tanker load.
For immediate relief, the NOC has also committed to delivering about 40-50 gas bullets from Monday. This will arrive in the Capital and other part of the country on Tuesday.
With the uncertainty of regular gas supply in the market demand for gas has surged to 17,000 tons from 12,000 tons in the last five months. "Gas hoarding is the major reason for the fuel shortage," said Prajapati.
He said that NOC should make its delivery system regular to abate the hoarding and black-marketing. "The NOC has committed to providing 16,000 tons of gas in the next month. However, it should deliver the same volume for some months to lessen the hoarding," he added.
On March 18, LP gas traders warned that they would bring distribution to a total halt from March 21 because of inadequate delivery by NOC.
The traders had submitted a warning letter to NOC that they would lock all units and give the keys to the district administration office if it did not listen to their demands and honour the agreement signed with it on March 2.
Just before, the announcement of fresh agitation, gas traders on Feb. 25, had halted the sale and distribution of LP gas for a week.
There are 26 LP gas factories across the country and about 200 to 250 tankers are used for importing and distributing the fuel
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