Kathmandu, September 16

Though it is illegal to halt the supply of essential goods in the market, bottlers of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have threatened to halt supply of cooking gas ahead of the festive season citing that the government has overlooked bottlers’ issues.

Organising a press conference in the Capital today, LPG bottlers affiliated to the Nepal LP Gas Industry Association, said that though LPG bottlers had submitted a memorandum to the government earlier highlighting contextual problems, the government is not serious towards issues raised by them.

“At present, transportation cost of LPG is surging owing to increasing fuel price. Thus, Indian transporters are reluctant to supply cooking gas to Nepal under the current transportation fare structure,” said Gokul Bhandari, president of the association.

Moreover, Bhandari informed that Indian LPG transporters have sent a letter to Nepali bottlers threatening to halt supply of cooking gas if transportation fare is not adjusted in line with the increasing price of fuel.

“We have informed about the concerns raised by Indian LPG transporters. If transportation fare is not adjusted, supply of LPG may be halted during Dashain,” he said.

Meanwhile, bottlers have also expressed their concern over government’s lack of seriousness to capitalise on the country’s plan to substitute Indian LPG-ferrying bullets with Nepali ones. “As we are solely dependent on Indian transporters for LPG supply to Nepal, it is not in our hands to guarantee uninterrupted supply of LPG. On the other hand, government is not serious about helping bottlers to operate their own LPG bullets,” said Bhandari.