• Oil shortage hits mid-west, far-west

• Work at Sikta irrigation project comes to a halt

Biratnagar, November 25:

Owners of petrol pumps based in the eastern region have stopped buying petroleum products from the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) from today.

Demanding that supply of petroleum products be eased and code of conduct for petroleum sellers and quality control regime be scrapped, they have been staging an agitation since November 18. They have also demanded that petrol pumps be given the sole authority to supply petroleum products to big industries.

The agitation has been called by the Eastern Regional Committee (ERC) of the Nepal Petroleum Dealers’ Association. The entrepreneurs threatened to launch fresh agitations if their demands are ignored. President of the association’s ERC and coordinator of the struggle committee, Chandra Bahadur Dangi, said they have launched the agitation considering the shortage of petroleum products facing the customers. “The petrol pumps always have to face pressure from customers. This is because the NOC’s supply of petroleum products is meagre,” coordinator Dangi said.

A discussion committee headed by Kanak Bahadur Thapa, director of the NOC, has been formed to resolve problems facing the owners of petrol pumps. Manager of the NOC’s eastern regional office, Arjun Singh, said the committee members will visit Biratnagar soon to hold talks with the owners.

Deputy coordinator of the struggle committee, Bhim Ghimire, said they are ready to call off the agitation if their demands are met after talks.

Meanwhile, a report from Mahendranagar said a shortage of petroleum products has hit the far-western region. Most of the diesel-run buses operating from Dhangadhi to Mahendranagar have stopped operating.

Mid-west and far-western regions are reeling under a shortage of petroleum products, a report from Nepalgunj said. Bardiya and Surkhet districts have been hit the hardest. Work at the Sikta irrigation projection has been affected due to a halt in transport services from Surkhet to other remote hilly districts.

Chairman of the Surkhet Chambers of Commerce and Industries and proprietor of the Bulbule Oil Stores Surya Bahadur Khadka said infuriated transport entrepreneurs padlocked all three petrol pumps in Surkhet.

Vehicles are not heading to Jumla district from Surkhet due to a shortage of diesel, he added. Public transport in the mid-western region will come to a grinding halt if petroleum products are not supplied within two days, the Bheri Petroleum Dealers’ Association said. Division engineer at the Sikta irrigation project Madhav Belbase said work on the project came to a halt today for want of diesel.

Meanwhile, chief of the NOC’s mid-western regional office Jagannath Ghimirey said petrol supply to the region has dropped drastically.