Kathmandu October 17:

The Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has already started to reduce supply of petroleum products

after the Constituent Assembly (CA) election was postponed.

Eccha Bikram Thapa, spokesperson, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), said that though there has been no official word from the IOC, the reduction in the supply is most likely due to the CA poll postponement. Although demand for petroleum products is on the rise due to Dashain, its supply has been unable to meet the demand. Earlier, loading of petroleum products was slow in India because of the Eid festival.

While the daily demand for petrol in the Valley is 2,000 kilolitres (kl), only about 800 kl was imported yesterday, Thapa said. There is also a shortfall in the supply of the LPG gas.

The IOC had announced that it would supply petroleum products as demanded by the NOC till the CA polls after a request by PM GP Koirala to his Indian counterpart. But, since the election has been postponed and the NOC is unable to generate adequate revenue to pay for petroleum imports, it has to import petroleum below the demand. The NOC’s total unpaid dues to the IOC and various financial institutions in Nepal exceed Rs 10 billion.