Kathmandu, September 27:

The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has been claiming that the shortage of cooking gas will be eliminated by Dashain but dealers of the Liquified Petroleum Gas are sceptical.

Today 600 metric tonnes of LPG was loaded at Barauni in India for dispatch to Nepal. The daily demand for the gas in the country is 300 MT, Bachchu Kumar Kafle, deputy managing director of NOC told this daily.

Until last week the NOC was not able to import petroleum as it was facing cash shortage but now the Indian side has agreed to provide petroleum on credit till the constituent assembly elections, he said. The NOC is also planning to bring in additional 2,000 metric tonnes of LPG from Mathura to ensure that there will be no shortage during Dashain, Kafle said. But Ganeshwor Aryal, chairman of Central Gas Distributors’ Association Nepal, said supply of cooking gas should have increased a week ago. “Now, there is an additional demand

of 7,000 metric tonnes of LPG in the country due to the supply situation in the previous weeks.”

“During Dashain workers may not be available to distribute gas. People will stockpile gas once they find it in the market fearing further shortage. Strikes along the highways may also limit its supply. To be absolutely certain that there is no shortage of cooking gas, the governement should bring 500 MT per day,” says Aryal.

Aryal said gas dealers were facing problems because of the shortage. “The people who do not get gas blame us for the shortage,” he said.