Kathmandu, February 22:

The Nepal Oil Corporation could not distribute petroleum products in the capital today .

The corporation said it could not distribute petroleum products in the capital today as locals at Muglin took control of three Kathmandu-bound tankers and diverted them to Gorkha, inviting protests from the tanker operators in Kathmandu.

“Though 52 oil tankers arrived at the Thankot depot we could not distribute fuel in the capital with the drivers demanding better security,” Corporation’s supply manager Mukunda Dhungel said.

He said the NOC policy does not allow distribution of fuel meant for the capital to be distributed somewhere else.

The corporation has dispatched another tanker from Amlekhgunj to Gorkha to free the diesel tanker that now remains in the custody of the district administration.

Locals themselves freed two petrol tankers from the captors.

Meanwhile, 69 Liquefied Petroleum Gas bullets (around 86,250 cylinders) entered the country today,” Sawarmal Agrawal, president of Gas Dealers’ Association said.

“About 60, 000 cylinders have come to Kathmandu and the gas cylinders are now available,” he said.

The government has constituted a three-member committee to prioritise the distribution of petroleum products in the capital.

The committee comprises officiating director general of the Commerce Department of Nepal Oil Corporation Kailash Kumar Bajimaya, supply manager of Nepal Oil Corporation Mukunda Dhungel and president of Petroleum Dealers’ Association Shiva Prasad Ghimire.