LPG Gas Crisis Hits Kathmandu Valley Amidst Import Claims

Kathmandu Valley has been plagued by a severe shortage of cooking LPG gas. Consumers are forced to wait for weeks to purchase a cylinder, and complaints are rising from all quarters about the difficulty in obtaining gas in the market.

The Nepal Oil Corporation, which holds a monopoly on fuel, claims that there is no shortage of gas in the market and that imports are exceeding demand. However, according to Binitmani Upadhyay, Director of the LPG and Aviation Department at the Corporation, more than 100 bullets of gas are entering Nepal daily.

Upadhyay stated that 'Currently, more than 100 bullets of gas are entering Nepal daily. Just recently, 143 bullets were imported in a single day, and the day before that, 133 bullets of gas arrived.'

The root of this current gas problem is linked to a decision made a few months ago, when the Corporation distributed only half cylinders (7.1 kg) of gas due to escalating conflict in West Asia affecting gas supply.