Nepal Cooking Gas Prices Soar by Rs 105 Following Highway Disruption
A recent landslide in Nepal has caused a significant increase in cooking gas prices in Kathmandu Valley. The price of an LPG cylinder, which was fixed at Rs 2,060 by the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), has been raised to Rs 2,165.38 after industry operators added Rs 105.38 as transportation charges.
The additional charge is due to increased transportation costs caused by the disruption of the Prithvi Highway following the landslide at Krishnabhir. According to former association president Shiva Prasad Ghimire, the actual additional transportation cost has reached around Rs 180 per cylinder, but consumers have been charged only Rs 105.
Gokul Bhandari, operator of Nepal Gas, said that the industry's actual additional cost is more than Rs 200 per cylinder. However, he claimed that gas operators are allowed to add transportation costs when supplying LPG beyond a 50-kilometre distance from the bottling plant, as stated by NOC.
NOC spokesperson Manoj Thakur confirmed that the price fixed by the corporation applies only up to a distance of 50 kilometres from the industry. He said that the arrangement is not new and has been in place for years, applying everywhere including Biratnagar.