Fuel shortage could subside

The two-weeks-long fuel crisis is expected to drop from Sunday, according to officials of state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).

They expect the shortage to subside since the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) increased supplies on Friday and Saturday. That apart, the strike by drivers of fuel tankers has also ended.

According to NOC deputy executive director Umesh Prasad Dahal, 22 tankers of petrol, 33 tankers of diesel, 19 tankers of kerosene and 15 tankers of aviation fuel have been loaded in Raxaul point on Friday. Similarly, 11 tankers of diesel and 11 tankers of kerosene were loaded on Saturday. The tankers are headed to the capital.

Dahal said that IOC has indicated that it will continue to increase the supplies. Therefore, he said that the shortage will end soon. Dahal had recently gone to Raxaul to talk with IOC officials over fuel supply.

In recent times, the IOC had been decreasing the supplies to NOC pointing at the non-payment of past dues.

The NOC has already asked the government to provide it with Rs 2 billion to ensure smooth supply if the government does not want to hike the fuel price till the CA election. nepalnews.com sd Sep 09 07