They also stalled distribution of fuel from Amlekhgunj and Thankot -- the two major depots responsible for supplying fuel to the Kathmandu Valley and other cities of the central region.[break]
As a result, most of the refilling stations, which operate with low storage capacity, went dry in the Valley, sparking fresh round of fuel shortage. By the evening, long queues of consumers built up at some refilling stations that continued to sell the fuel.
NOC officials said they took the decision to induct the 60 tankers, which it originally hired for transporting fuel from Barauni, in Kathmandu-Raxaul route because the high-level NOC Reform Commission suggested it to do so. The commission had made the recommendation mainly as import from Barauni was inflicting both additional transportation cost and also high temperature loss to the corporation.
However, Central-Region Tanker Operators Association (CRTOA) has said the NOC´s very decision to induct those tankers in Amlekhgunj-Barauni route was wrong and guided by vested interest of senior corporation officials, and announced of not withdrawing the strike unless the corporation scraps the decision.
“The induction of new tankers in Raxaul, where even existing tankers are facing difficulty in getting enough business due to traffic congestion and other reasons, is a foul deal. We will not back off until NOC revokes the decision,” said Utsav Itani, secretary of the CRTOA.
He even flayed Nepal Petroleum Tankers Federation (NPTF) -- the umbrella organization of tanker operators -- for backing the NOC decision.
According to operators associated with CRTOA, most of the tankers freshly diverted to work in the new route belong to senior officials of NPTF.
CRTOA has asked the government to probe NOC management, particularly seeking explanation why it decided to induct around 150 new tankers in the new route of Amlekhgunj-Barauni. NOC Chief Digambhar Jha referring to a shortage earlier had announced that he was hiring new tankers, opening a new import route, to manage supplies.
Although the shortage was temporary in nature, he had decided to hire the tankers permanently. “Given the myopic decision taken then, this problem was bound to surface. Unfortunately, it has come at a time when confidence of consumers on supply capacity of NOC has dwindled,” said an official at the corporation.
Dealers protest revision of commission
KATHMANDU: Petroleum dealers operating refilling stations across the country have flayed the decision of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to provide them a fixed commission amount on petroleum retailing.
Earlier, the corporation was providing them 3 percent commission fee on sell of each liter of petroleum products. However, the corporation had decided to provide them the commission in fixed amount and not in percentage terms, referring to the recommendation suggested by the high-level NOC Reform Commission.
“If the NOC is to implement its recommendation, it must first end institutionalized corruption. But instead of introducing internal reforms, the corporation has chosen to axe income of others,” said Saroj Pandey, president of Nepal Petroleum Dealers Association (NPDA).
Talking to Republica, Pandey even claimed that the NOC of late was troubling other players in petroleum business with a sole motive of sparking protests and chaos in the market. “Its goal is pretty clear: to escape reforms by generating problems in the market. This must not happen,” he stated.
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