Amid flood crisis, cooking gas price rises by Rs 105 in Kathmandu

Cooking gas has become more expensive in Kathmandu Valley after a landslide at Krishnabhir blocked the Prithvi Highway, forcing suppliers to use an alternative route. Bottlers have added Rs 105.38 per cylinder in transportation charges.

The Nepal Oil Corporation has fixed the price of an LPG cylinder at Rs 2,060. With the added charge, consumers in Kathmandu Valley now pay Rs 2,165.38 per cylinder. The Federation of Nepal Petroleum Transport Entrepreneurs and the LPG Gas Industry Association approved the increase at their annual general meeting on September 3.

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Previously, a bullet tanker transported the gas, with one tanker carrying around 1,250 cylinders. But now, the gas has to be bottled in the Tarai and transported to Kathmandu through another means, which has increased the cost.

The associations say gas destined for Kathmandu must now be bottled in the Tarai and transported by another method. Former association president Shiva Prasad Ghimire said a bullet tanker previously carried about 1,250 cylinders at a time, but the changed supply arrangement has sharply increased costs. He said the actual additional transport cost is around Rs 180 per cylinder, while consumers are being charged Rs 105.38.

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NOC has provided us with transportation costs only up to the Tarai, not up to Kathmandu.

Nepal Gas operator Gokul Bhandari said LPG itself had not become more expensive. He said the Nepal Oil Corporation covers transport only up to the Tarai and permits operators to add charges when deliveries travel more than 50 kilometres beyond the designated distance. Bhandari said the industry’s extra cost exceeds Rs 200 per cylinder, leaving operators to absorb part of the loss.

NOC spokesperson Manoj Thakur said the arrangement is longstanding, not a new approval mechanism. The corporation’s fixed price applies to transport within 50 kilometres of the bottling plant, while operators may add transport costs for destinations farther away.

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The price fixed by the corporation applies up to a distance of 50 kilometres from the industry. For destinations beyond that, the operators can add transportation costs.