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🇳🇵 Nepal /Energy & Infrastructure

Krishnabhir collapse disrupts LPG supply to Kathmandu

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Damage to the Prithvi Highway has disrupted LPG deliveries to Kathmandu amid a nationwide shortage, but Nepal Oil Corporation denies banning sales to hotels and restaurants.
  • The corporation says it has prioritized disaster-affected people and household consumers, while commercial users may collect gas directly from factories in the Tarai.
  • Businesses warn that transport and security difficulties could force restaurants and hotels to close if supplies remain unreliable.

Reports that Nepal would stop supplying cooking gas to hotels and restaurants have added to the uncertainty in Kathmandu, where residents and businesses already face a severe LPG shortage. Nepal Oil Corporation, the state-owned petroleum distributor, says it has prioritized people affected by the August 26 disaster and household consumers, but has not barred commercial establishments from buying gas.

“Our main aim is to make supply smooth,” deputy director Manoj Kumar Thakur said, rejecting reports of an official ban. The Kathmandu Valley normally uses 35,000 to 40,000 LPG cylinders each day. Floods and landslides have damaged the roads connecting the capital to the Tarai, where much of the supply moves through the country’s main transport routes.

The corporation has not made any official decision. Our main aim is to make supply smooth.

· Manoj Kumar ThakurNepal Oil Corporation’s deputy director denied that the corporation had banned LPG sales to hotels and restaurants.

A flood on the Bhotekoshi River disrupted the Prithvi Highway for three days. The highway then collapsed at Krishnabhir on Sunday, cutting the main supply route into Kathmandu. Officials say deliveries now take several days, and they cannot say when the highway will fully reopen. “The problem is transportation,” Thakur said, adding that LPG imports from India remain normal.

Demand is huge and we can supply it, but the condition of the roads has hampered distribution.

· Manoj Kumar ThakurHe explained why normal LPG imports have not translated into regular deliveries in Kathmandu.

The corporation said it delivered 24,500 cylinders of different brands in the Kathmandu Valley and would continue deliveries. It has also said commercial users can receive LPG directly from factories in the Tarai. For many hotels, restaurants and party venues, however, that means arranging their own transport, with the added security and logistical problems of moving cylinders along damaged highways.

Loaded LPG tankers remain stranded in the Tarai, while empty cylinders from about 22 bottling plants around Kathmandu must travel south for refilling before returning to the capital. Restaurant operators say most businesses cannot manage that process independently. An industry minister dismissed reports that commercial supplies would end and agreed to discuss how distribution could be managed.

The problem is transportation.

· Manoj Kumar ThakurHe said LPG imports from India remained normal despite the shortage in Kathmandu.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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