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🇳🇵 Nepal /Energy & Infrastructure

LPG crisis deepens in Kathmandu as restaurants face closure

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • A cooking-gas shortage in Kathmandu Valley is leaving consumers empty-handed after hours of queuing and pushing restaurants and small eateries toward closure.
  • The crisis followed the closure of the Krishnabhir section of the Mugling-Naubise road, while refilling operators raised prices by Rs100 to Rs105 per cylinder.
  • Nepal Oil Corporation said it would refill cylinders in Tarai districts and transport them to Kathmandu by alternative routes until the highway reopens.

Consumers in Kathmandu Valley are spending hours searching for cooking-gas cylinders and still returning home empty-handed. The worsening shortage has also pushed restaurants and small eateries close to shutting down.

The disruption followed the closure of the Krishnabhir section of the Mugling-Naubise road along the Prithvi Highway, the main supply route into the valley. With essential goods facing difficulty reaching the capital, LPG refilling plant operators raised their prices by Rs100 to Rs105 per cylinder, citing the higher cost of transport along alternative routes. The official refill price, in exchange for an empty cylinder, is Rs2,060.

I am getting more anxious every day. I don’t even have an electric stove.

· Manisha BhurtelBhurtel described her month-long effort to obtain cooking gas while supporting her family.

Consumer-rights activists criticised the increase while households were already struggling to find gas. They also condemned remarks by Nepal Oil Corporation managing director Nagendra Sah, who said cooking gas was still cheaper than a kilogram of mutton. Activists and restaurant operators said the state-owned utility should focus on maintaining supplies rather than comparing gas prices with other goods.

I have two children and a grandmother. I am worried about feeding my family.

· Manisha BhurtelShe explained how the shortage was affecting her household.

Manisha Bhurtel, who works at a clothing store in Pepsicola, said she had been trying to obtain a cylinder for a month and visited a nearby depot almost daily. “I am getting more anxious every day. I don’t even have an electric stove,” she said. Bhurtel lives with her family of three in a rented room and said, “I have two children and a grandmother. I am worried about feeding my family.”

Amrit Bhusal bought an electric stove when LPG became harder to find, but said electricity was also unreliable. “I have two cylinders and both are empty. I have been searching for at least one cylinder for five days,” he said. With the Teej festival approaching and relatives expected to visit, he added, “It is difficult to know how we will manage the festive preparations.”

I have two cylinders and both are empty. I have been searching for at least one cylinder for five days.

· Amrit BhusalBhusal described the difficulty of finding LPG despite owning two empty cylinders.

Restaurant owners said they could not depend on regular gas supplies and might have to close. Nepal Oil Corporation said on Sunday that, until the Prithvi Highway reopens, plants in Tarai districts will refill cylinders before they are transported to Kathmandu through alternative routes.

It is difficult to know how we will manage the festive preparations.

· Amrit BhusalHe expressed concern about preparing for the approaching Teej festival.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathmandu Post in English. Translated, 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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