As the nationwide general strike called by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) entered into the 12th day on Monday, residents of the Kathmandu valley are suffering from acute shortage of petroleum products and essential goods.
Very few vehicles could be seen in the streets on Monday morning.
People queue up infont of a shop to buy kerosene in Buddhanagar. The Nepal Oil Corporation has said there was enough stock of petroleum products in Kathmandu, Monday Apr 17 06, nepalnews.com/rr
All the petrol pumps owned by the private sector remain closed and there was huge queue of vehicles in front of the Sajha Petrol Pump at Pulchowk. The petrol pump being operated by the Royal Nepalese Army at Bhadrakali is likely to resume selling petrol from around 11:00 a. m. on Monday, army officials said.
Talking to Nepalnews, Ikshya Bikram Thapa, Manager at Thankot depot of the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation, which supplies petroleum products to the valley, said the NOC had been unable to maintain supplies of the petroleum products in the Kathmandu valley over the last few days due to adverse political situation of the country.
He said that the depot provided only 36,000 liters of petrol and diesel and 50,000 liters of kerosene on Sunday. “In normal days, we used to supply 150,000 liters of petrol, 180,000 liters of diesel and 200,000 liters of Kerosene,” he added.
According to Thapa, the depot does not have sufficient stock of petroleum products, so if the general strike continues for some more days there will be scarcity of petroleum products.
“We are trying to import petroleum products but could not be able to do so due to high risk,” he added.
The NOC officials held a meeting on Sunday, along with officials from security agencies and representatives of petroleum dealers, to discuss alternative strategies to resume supply of POL products in the capital. NOC officials could not be reached for comments.
People queue up infont of a shop to buy kerosene in Buddhanagar. The Nepal Oil Corporation has said there was enough stock of petroleum products in Kathmandu, Monday Apr 17 06, nepalnews.com/rr
The situation is such that people have begun to store whatever food and other essential items they can get hold of. The indefinite strike has also hit the prices of essential commodities. Scarcity of cooking gas, salt and kerosene has left consumers worried.
When contacted by Nepalnews, Sales Manager of Salt Trading Corporation (STC), Bhagbati Rana, said STC has enough stock of salt for six more months. She further said that the problem may have surfaced due to the lack of local transportation facilities due to strike.
“We have enough stock of salt and sugar but very few people are coming to purchase it due to the strike. That may be the reason for scarcity in the market,” she added.
All the vehicles of long and short routes remain off-the road due to the strike. People were seen queuing at the domestic counter of the Royal Nepalese Airlines to buy tickets to remote areas. “I had arrived in Kathmandu for the treatment of my relative. No buses are plying out of the capital and air tickets are also not available,” said Lil Bahadur Oli, a resident of mid-western district of Rolpa.
City dwellers worried as the political uncertainty is likely to lead to further crisis and chaos in the Capital. The capital heavily depends on the goods imported from other parts of the country.
The price of vegetables has also soared s the supply system of the capital has been badly affected due to the general strike.
According to Arjun Prasad Aryal, Deputy Director at the Kalimati Fruits and Vegetable Market Development Committee, only 130 metric tons of vegetables and fruits entered into the Kalimati market on Sunday. On normal days, the supply of vegetables and fruits into the Kalimati market amounted to 450 metric tones on an average.
Aryal further informed that the price of vegetables has gone up by more than 100 percent. The price of onion, lemon and potato had soared due to the strike. The price of onion has touched a record high of Rs 80 per kg at Kalimati wholesale market. Retailers have been selling onions at as much as Rs 95 per kg. Prior to the strike, onion used to cost only Rs 15 per kg.
As both the political parties and the government look indifferent to the problems being faced by the consumers, difficulties being faced by the ordinary people keeps mounting.
“If the general strike continues for the next few days, people will have no other option left than to take to the streets en mass,” said Rajesh Shrestha, a resident of Buddha Nagar. nepalnews.com Pratibedan Baidya Apr 17 06