KATHMANDU: Severe damage to the Nagdhunga-Muglin highway caused by recent flooding has disrupted the supply of daily essential goods and cooking gas to the Kathmandu Valley. To prevent an acute shortage of liquefied petroleum gas across the capital, where daily demand reaches 125,000 cylinders, the government, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), and gas entrepreneurs have rolled out emergency supply measures.
Due to highway blockages, large gas bullets cannot reach 18 of the valley’s 22 bottling plants located across Kathmandu, Kavre, and Dhading. Field inspections with experienced drivers confirmed that operating heavily loaded gas bullets on narrow alternative routes like Kanti Lokpath and Tribhuvan Rajpath was technically unsafe. Consequently, officials devised a plan to transport empty cylinders on medium-sized 15-ton trucks to Tarai plants for refilling before returning them to Kathmandu.
Gas companies have also initiated inter-plant cooperation to keep bottling operations active. Industry players like Surya, Ugrachandi, Sagar, Everest, and Sugam are utilizing facilities owned by other firms in Hetauda, Birgunj, Nawalparasi, and Dhanusha. To regulate transportation costs and protect consumers from arbitrary rates, a joint meeting led by the Makwanpur District Administration Office established fixed freight charges for key routes, including Rs 80,000 for 12-wheeler trucks from Hetauda and up to Rs 98,000 from Nawalparasi.
NOC Spokesperson Manoj Thakur stated that domestic households are receiving top priority for gas distribution, while commercial businesses like hotels and restaurants must arrange their own transport directly from Tarai refilling centers. Nepal LP Gas Industry Association President Diwan Bahadur Chand noted that 100 to 150 trucks have already been mobilized out of the required 200 daily trips. He emphasized that despite higher freight expenses, industry leaders and former president Shiva Prasad Ghimire are working collectively to ensure cooking gas reaches homes without interruption.
