Government's aggressive move to end shortage of LP gas
The government has started a high-level initiative to solve the problem of LP gas shortage, which has been faced by the consumers for a long time. A comprehensive meeting of stakeholders chaired by Chief Secretary Govinda Bahadur Karki at the office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has taken an important decision to import more than 50,000 metric tons of LP gas every month for the next three months. It is expected that this decision will help to make gas supply regular and efficient in the market.
In the meeting, there was a serious review of the reasons for the lack of gas in the market, the challenges in supply management, the role of various ministries, departments, industrialists and distributors. During the discussion, the gas industry has made it clear that there is no real gas shortage as is being discussed in the market. According to them, after the conflict in West Asia, the government distributed half cylinders of 7.1 kg and then started distribution of full cylinders of 14.2 kg, which led to a sudden increase in consumer demand. In addition, the industrialists said that even though the gas import is higher than in the past, due to the tendency of the consumers to store more gas than they need, there is a difficulty in the supply.
The government has also decided to speed up coordination and management between related agencies to make distribution more convenient, regular and effective in districts facing problems in gas supply. The meeting was informed about the preparations to ensure adequate supply to meet the increasing demand of gas during upcoming major festivals like Dashain and Tihar. Chief Secretary Karki has expressed his commitment to continue discussions with stakeholders in the future for a long-term solution to the gas shortage.
Birendra Kumar Yadav, Secretary of the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Narayan Prasad Sharma Duwadi, Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply, Netra Prasad Subedi, Joint Secretary of the same Ministry, Suresh Panthi, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Deepak Baral, Executive Director of Nepal Oil Corporation and Krishna Bhakta Shrestha, Surendra Raj Paudyal, Amit Agarwal, Rudra Prasad Koirala, and other officials of Nepal LP Gas Industry Association participated in this meeting.
