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As the government has declared a public holiday from March 4 to 6 in view of the upcoming House of Representatives election on March 5, the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has made arrangements to ensure an uninterrupted supply of petroleum products across the country.

According to the NOC, several of its provincial offices and depots/branch offices will remain open on a rotational basis during the holiday to prevent any disruption in fuel distribution.

“Necessary arrangements have been put in place to maintain smooth and regular fuel supply despite the public holidays,” said Manoj Kumar Thakur, spokesperson for the NOC.

He said that besides the three-day public holiday announced by the government for the election, there will be additional public holidays. Therefore, the NOC has managed fuel distribution from March 2 to 8 as well.

In line with this plan, the Thankot depot continued the sale and distribution of petroleum products on Monday, even during the holiday, to meet market demand.

According to the NOC, the Thankot depot under the Bagmati Provincial Office will remain open for two days - Wednesday and Saturday - during the holiday period.

Similarly, the Dhangadhid Depot under the Sudurpashchim Provincial Office will remain open for three days - Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Likewise, the Biratnagar depot under the Koshi Provincial Office will remain open for two days - Friday and Sunday - while the Amlekhgunj depot under the Madhes Provincial Office will remain open for three days - Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

According to the NOC, the Mahendranagar depot of Dhanusha will remain open for two days - Friday and Sunday - while the Pokhara depot under the Gandaki Provincial Office will remain open for three days - Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Similarly, the Bhairahawa depot under the Lumbini Provincial Office will remain open on Wednesday and Saturday.

The Nepalgunj depot will remain open for two days - Wednesday and Friday - while the Birgunj depot will remain open on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Likewise, the NOC has arranged fuel distribution from the Surkhet depot in Karnali Province for two days - Monday and Wednesday - and the Charali depot will sell fuel on Friday and Sunday.

The Corporation has also designated a contact person for each depot for the convenience of petroleum businessmen and transporters when the respective offices are closed.

Spokesperson Thakur said that the NOC has instructed to deploy the employees in the concerned depots on the holidays to supply fuel.

“We have already requested the dealers to collect fuel from the depots to meet the demand during the holidays. We are ready to deliver fuel to the dealers as per their demand,” he said.

Consumers need not panic

Urging consumers not to panic, the corporation assured the public that there will be no fuel shortage and that regular supply will be maintained throughout the election holiday period.

Consumption of petroleum products has increased significantly with the expansion of election activities across the country, he said. However, there is no pressure on fuel distribution because demand from the construction sector has declined due to the closure of construction work during the election period.

The demand for petroleum products such as diesel and petrol has been high in Kathmandu since Sunday, as people are leaving Kathmandu to cast their votes, he said.

The daily demand for petrol stands at around 2,000 to 2,500 kilolitres (KL), while diesel demand stands at around 4,000 to 4,500 KL across the country.

Thakur said there will be no problem with supply as the import of petroleum products remains normal.

“There will be no problem with fuel imports even if the border is closed due to the election, as petrol and diesel will continue to be imported regularly through the pipeline,” he said.

Thakur said that the NOC has been importing a significant amount of cooking gas from India in view of the election.

According to NOC, around 138 bulk LPG consignments (approximately 173,800 cylinders) were loaded from IOC in a single day last Tuesday, marking the largest amount loaded in a single day this year

He assured that the NOC will also pay attention to ensuring the smooth supply of cooking gas.

By Laxman Kafle