KATHMANDU, Aug 30: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has assured that there will not be any shortage of fuel in the federal capital due to the disruption along the Prithvi Highway.
The NOC says it will be using alternative routes to bring petroleum products to the Kathmandu Valley after a segment of the main lifeline to the capital collapsed at the Krishnabhir area on Sunday.
Let there be food
NOC’s Managing Director Nagendra Sah said they held a meeting with the petroleum transport entrepreneurs on Sunday to discuss the possible routes to supply fuel to the valley. According to him, petroleum tankers can be brought through Naubise via Hetauda, Daman, Palung along the Tribhuvan Highway, with the distance from Hetauda to Naubise being 107 km.
Similarly, the NOC is also considering the Kanti Highway as another alternative with the total distance being 92 kilometers in the Lalitpur-Hetauda segment. This route connects Lalitpur’s Chapagaun with Hetauda via Sunakothi, Thecho, Tikabhairav, Tinpane Bhanjyang, Bhattedanda, Malta, Thingan, Makawanpurgadhi and Chaughada.
The NOC expects diesel consumption to fall by a notable amount after large buses stop plying through the highway due to the collapse of the road segment. “It might not be difficult to transport fuel through alternative routes,” said Sah, adding that they have been waiting for a final decision from the government.
According to Sah, the NOC has sufficient petroleum products in stock in Amlekhgunj, from where the petroleum products can be brought to Kathmandu in around six hours.
