DoCSM grills NOC, pumps on adulterated oil

KATHMANDU, MAR 25

The Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) on Monday received the clarifications submitted by Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), tanker drivers and Chakrapath Fuel Centre of Balaju who had been hauled up following complaints from motorists about the quality of the gasoline sold from the pump.

On February 12, a joint market monitoring team had found that the fuel sold from Chakrapath Fuel Centre, Balaju was adulterated. The engines of half a dozen vehicles had been damaged as a result of using the gasoline sold here, and the petrol pump owner had been forced to pay Rs223,300 as compensation to the motorists. The diesel was reported to have been delivered by an NOC tanker with licence plate number Na 4 Kha 5368.  The Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology in its lab tests of the sample collected from the petrol pump showed that the diesel sold from the petrol pump was of very low quality and it was responsible for the damage to the engines of half a dozen vehicles.

Following the report, the DoCSM had been conducting an enquiry into the case. According to the DoCSM, it recorded statements from two NOC officials at the Thankot depot, namely Assistant Manager Bainaya Lohani and Senior Assistant Raj Kumar KC.  The NOC officials, as per the DoCSM, have claimed to have tested the fuel before dispatching it to the petrol pump. “The officials claimed that they had carried out the four usual testing measures, namely composite sample, density, temperature and deep rod, to test for adulteration,” said a DoCSM official.

As per NOC rules, the samples taken from the tankers are kept for one week, and the NOC officials have claimed to have done this.

Tanker driver Man Bahadur Thokar stated in his clarification that the petrol pump had taken delivery of the fuel after conducting tests. Gasoline station owner Ghanashyam Shrestha admitted that he had unloaded the diesel only after conducting tests. The petrol pump had The diesel was reported to have been delivered by an NOC tanker with licence plate number Na 4 Kha 5368 purchased 8,000 litres of diesel on that day.

“After being told that the diesel had damaged the engines of several vehicles, I stored the rest of the stock in four separate tanks,” a DoCSM source quoted Shrestha as saying. Shrestha is said to have failed to do a water test despite conducting temperature and density tests.

Hari Narayan Belbase, director at the DoCSM, said they would not let go the accused in the case.

Source: The Kathmandu Post