Five LPG bottlers asked to withdraw cylinders
KATHMANDU:
The Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) has instructed bottlers of five liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) located outside the Valley, who failed to supply cooking gas during the recent shortage, to withdraw their cylinders from Kathmandu Valley.The concerned bottlers have said that since the demand in areas that they are located had been increasing, they had not been supplying the required amount of cooking gas in the Valley where they have minimal market share.
Hari Narayan Belbase, director of DoCSM, said, “Consumers of these brands were hit hard during the cooking gas shortage witnessed in the recent past as some bottling plants failed to supply cooking gas in the Valley.” He added this was the reason the bottlers have been asked to withdraw gas cylinders from the Valley.
The five bottling plants that have been asked to withdraw cooking gas cylinders are NL Gas of Bara, Grihalaxmi Gas (Kaski), Sahara Gas (Makwanpur), Manoj Gas (Parsa) and Subidha Gas (Morang).These plants have reportedly circulated more than 60,000 cylinders in the Valley.“These bottling plants expanded their market in Kathmandu when cooking gas consumption outside the Valley was minimal, but when the demand rose in the particular areas where they are located, they gradually started to reduce the supply to Kathmandu,” Belbase stated.
“As the respective bottling plants reduced supply in the Valley, a large number of their consumers were affected with some shifting to other brands, which are more easily available in the market.”DoCSM has asked the bottlers to withdraw cylinders by returning the deposit to the consumers. Normally, bottling plants collect Rs 2,100 to Rs 2,400 per cylinder from customers as deposit. The bottling plants have been told to withdraw cylinders within three months.
A large amount of cooking gas in Kathmandu Valley is being supplied by bottling plants based in Dhading and Chitwan. The Valley consumes 35 per cent of the total cooking gas consumption in the country.
Source: THT
