MoF asked to clear due to IOC, two pumps sealed

Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) has asked Ministry of Finance (MoF) for the clearance of due to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Sending a letter, MoICS asked MoF to pay due to the IOC.

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) Rajendra Mahato informed this on Friday.  The MoICS sent such letter as IOC began to curtail the supply following Nepal’s failure to clear the due. NOC owes Rs. 6 billion to IOC and it has also not paid the monthly bills for the last month.

Curtail in supply has hit the Kahtmandu valley hard on Thursday.  Long queues of vehicles were visible in the refilling stations, which has been narrowed down to nine from over 100 authorized dealers in the Valley due to insufficient stock at Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) depots.

The crisis surfaced after Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) slashed supplies from Raxaul, the largest import point, by 40 percent on the grounds of lack of payment of monthly import bills from Monday.

Bishwa Nath Goyal, NOC managing director said it had stock for just two days informing that corporation restricted supplies to half the normal requirement in order to manage the stock.

Two pumps sealed

Meanwhile, NOC has sealed two petrol pumps located in the Kathmandu valley on charge of excessive adulteration of kerosene in the petrol. NOC, with the help of Loktantrik Consumer Rights Forum sealed Rajdhani Oil Store of Chabahil and Trishul Oil Store of Kalanki on Friday.

Secretary General of the Forum Basudev Acharya said they caught pumps red handed while distributing adulterated petrol. NOC informed that it initiated action against those pumps. NOC managing director Goyal also said NOC was monitoring the pumps as there was possibility of adulteration during the period of fuel deficiency.