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As the shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) deepens, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has once again made a promise to ease the supply of cooking gas within a week.

Speaking at the parliamentary Industry, Commerce, Labour and Consumer Welfare Protection Committee meeting on Wednesday, NOC’s Managing Director Nagendra Sah expressed commitment that the LPG supply will be eased with an increased import of the kitchen essential. According to him, a total of 134 bullets of cooking gas were imported on Tuesday alone.

Over the past few weeks, the state-owned oil monopoly has been assuring to regulate supply, citing an increase in imports compared to last month. However, despite NOC’s assurances, the LPG shortage has been worsening, affecting households nationwide.

Both the NOC and LPG bottlers have been blaming consumers for stockpiling cooking gas, which has created the acute shortage in the market. According to them, the problem began to surface due to panic buying by consumers after the transition from temporary distribution of half-filled cylinders to full 14.2-kilogram cylinders was implemented.

“If the import is adequate, why should the NOC not regulate it through proper market monitoring?” Ganga Neupane, a resident of Hattigauda, raised the question. According to Neupane, she has been kept in the queue for the past three weeks by a nearby gas depot, but has not received a single cylinder of LPG despite regular follow-up.

In order to spare the blushes from public criticism, the NOC has been selling LPG cylinders of only a handful of selected brands from its outlet in Teku, Kathmandu. According to consumer rights activists, the NOC’s step has worsened the situation as it has resulted in more black marketing of cooking gas.

A number of incidents of black marketing witnessed recently also provide evidence of increasing malpractices in the segment. Nepal Police and market monitoring teams mobilized by the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection in the past two weeks took action against a number of such unscrupulous traders.

The parliamentary committee under the House of Representatives during Wednesday's meeting also directed the government and related authorities to take stern actions against those involved in the black marketing of LPG. “If necessary, the authorities should not hesitate to scrap the license of the traders involved in black marketing,” reads the directive order of the parliamentary committee.

Meanwhile, lawmakers also raised concerns in the National Assembly meeting regarding the acute shortage of cooking gas at the household level. Lawmaker Kamala Devi Pant from the Nepali Congress said general people struggle to get a cylinder of LPG despite the government’s claim of importing excessive amounts on a daily basis. “The concerned authorities must consider this issue seriously,” she said.