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Small hotels and restaurants in Surkhet have been affected as the shortage of liquefied petroleum (LP) gas has worsened over the past month.

While small hotels have been forced to close due to the irregular supply of LPG, large hotels have been bringing gas from Nepalgunj. Some businesses have resorted to firewood and electric stoves as alternatives.

Ashish Gurung, who runs a restaurant in Birendranagar, said he had closed his restaurant after failing to obtain LPG for four days.

He said all six cylinders at his restaurant had run out and that he had queued at a gas dealer but had still not received a cylinder by Tuesday. He said he would reopen the restaurant as soon as he could obtain gas. Gas trader Jagat Panta said consumers form long queues at dealers as soon as gas arrives.

He said the quantity supplied is insufficient because only a limited number of cylinders arrive while a large number of consumers queue up.

According to him, the shortage has persisted even though gas is being distributed in accordance with instructions from the District Administration Office and Nepal Oil Corporation.

There are more than 30,000 empty gas cylinders in Surkhet. Nepal Oil Corporation’s Surkhet office said 44,501 cylinders had already been distributed between July 17 and August 12.

Despite this, the shortage has remained unchanged. Consumers have been queuing outside dealers from the night after receiving information that a new supply of gas is arriving.

Surkhet Chamber of Commerce President Chintamani Sharma questioned why Surkhet alone was facing a gas shortage when there was no such shortage in districts including Banke.

He said small hotels and restaurants had already closed due to the shortage, while large hotels were being forced to purchase gas from Nepalgunj, increasing their expenses. In rural areas, small restaurants have also started cooking with firewood following the gas shortage. Some have switched to electric stoves as an alternative.

Meanwhile, following the gas shortage, the District Administration Office has started providing LPG to people in vulnerable groups, including those who are helpless, postpartum women, persons with disabilities and senior citizens, on the basis of passes issued by the administration.

Assistant Chief District Officer Dil Bahadur Karki said 10 per cent of the total LPG entering Surkhet had been allocated for the targeted groups.

Passes are being issued after assessing their needs, and gas is being supplied through nearby dealers.

The arrangement came into effect on Monday. According to Karki, 166 people from the targeted groups had received gas using the administration’s passes by Tuesday. Persons with Category A and B disabilities have been included in the targeted group.

The District Administration Office said it had also intensified market monitoring and supervision of the sale and distribution of LPG, taking the shortage seriously.

A multi-stakeholder meeting involving Nepal Oil Corporation and gas distributors urged them to refill empty cylinders as quickly as possible and immediately increase supplies to areas experiencing shortages.

By Lalit Basel