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LPG bottlers have increased the price of cooking gas by Rs 105.38 per cylinder in the Kathmandu Valley, citing higher transportation costs after they began filling LPG cylinders outside the Valley.

Following the collapse of the road at Krishnabhir along the Prithvi Highway, gas entrepreneurs have started supplying LPG to the Kathmandu Valley by transporting cylinders filled at bottling plants outside the Valley. Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has permitted the bottlers to transport the filled cylinders to the Valley to ease the supply of the essential cooking fuel.

The Nepal LP Gas Industry Association (NLPGIA) has decided to pass an additional Rs 105.38 per cylinder on to consumers. Shiva Ghimire, former president of the NLPGIA, said the price increase was unavoidable due to a sharp rise in transportation costs.

According to gas entrepreneurs, the additional cost resulted from the need to transport LPG via a longer and more difficult alternative route after the main highway was blocked.

“Although the additional cost of transporting gas through the alternative route has increased to Rs 180.80 per cylinder, only a nominal amount has been added to the consumer price to provide some relief to consumers,” said Ghimire.

The NOC reportedly has a provision allowing LPG industries to determine transportation fares for distances exceeding 50 kilometers. However, the gas entrepreneurs' decision to raise consumer prices by invoking the provision has raised concerns that they are taking undue advantage of the crisis.

According to the NLPGIA, the Kathmandu Valley normally consumes around 40,000 LPG cylinders a day. However, daily demand has surged to as high as 100,000 cylinders following the Bhotekoshi floods.

Of the LPG produced by 58 bottling industries across Nepal, around 40 percent is consumed in the Kathmandu Valley.