Consumers were still facing long queues for cooking gas in the Kathmandu Valley about a month after Deepak Kumar Sah was appointed Nepal's Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies on Bhadra 25. Long lines of people waiting to fill cylinders were reported at distribution centres where Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC), in coordination with the Nepal LP Gas Industry Association, has been distributing gas for the festive season.
Distribution at 11 locations
The distribution is taking place at 11 locations across the Kathmandu Valley from Asoj 25 to 30. The arrangement was made by NOC and the industry association for the festive season, but queues remained visible at the centres as consumers waited to get their cylinders filled.
The reported queues show that long waits continued during the distribution period, despite the ministerial appointment a month earlier. The available details do not specify how many consumers were waiting at each location, how many cylinders were distributed, or how long individuals had to wait.
A month after the minister's appointment
Sah took office as Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies on Bhadra 25. By the time the festive-season distribution began on Asoj 25, roughly a month had passed. Consumers were nevertheless still seen lining up at the gas centres in the Kathmandu Valley.
The distribution effort involved both the state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation and the Nepal LP Gas Industry Association. The centres were operating across 11 locations during the stated Asoj 25-30 period. The reported scene at those sites was of consumers waiting to fill their cylinders, indicating that access to gas continued to involve queues during the festive-season initiative.
The information available does not identify the cause of the queues or indicate whether they resulted from supply levels, demand, distribution capacity or another factor. Nor does it provide details on any further measures planned by NOC, the association or the ministry after the six-day distribution period. What is clear is that the queues persisted at the centres while the coordinated distribution was under way.
