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Kathmandu, Feb 10: With complaints of cooking gas scarcity rising ahead of the election, the government has tightened market surveillance across the Kathmandu Valley. Authorities say the move aims to curb hoarding and ease supply pressures that have left many households scrambling for LPG cylinders.

Narahari Tiwari, director at the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection, said joint inspection teams began field visits on Monday after the department received a surge of complaints linked to gas shortages. The teams include officials from the department, the Nepal Oil Corporation, and the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology.

According to the department, four teams have been deployed to track LPG distribution by major dealers in areas such as Kirtipur, Kuleshwor, Kalanki, Sohrakhutte, Balaju, Gongabu Bus Park, Koteshwor, and Bhaktapur. Inspectors are also visiting shops, hotels, and restaurants to check for stockpiling beyond permitted limits.

Tiwari said inspection teams have the authority to impose fines of up to Rs 300,000 on anyone found holding excessive quantities of cooking gas.

For weeks, residents across the valley have struggled to secure basic household items. Babita Karki of Pasikot, Budhanilkantha, said she has been waiting in line for nearly three weeks to get a gas cylinder, with no clear indication of when supplies will arrive.

The Nepal Oil Corporation estimates daily demand at around 90 LPG bullets, or roughly 114,000 cylinders nationwide. Gas bottlers, however, say demand has risen by about 15 per cent due to winter consumption and panic buying, as households rush to store cylinders fearing election time disruptions, now less than three weeks away.

NOC officials counter that supply levels have not dropped. They say the corporation has issued purchase delivery orders that exceed normal levels by around 10 per cent to keep distribution steady. Under this system, importers lift LPG from depots operated by the Indian Oil Corporation in Barauni, Mathura, and Haldia.

According to NOC, rumours rather than real shortages are driving the current crunch. Despite repeated appeals urging consumers not to hoard gas, officials admit the message has had little effect so far, with fear continuing to distort the market.

People’s News Monitoring Service