The market has gone dry of cooking gas, the popular household fuel in Nepali capital Kathmandu Valley, as Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and agitating cooking gas companies refuse to budge from their stance over demands lodged by the companies.

"The companies simply have no gas stock to bottle and market," Sita Ram Timilsina, a member of Nepal Liquefied Petroleum Gas Industries Association told reporters on Sunday.

According to the association, the companies' stock went dry earlier this week, as they have not imported the product since 15 days ago, as part of the strike they launched to fulfill their demands.

Major demands of the companies include rise in import quota of cooking gas and rise in subsidy they are receiving to cover transportation of gas from Indian refineries to the bottling plants.

However, NOC has refused to fulfill those demands, saying it would add further financial burden to the corporation already incurring over 140 million Nepali rupees (2 million US dollars) in losses in the gas business.

The two sides are still wide apart on the issues even though both sides met over the last few days to sort out their differences.

"To break the impasse, a delegation of cooking gas companies Saturday met Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat and requested him to intervene in the affair," said Timilsina.

The delegation urged Minister Mahat to raise the import quota to at least 9,500 tons from current 7,200 tons, citing that the existing import quota was fixed some four years ago, whereas the demand for cooking gas has soared rapidly since that time.

The association also demanded that NOC raise transportation rate covered under the subsidy. They argued that prices of diesel and transportation have gone up some 21 percent since the rate was fixed a few years ago.

However, NOC officials said that the corporation cannot seek a further rise in quota, particularly as the product is into a loss making business.

Likewise, the corporation has ruled out rise in transportation coverage.

Source: Xinhua