Petroleum Smuggling on Rise in Banke

With petroleum crisis deepening across the country, black marketing and smuggling of petroleum products is flourishing Nepalgunj.While petrol pumps provide fuel to only few vehicles citing shortage of fuel, smugglers are cashing in the situation by selling sub-standard petroleum products smuggled from India.Due to the scarcity of petroleum in the ... ...in Nepalgunj, many vehicle owners have been buyingpetroleum at an exorbitant price from the black market.The smugglers have reportedly been buying diesel at IRs 37 from India and selling it at NRs 80, which is more by Rs 10 from the government fixed price of diesel in the local market. Similarly, they buy petrol at IRs 56 a litre and sell it for NRs 130 in Nepal. The government fixed price for petrol is Rs 100.60 a litre in Nepal.Musiri Ahamad, who was selling diesel in drums just under the nose of a Border Police Post, said, "We have been selling petroleum for a Rs 20 profit per litre but nobody has prevented us from selling it." President of Namaste Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs' Committee Rabindra Lamsal said the vehicle owners were compelled to buy adulterated petroleum products at an exorbitant price from the black market due to the shortage of the fuel in petrol pumps.President of Veri Zonal Petroleum Dealers' Association, Chintamani Poudel, said that the shortage of oil loomed large as NOC distributes petroleum products to the dealers in every 4-5 days. He admitted that a few (petrol) pumps might have been hoarding some amount of petroleum products for emergency vehicles like ambulances and police jeeps but denied allegations that they were creating an artificial shortage.

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