Consumers in Kathmandu are again spending hours searching and queuing for liquefied petroleum gas as lower imports, pent-up demand and the closure of the Prithvi Highway combine to strain supplies in the capital city.

The disruption follows months of uncertainty. The country began facing pressure on LPG supplies in February after conflict escalated in West Asia. The Nepal Oil Corporation subsequently limited sales to half-filled 7.1-kilogram cylinders from February 20, while full 14.2-kilogram cylinders resumed in July after supplies from India improved.

But the return to full cylinders brought a surge in demand. At the same time, the August 30 collapse of the Prithvi Highway at Krishnabhir in Dhading, after the Trishuli river eroded the road, cut the main supply route into Kathmandu.

Nepal Oil Corporation spokesman Manoj Kumar Thakur said pressure was partly the result of consumers and dealers holding less gas during the half-cylinder system.

“When half-filled cylinders were being distributed, consumers and dealers started keeping more in stock,” said Thakur. “Once redistribution of full cylinders resumed, demand increased all at once, putting pressure on supply management.”

Imports stood at 51,109 metric tonnes in mid-February to mid-March, but fell to 38,800 tonnes in mid-March to mid-April, 32,056 tonnes in mid-April to mid-May and 33,842 tonnes in mid-May to mid-June. Imports recovered to 44,544 tonnes in mid-July to mid-August.

By comparison, imports in mid-March to mid-April, mid-April to mid-May, mid-May to mid-June and mid-June to mid-July of the previous fiscal year were 48,327, 46,503, 49,816 and 47,933 tonnes, respectively.

Imports increased again in mid-July to mid-August. NOC data show that 57,315 tonnes entered Nepal during this time, compared with 44,318 tonnes in the same period last year. Yet consumers continued to report difficulty obtaining cylinders, showing that imports alone have not resolved bottlenecks in distribution.

LPG imports had increased while consumers were still queuing. The report found that the main problem was not simply a shortage of gas but weaknesses in storage, cylinder circulation, transport and distribution. It noted that demand surged after four months of half-filled cylinders because many empty cylinders returned to the market simultaneously.

The highway closure has added another layer of difficulty. Normally, LPG for Kathmandu is transported in large bullets from bottling plants outside the Valley. With the Prithvi Highway blocked, LPG companies have been refilling cylinders at plants in Bara, Parsa, Chitwan, Dhanusha and Nawalparasi and transporting them to Kathmandu by alternative routes.

NOC says roughly 45,000 metric tonnes of LPG are normally needed each month in the Valley. Thakur said around 29,000 cylinders a day were initially reaching Kathmandu after the road was blocked, but the figure had risen to about 50,000.

“We had requested 45,000 metric tonnes in mid-July to mid-August, but demand rose to 57,000, and we brought in about 12,000 tonnes more,” said Thakur. “We have requested 60,000 tonnes for mid-August to mid-September as well.”

He said the market would need time to make up for the shortfall accumulated during the previous months. “If gas enters regularly for two months, the market will become normal,” he said. “If the road becomes accessible and bullets can enter Kathmandu directly, we can make the situation normal within a month.”

The Nepal LP Gas Industry Association, however, says the alternative supply arrangement is inadequate. Association president Diwan Chand said some gas supplied from bottling plants was being taken directly by hotels and large businesses, leaving less for ordinary households.

“Bringing 500 cylinders from Hetauda and Chitwan does not solve the current problem,” said Chand. “If 100,000 cylinders are supplied every day and that continues regularly for a month, only then will the market return to normal.”

Chand said coordination with the Prime Minister’s Office had allowed trucks carrying gas from Hetauda to make up to three trips a day, instead of one. But he said a significant improvement would come only after the Krishnabhir road is reopened to large gas bullets.

The disruption has also pushed up costs. The Nepal LP Gas Industry Association increased the transport-related price by Rs105.38, taking the price to Rs2,165.38 per cylinder, from the earlier Rs2,060. Consumers have also complained about black-market sales and inflated prices.

Chand said the association had instructed industries not to supply dealers found involved in such practices. NOC has also established a command post involving the district administration offices of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, the concerned ministry, the corporation and police to track cylinders and closely monitor distribution.

The crisis has also triggered political fallout. Industry, Commerce and Supplies Minister Gauri Kumari Yadav on Thursday resigned after a parliamentary committee meeting in which she criticised gas producers and officials over the shortage. She had said that if each of the country’s 58 LPG industries had supplied 3,000 cylinders, Kathmandu would not have faced the present situation.

Yadav’s resignation came as the government faced growing pressure to restore normal supplies. The corporation and suppliers had warned consumers against panic buying and said inspections were under way to curb artificial shortages and black marketing.

For households struggling with repeated shortages, however, assurances have done little to ease the immediate burden. Restaurants and small eateries are also under pressure, with some warning that they may have to close if supplies do not improve.