The New Nation - Internet Edition

Xinhua, Kathmandu

The Nepali government has come up with a stopgap measure for petrol supply. Until Sunday, public petrol pumps in the capital Kathmandu Valley will operate under a coupon system, The Himalayan Times daily reported on Friday.

According to the daily, petrol will be sold only to the government authorities, diplomatic missions, corporations and international organizations. Four-wheelers of these agencies will get up to 10 liters of petrol, while two-wheelers will get 5 liters a day, an official at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies was quoted as saying. The new provision has been introduced so that government officials and diplomats do not have to queue up in front of petrol pumps, the official said. The general public will be treated on a first-come-first- served basis. After distributing petrol to the public pumps, the remaining petrol will be distributed equally among the private ones where four-wheeler owners will get to buy petrol worth a maximum of 700 Nepali rupees (10.7 U.S. dollars) daily, while two- wheelers will be able to buy petrol worth 300 rupees (4.6 dollars). Since the stocks of kerosene and diesel are adequate to meet the demand for a couple of weeks, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has decided to stop their import for the time being and only petrol will be imported.