Kathmandu, June 13
Fuel supply has been obstructed in the Bagmati province that also includes the Kathmandu valley as tanker drivers launched a strike demanding Covid-19 vaccines for them.
No tanker has supplied petrol and diesel from the Nepal Oil Corporation’s provincial depot in Thankot of Kathmandu since Sunday morning upon a call by the Nepal Petroleum Tanker Driver Union. On the other hand, tankers supplying fuel to the Thankot depot from the depots in Amlekhgunj of Bara and Barauni of India.
The union’s president Ishwar Lama says the drivers resorted to the strike as the government did not pay attention to their safety although one driver has already lost his life due to Covid-19. “Many of our other friends are severely infected, but the government is ignorant,” Lama says.
The Thankot depot chief Abhishek Thakur says the NOC also understands their concern but is requesting them to not stop the essential supply. Thakur says he already forwarded the drivers’ demand to the NOC headquarters and the Ministry of Health.
“We made all the efforts possible, but the government doesn’t have vaccines. Therefore, we shouldn’t halt the essential service,” he says.
NOC central office spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya also echoes Thakur.
It has been learned that the NOC has commissioned a high-level team to hold talks and solve the issue.
