KATHMANDU: Minister for Industry Gauri Yadav has said that the government is ready to ease the supply of cooking gas to hoteliers and urged for necessary cooperation.

During a discussion with hotel entrepreneurs at the Ministry after gas supply to most of the districts including Bagmati Province including Kathmandu Valley was affected by floods for the past few days, Minister Yadav said that all sides should help to ease the supply by keeping consumers in first priority.

On the occasion, Minister Yadav said that the government was ready to provide security and other necessary facilities to the hotel entrepreneurs if they want to import cooking gas themselves at a time when the import and transportation of cooking gas has been affected due to the disruption of road at Krishnabhir due to flooding in the area.

She said that the Ministry and Nepal Oil Corporation have already started work to arrange separate gas cylinders for hotels, commercial and domestic purposes. She said that a proposal has also been put forward to increase the weight of gas cylinders used in hotel business.

Minister Yadav made it clear that the government had no intention of shutting down the hotel business and said that hoteliers have an important role to play in making the economy and tourism sector dynamic. She stressed that all sides should cooperate to ease the supply of gas in the current situation.

On the occasion, General Manager of Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) Nagendra Shah urged the hotel entrepreneurs to facilitate the import and transportation of cooking gas by making the transportation easier.

Shah said that some consumers have not been able to get gas for a long time due to the recent situation and urged the businessmen to facilitate to prevent such problems from recurring. He also said that there is a need for further discussion on increasing the weight of gas cylinders used for hotel purposes.

Shah also stressed on the need to increase the use of electric power to end the situation of dependence only on gas imported from India. He urged to increase the use of electric stoves as an alternative to gas in hotel business.

Central President of Hotel Association of Nepal, Binayak Shah, however, complained that black marketing of cooking gas is taking place as they are in a situation to get gas only after paying high price.

He said that hoteliers are ready to switch to electric stoves as an alternative to gas. However, he urged the state to provide electricity at subsidized rates to hotels at the same rate as industries, saying that the hotel business is not considered as an industry.

Chairman Shah said that they would support the hotel if the management moved ahead by making the management systematic on the issue of fixing the weight of gas cylinder to 19 kg.

Minister Yadav said that the government has started arranging separate gas cylinders for domestic and business purposes and expressed commitment to make the gas supply system more systematic.