KATHMANDU: The fuel consumption has decreased sharply to 10 percent of the total demand for the normal time following the enforcement of nationwide lockdown.

The daily sales of petroleum products stood at 1,250 KL across the country at present which is around 10 percent of the total sales of the normal period, Binitmani Upadhyay, Spokesperson of the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) said.

Currently, around 243 KL of petrol, 1,034 KL of diesel, and 18 KL aviation fuel is being sold daily across the country.

The NOC sold 7,300 KL of petrol, 31,000 KL of diesel, 514 KL of aviation fuel, and 35,000 tonnes of cooking gas during a month of lockdown, The Rising Nepal reported.

Everyday consumption of petrol across the country used to stand at 3,000 KL and diesel at 7,000 KL during the normal period.

The demand for fuel in the urban areas, including the Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, is comparatively high as the movements of vehicles of essential goods and medicines are high in those areas.

“Drop of fuel consumption is natural during the lockdown as only the vehicles carrying essential goods are allowed to ply on the roads,” he said.

“The stock of petroleum products reaches around 85 percent of the total fuel storage capacity. The storage capacity for petrol stands at 7,700 KL, for diesel at 40,000 KL and for aviation at 7,250 KL,” he said.

Talking about the situation of cooking gas, he said that the supply of cooking gas had been normal across the country.

The NOC has managed a system to distribute around 40,000 to 45,000 gas cylinders in the Kathmandu valley per day, he said.

“The NOC is also providing home delivery services of cooking gas for those who are differently able. Besides, the NOC is also addressing the problem of people who are unable to get gas from the dealers,” he said.