KATHMANDU: Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Poudel has criticized the government for rumored attempts at handing over Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to traders and failing to provide fertilizer to farmers.

Speaking at a program held on the occasion of the 64th Parliament Day in Kathmandu on Thursday, he said, “I am hearing again that the NOC is to be given to traders. A lot is going on: billions, not millions, are at stake.”

He also criticized the government for failing to provide fertilizer to farmers. He added the farmers were deprived of fertilizer due to policy-level corruption.

“It’s time to cultivate and there’s a shortage of fertilizer,” he said. “It’s all due to corruption at policy level.”

He also said that farmers in Nepal had never received fertilizer on time since the conversion of Krishi Samagri Company into a public limited enterprise.