Hospitality sector ma normally 10-15 days backup rakhne chalan nai hunxa. To hide their shortcoming, again "disgression" is being used. Public ko agadi big-business houses le rakhyo vanera sympathy seek garna khojdei chhan.  
 

# Article (Give full read)



For a month, due to an artificial shortage of LP cooking gas across the country, ordinary citizens have been left standing indefinitely in lines on the sidewalks with empty cylinders. However, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies—which has completely failed to manage the gas supply system—is now resorting to cheap stunts and false propaganda to cover up its incompetence.

Sometimes Industry Minister Gauri Kumari Yadav herself picks up consumers' phone calls and distributes assurances saying, "You will get gas," while at other times she advertises the routine inspection carried out by the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection under her ministry as if it were a raid on a five-star hotel and a grand operation executed with heroism. Just today, the Minister's secretariat generated media hype, claiming that the Department of Commerce raided the five-star Radisson Hotel in Lazimpat and found 184 gas cylinders "hidden away."

At a time when consumers are unable to get gas, the Ministry has even claimed that preparations are underway to take legal action against the hotel for hoarding large quantities of gas.

However, this claim by the government is so ridiculous and irrational that the Department itself noted in its official field report (muculka): *"It was found that 70 cylinders were being used simultaneously in the hotel's kitchen."*

For an international chain hotel—which must serve hundreds of guests daily and whose kitchen has 70 gas cylinders connected at once (via a manifold system)—how can finding a stock of 184 cylinders be considered "unauthorized storage" or "black-marketing"? Even from a mathematical calculation, having 184 cylinders in a place where 70 cylinders are consumed at once represents barely a two- to three-day "backup."

In an uncertain situation where there is such a massive gas shortage in the market and the government cannot guarantee regular supply, is it a crime or a necessity for a business to arrange two to three days' worth of gas to keep its services operational? Even after understanding this basic reality, the "raid-style" tactic shown by the Department against Radisson is nothing more than a pure stunt and a tool to hide its own weaknesses.  


**"We Did Not Conduct a Raid, It Was Just a Routine Inspection": Department of Commerce**

However, the Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Industry, which was deployed for the inspection, disproved the Minister's claim by stating that the hotel had not hidden any gas and that it was merely a normal stock for their regular use.

Anil Kirati, Information Officer for the Department, flatly rejected the Ministry's claim, clarifying that the Department had not conducted any raid and had merely performed a routine inspection. He stated that since five-star hotels have large gas-consumption systems, finding around 150 cylinders cannot be labeled as "black-marketing" or "hoarding."

"This was just a regular inspection by our department; we inspected 5 or 6 five-star hotels, including Radisson, Soaltee, and Hyatt," Information Officer Kirati told *Onlinekhabar*. "During the inspection, what we observed was that five-star hotels generally have around 150 gas cylinders. They burn around 80 to 90 cylinders at once connected via a manifold line. In a place with such high consumption, that is gas brought in regularly; our inspection showed that it was not hidden or kept surreptitiously."

Even after its own department concluded that "gas was not hidden and was only for regular consumption," the Ministry and the Departmental Minister spread rumors in the media claiming that hidden gas had been seized in a raid. When asked about this, Information Officer Kirati expressed ignorance regarding the Ministry's "stunt."

"I cannot comment on that," he said, "but from our end, this was a completely regular inspection, and the gas was brought in regularly by the hotel."  


**"Unable to Supply Gas, the Government Tried to Hide Its Weaknesses by Raiding Hotels": Consumer Rights Activist**

Consumer rights activist Madhav Timalsina termed the publicity surrounding the storing and raiding of gas cylinders in hotels as a "gimmick" by the government to cover up its own failures.

"There is no law in our country that prevents hotels, restaurants, or party palaces from operating their businesses or that dictates their consumption and demand," he said. "The question of action would only arise if they bought it at a higher price and resold it to others at an even higher price."

He argued that since hotels have to feed domestic and foreign guests, sitting with closed doors is not an option. "The hotel stored the gas at the site where they run their project; it wasn't hidden by digging a hole or covering it with a tarp, was it? Therefore, this cannot be called hoarding or black-marketing," he said.

He noted that such problems arise because current laws lack clear standards and distinctions regarding gas usage for domestic versus commercial purposes. In the absence of clear standards, conducting high-visibility raids that create fear is not justified, he added. Expressing dissatisfaction, he stated that the main job of the Ministry and the Minister is to increase supply and facilitate market flow through policy decisions, rather than walking around conducting retail-level inspections.

"The government is playing all sorts of tricks to hide its shortcomings. The ministry's job is to increase supply according to demand through diplomatic initiatives and get the market back on track as quickly as possible," Timalsina said. "If they start raiding places just because 5 cylinders are found in a cafe or 10 in a hotel, then tomorrow they might as well go to people's homes and raid them for having 5 gas cylinders!"

**"If Guests Go Hungry Due to Gas Shortages, the Country Will Be Disgraced": Hotelier Shashikant Agarwal**

After the Ministry of Industry threatened action claiming that the five-star Radisson Hotel had hoarded 184 gas cylinders, tourism entrepreneurs criticized the government.

Shashikant Agarwal, operator of the five-star Marriott Kathmandu Hotel in Naxal, Kathmandu, accused the government of intimidating entrepreneurs for cheap publicity without understanding the sensitivity of the tourism industry.

Stating that hotels have a responsibility to feed hundreds of guests, he argued that a hotel itself is a major consumer. "A hotel is a consumer too, isn't it? What is a consumer? Anyone who consumes a product is a consumer," Agarwal said. "Hotels are based on the tourism business; they pay revenues to the state, pay VAT, and provide employment. Tomorrow, if we cannot feed guests at any hotel due to a lack of gas, it will bring international disgrace upon our country."

Agarwal complained that while there is a severe shortage of gas in the market, the government, instead of solving it, created panic through false propaganda by inspecting hotels. According to him, to ensure no shortcomings in hospitality for international guests, the state itself should arrange a 15-day stock of gas for major hotels.

"The state itself should call hotel operators and ask: 'How many gas cylinders do you need per day?' They should arrange for us to keep a 15-day stock," Agarwal said. "If my hotel requires 30–40 cylinders a day, the state should instruct and arrange for me to keep a stock of 450 cylinders for 15 days. In tourism, if hotels have to close even once due to something like gas, it will be a disaster for the nation."

He added that the state has not even made any clear rules or laws stating how many cylinders a hotel is permitted to keep. In the absence of rules, stock kept by a hotel to protect its business cannot be termed "hoarded," he asserted.

"The gas brought to Radisson wasn't smuggled from anywhere; there must certainly be an invoice for it. It was brought paying bills from an authorized Nepalese dealer, so it cannot be called hidden," he said. "It was kept for their own consumption!"

He remarked that it is unacceptable for the government to present itself in a raid-like manner regarding gas that was legitimately purchased with paid bills for consumption.



**Main Reasons for Gas Shortage: Syndicates and Black-Marketing**

Former Commerce Secretary Purushottam Ojha stated that the main reasons for the market gas shortage are the syndicate existing in gas distribution and the black-marketing tendencies of traders.

He suggested that to stop gas hoarding and artificial shortages, the government must conduct strict monitoring at every level, from imports down to retail sellers.

Former Secretary Ojha stated that while it is natural for large hotels to keep gas according to their needs, the improper tendency to hold (hoard) gas in the market is also prevalent.

"There has long been a syndicate problem in gas distribution; businesses collude with each other to raise prices, hide stock, and sell on the black market, which is completely illegal activity," Ojha said. "To stop this, the Nepal Oil Corporation needs to conduct continuous monitoring."

Since star-rated hotels have high gas consumption, finding many cylinders there alone cannot be called hoarding, he said. "In large hotels like Radisson and Soaltee, running on just one or two cylinders isn't possible; keeping stock according to their demand is natural," Ojha noted. "However, people also have a tendency to hide stock; to find out who is holding how much gas, details must be taken from dealers."

Noting that Nepal Oil Corporation holds full responsibility for importing gas into Nepal—and that after the Corporation provides it to gas industries, they refill it and market it through dealers—Ojha said there is no question that monitoring cannot be done.

Since dealers hold all the records regarding which dealer received how much gas from the gas industries, and which retailers or consumers registered dealers sold gas to, the government must collect data from those points, he stated.

"If details from every stage (from imports to gas bottling plants, dealers, and retailers) can be collected, we can clearly identify where hoarding is occurring, where stock is piled up, and why gas isn't reaching the market," former Secretary Ojha said. "With accounting and monitoring at every stage, we can clearly see who took extra gas and who didn't get any."

The Nepal LP Gas Industry Association stated that star-rated hotels consume between 500 and 1,000 cylinders of gas monthly.

Association President Dewan Chand said that having up to 200 gas cylinders in a five-star hotel is normal.

"The law does not specify how much one can store. Looking broadly at five-star hotels, gas cylinders are connected to the lines in 70–80 places," he said. "When 70 are connected on the line, an equal number must be kept in backup. Therefore, having 180 to 190 cylinders does not mean hoarding or hiding."

President Chand informed that gas is arriving regularly in the country, with more than 120 bullets of gas entering daily.

"Yesterday alone, 134 bullets of gas arrived, and 145 bullets came the day before," he said. "Currently, regardless, over 120 bullets of gas are arriving daily, and we expect the market to ease in a few days."

# Give Gas to the Public, Not Stunts

The government's job is to ensure a smooth supply in the market, not to create terror or put on cheap drama. If there were a separate and continuous supply mechanism for commercial gas for large hotels, caterings, and restaurants, they wouldn't end up in a situation where they have to buy and store gas meant for the general public.

By burdening a hotel with the weight of its policy failures and the weak management of the Oil Corporation, the Ministry is trying to wash its hands of responsibility.

As long as the state fails to break the distribution syndicate and guarantee a separate supply for commercial purposes, neither will the general public get gas, nor will businesses be able to operate in an environment free of fear.

Raiding a hotel's storehouse and having the minister answer a few phone calls might win applause, but it will not light the stoves of the public who are staring blankly at empty cylinders.

This administrative incompetence in supply management and the joke of populism must end as soon as possible; the public needs gas, not stunts.  


[Source](https://www.onlinekhabar.com/2026/08/1995459/industry-ministers-claim-that-radisson-hotel-hid-gas-rejected-by-subordinate-commerce-department)



From Gas Shortages to Hotel Raids: Is the Hospitality Sector Being Targeted to Hide Policy Failure?