February 18: Trashigang has run out of cooking gas supply. The residents get their supply from the Bhutan Oil Corporation at Kheri. This is the sole distributor of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) gas in Trashigang.

It has been more than two weeks since it ran out of stock. Residents in Trashigang are facing an acute shortage of LPG gas after the only distributor in the Dzongkhag, the Bhutan Oil Corporation in Kheri, ran out of stock.

Residents said they are coping with the problem by making minimum use of cooking gas. The problem has also been aggravated by the temporary shut down of the Kurichhu hydropower station in Gyalpoizhing, Monggar. From February 11, Kurichhu hydropower station is being shut down during the day to carry out the annual maintenance work.

The Manager of the BOC in Kheri, Dilip Kumar Bandhari, said the supply has been disrupted by the frequent strikes in the Indian state of Assam. They get their supply of LPG gas from the Indian Oil Corporation in Guwahati, India.

He said as it is they have been struggling to meet the demand with the existing quota. He said while the quota has remained same, the population and therefore the demand has increased manifold. Currently the six eastern Dzongkhags get 13 truckloads of LPG gas cylinders in a month.

Trashigang gets two to three truckloads. He said he has requested the ministry of economic affairs to increase the quota to 20 truckloads per month for the eastern region.

The BOC in Kheri started distributing LPG gas two years ago. Currently it caters to more than 4,000 customers.