Efforts to maintain LPG supply to Kathmandu have faced another setback after vehicles carrying filled gas cylinders from Hetauda became stranded on Kantilokpath due to a landslide.

Gas industries have been transporting LPG from outside the Kathmandu Valley after the road at Krishnabhir was blocked, preventing large gas bullets from entering the capital.

Gas industrialist Shiva Ghimire said vehicles that left a factory in Hetauda around noon on Monday became stuck on Kantilokpath from around 3–4 pm after a landslide blocked the road.

“We are trying to bring gas from Hetauda by filling cylinders there, but the vehicles are stuck on the road,” Ghimire said.

According to Ghimire, empty cylinders are being transported from Kathmandu to Hetauda, where they are filled and then brought back to the Valley. However, the latest road blockage has disrupted this alternative supply arrangement.

Ghimire, who also chairs SG Group, said several gas brands, including Everest, Sugam and Sahara, are involved in the supply arrangements.

The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has already permitted gas industries to refill cylinders outside Kathmandu following the Krishnabhir road disruption. Sixteen gas industries in Kathmandu Valley and neighboring districts are coordinating with bottling plants in Bara, Parsa, Chitwan, Makawanpur and Nawalparasi East to maintain supplies.

Diwan Chand, president of the Nepal LP Gas Industry Association, said industry representatives are exploring multiple routes to bring LPG into Kathmandu.

According to Chand, an attempt was made to transport cylinders through Lele and Kantilokpath, but vehicles carrying the cylinders are currently stranded because of the landslide.

The industry is now exploring the Tribhuvan Highway route through Tistung and Palung as another alternative. Discussions are also underway with Nepal Oil Corporation regarding the supply arrangement.

The repeated road disruptions have added pressure to Kathmandu's LPG distribution network, as the industry now depends on longer routes and additional transportation arrangements to move filled cylinders into the Valley.

Gas industrialists have also warned that the additional transportation required to take empty cylinders outside the Valley for refilling and bring them back could increase transportation costs and put upward pressure on LPG distribution expenses.