The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Nepalese Industries, and Nepal Chamber of Commerce have made a joint appeal to all the industries that utilise oxygen to return the cylinders that they have in stock to their respective gas producers or to the nearest oxygen manufacturing plant.
The three private sector organisations have made this appeal keeping in mind the crisis brought about by the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country and the dire need for oxygen for the treatment of patients infected with coronavirus. They have said that this is an immediate need as Nepal is facing an acute shortage of oxygen cylinders.
The umbrella organisations of the private sector have also requested oxygen manufacturing plants to supply the commodity only to hospitals. They have also appealed to the general public to not keep extra stock of oxygen cylinders and to make them available to those who immediately need oxygen for treatment.
The private sector representatives have also appealed to other organisations that may have cylinders to provide them to the concerned authorities so that the cylinders can be used for the treatment of COVID patients.
They have also stated that there have been complaints from the general public that various businesses have been hiding essentials in stock or inflating the price of such commodities. They have appealed to all the private businesses affiliated to the three organisations to stop these malpractices at a time when the country is facing such a crisis.
They have also appealed to all the large industries and distributors to monitor the distribution system so that such malpractices do not take place. The organisations have also appealed to the people not to buy unnecessary stock of daily essentials which could create an artificial shortage of such goods.
The private sector bodies have also mentioned reports that have surfaced in various platforms about private hospitals charging exorbitant fees for treatment of patients infected with the coronavirus. They have stated they believe that at a time when the country is going through such a medical crisis and when people need immediate treatment the private hospitals will do all they can to help the country deal with the situation and not look into only making profits.
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