GOLD PRICE SLIPS Kathmandu, 15 April: Gold price fell in the local market Rs 3,300 per tola Monday. The yellow metal traded for Rs..52,500 per tola with a fall in the interntional price/ Gold was traded Fridays for Rs.55,800 per tola. The price of silver also fell Monday and was traded at Rs. 935 per tola. Friday’s price was Rs. 1,005 per tola, nnnn FREE SERVICE FOR SENIORS AT BIR Kathmandu, 15 April: Bir Hospital has started to provide free treatment services to senior citizens from today [Monday], RSS reports.. Senior citizens would get free treatment services available in the hospital. Senior citizens should submit identity cards including elderly allowance certificate and citizenship to get the free treatment services in the hospital. They would get all the health tests including X-ray and lab and facility of admission of patients under this service. Hospital's administrator, Khumkanta Acharya, said that the hospital has started to provide free treatment services as per their request to provide treatment services on discount. Acharya said that the hospital is committed to making the services more effective in the days ahead. However, senior citizens themselves should bear the expenses for necessary medicines after tests. People above 70 years of age are known as senior citizens in Nepali Society. Nnnn NOC SEEKS ANOTHER RS.7 BILLION FROM GOVT.. Kathmandu, 15 April: Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has demanded necessary amount from the government to increase the storage capacity of petroleum products in the country, RSS reports.. Organising a press meet in the capital here today [Monday], NOC Executive Director Suresh Kumar Agrawal said presently the Corporation needs Rs. seven billion to fully maintain the storage of petroleum products. The NOC has a capacity of storing 72,000 kiloliters of petroleum products, which is sufficient to meet the demands for 20 days, he added. The state can face problems at a time of internal and external obstructions, if a petroleum product for at least 90 to 100 days is not stored, he said. The government should give a waiver of the loan of over Rs 28 billion taken by the Corporation and its physical infrastructures should not be allowed to be used by others before granting permission to the private sector to supply the petroleum products, he said. Similarly, Corporation's Trade Union leader Devi Prasad Neupane stressed that the government should bring a clear policy for the transactions of petroleum products. The Corporation is presently bearing a loss of Rs. 500 in a sale of per cylinder of cooking gas and the corporation cannot supply cooking gas at price lower than the cost price, he said. nnnn