Kamal Ghorui
Despite assurances by govts and oil marketing companies that adequate stocks of petrol, diesel and domestic LPG cylinders were available, the scramble for fuel continued on Wednesday. As rumours of shortages and possible price hikes fuelled fear, long queues were witnessed outside fuel pumps and gas agencies.The unprecedented panic buying saw fuel pumps run out of supply in many states. Dealers in Telangana and Maharashtra said high-speed sale was met with slow replenishment of stocks from depots as oil companies insisted on advance payments.In Telangana, civil supplies minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the state had enough petrol and diesel to last the next three months. However, many outlets in Hyderabad had to put up ‘no stock’ boards. Petrol and diesel dealers in Hyderabad said nearly 40% of petrol pumps in the city ran dry.An HPCL official said given the current financial pressures and higher crude sourcing costs, payments “need to be made on a near-daily basis”.In Maharashtra, Vidarbha guzzled more than double its daily quota of petrol as well as diesel on Tuesday as well as Wednesday, resulting in mass drying of pumps as refill did not match the pace. Figures reported to administration revealed there was no dearth of stocks, but dealers complained that stoppage of the credit system was creating payment issues leading to supply disruptions.In Lucknow, the state level coordinator of the oil industry, Sanjay Bhandari, urged “sensible consumption”.
