M A I N   N E W S

Petro-blues
In Punjab, oil cos impose a Rs 300 limit
Ruchika M. Khanna
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 30
Even as the Ministry of Petroleum has denied any hoarding of fuel, the oil marketing companies have allegedly started cutting down on the fuel supply to its retail outlets.

Reports coming in from different parts of Punjab said most of the retail outlets were not selling fuel beyond Rs 300 to one consumer. The situation was particularly bad in the districts of Bathinda, Mansa, Sangrur and Ludhiana.

With all customers wanting to buy as much fuel as possible before the price hike was affected, heated exchanges were witnessed at most retail outlets, with petrol pump owners refusing to oblige.

Ajay Kumar, a timer merchant in Ludhiana, said he had to visit three pumps on the GT Road, near Sahnewal, in order to get his car’s tank full. “The petrol pump owners said there was a shortfall in supply, and they wanted to ensure that all customers got some fuel, hence the rationing,” he alleged.

Narrating a similar incident, Kuldeep Singh, a shopkeeper in Bathinda, said the Hindustan Petroleum outlet near Tinkoni was selling only the premium fuel. “We were forced to buy fuel at Rs 3 a litre more than the normal fuel, as the normal fuel was not available,” he alleged. The government is proposing an increase of Rs 2 a litre in petrol and Rs 1 a litre in diesel prices, which is going to come into affect from tomorrow.

By hoarding fuel for a single day, the companies can earn crores of rupees by selling this fuel on the new (hiked) prices.

J P Khanna, president of the Punjab Petroleum Dealers Association, conceded that there was rationing of fuel. “Two public sector oil marketing companies have curtailed supplies by one third since yesterday. As compared to 12,000 litre of fuel to be sent to retail outlets, they are sending just 4,000 litre. As a result, the dealers are forced to ration supplies to the consumer,” he said, adding that 20 per cent of the retail outlets of one of the oil marketing companies were running dry in Punjab.

This rationing of fuel also led to panic in many parts of the state. As word of eminent fuel hike and rationing spread, consumers started rushing to the retail outlets. “Since there was a huge rush at most of the pumps in the city, we went to Kohara to get the diesel,” said Payal Sharma, a resident of Ludhiana.