Petrol crisis looms over City

Petrol crisis looms over City
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Bangalore City, which has been facing erratic supplies of petrol and diesel over the last few days, may face a shortage of the same in the coming weeks.



Several petrol bunks in the city continued to sell only premium fuels on the grounds that they are running short of regular products. As a result the people have no choice but to purchase premium petrol.

While Chennai reported a shortage of petroleum products on Monday, Bangalore, which receives most of its supply from Chennai, followed the suit on Tuesday.

‘No stock’ signs

Several people had to check various petrol stations to avoid filling premium fuel after most bunks reported having only branded products. Some bunks, especially in Basaveshwarnagar, Vijayanagar and J P Nagar had put up ‘No stock’ signs in the morning, raising fears of fuel shortage.

At present, premium petrol costs Rs 61.15 a litre, while regular petrol costs Rs 57.15.
A customer who was filling her car at a petrol bunk in JP Nagar said she was told that ordinary petrol would no longer be available in a few days’ time. Another customer said that he had visited nine petrol bunks before filling the premium petrol. The problem has been attributed to the shortage of fuel being processed by the oil companies. The problem is bound to get worse in the coming months.

Bunk owners said that the supply was irregular for a few days now and even when there was supply, it was not sufficient to meet the demand.

A petrol bunk manager said the supply was only half of the demand and they had to manage with whatever they could get. Some of the bunks were expected to receive supplies in the evening, while others were not sure when the next supply was going to be. A dealer said that they were being asked by the oil companies to stop selling for some time everyday to prolong the supply and sustain for a longer period of time.

Vice President of the Bangalore Petrol Dealers’ Association B R Ravindran said they are not receiving any supplies due to shortage in production. He said barring a miraculous drop in the international price of crude oil, a cut in taxes imposed on fuels or another hike in the price of petroleum products are the only ways to ensure an increase in production. He said the situation was likely to worsen in the next two to three weeks. For July, he said the oil companies had assured them of a steady supply of petrol but could not offer any assurances on diesel.