Swami Bengaluru - Fuel crisis blows over

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Fuel crisis blows over

Written by amith
05 July 2008
The fuel crisis in the City met a quick end on Friday as the supply situation returned to near normal. Most filling stations received adequate supplies in the morning easing up a situation that had threatened to go out of hand. Almost all the outlets experienced normal sales as panic-filling was also on the decrease and no long queues were seen.Petrol Dealers’ Association members attributed the steady supply to widespread media coverage of the shortage, which had oil company officials scrambling for cover and issuing a press release stating that the supply of diesel and petrol was normal. A manager at a petrol bunk on St Mark’s Road said company officials were now asking managers for their choice of fuel for supply without any questions about selling or rationing. Most outlets received adequate amounts of fuel, allaying fears of decreased supply. But the dealers still apprehensive about the situation. A top Indian Oil Corporation official said that panic buying of petrol and diesel in Bangalore in the last three days had increased the demand for petroleum products by 30 per cent and was the root cause of the shortage. The situation would return to normal within 24 hours if panic buying stopped as sufficient supply was entering the City, IOC General Manager B Ashok said after a meeting convened by Food and Civil Supplies Minister H Halappa. Ashok said the present daily supply to Bangalore and surroundings was 1,915 kilolitres of petrol and 4,705 kilolitres of diesel. There was no case for panic buying as oil firms have reserve stock to last for eight to 10 days. Presently, oil companies have stocks of 13,407 kilolitres of petrol and 33,000 kilolitres of diesel, he said.Replying to queries from reporters, he said there was no compulsion on consumers to buy branded petrol. All efforts would be made to ensure that regular petrol was available at bunks, he said.Halappa appealed to the people to desist from panic buying and said the government would ensure there was no shortage of petroleum products in the State. ! User reviews There are no user reviews for this item. To write a review please register or login.