RAIPUR, May 14 : Long queues of vehicles were seen at several fuel stations in Raipur and some other cities of Chhattisgarh on Thursday amid rumours of petrol and diesel shortage, even as pump operators maintained that supply remained largely normal.
At some petrol pumps in the state capital, motorists were forced to wait for long hours, while a few outlets temporarily shut operations after exhausting available stock due to heavy demand.
Fuel station operators said there was no major disruption in supply and attributed the rush to panic buying triggered by rumours of petrol running out.
Consumers have already purchased excess fuel over the past few days, causing stocks to deplete before fresh supplies could arrive, one operator said.
“Panic buying is the reason behind the rush. People are filling more petrol than necessary fearing that fuel may stop being available. But so far, petrol is available at pumps, though it is taking more time due to crowds,” Piyush Patel, waiting in queue at a fuel station in Kushalpur area in Raipur, told PTI.
Consumer Bablu Yadav, who runs a two-wheeler repair shop, said fuel stations were witnessing unusually heavy crowds compared to a few days ago, adding that he had to wait for nearly one-and-a-half hours at a petrol pump in Kushalpur to get fuel this morning.
Several fuel stations in the capital had shutdown by afternoon on Thursday due to depletion of stock.
“There is no need to panic. But rumours have led people to stock up unnecessarily,” said YP Gupta, manager of a fuel station located beneath Mowa flyover in Raipur.
Prashant Sahu, manager of a petrol pump at Fafadih Chowk in Raipur, said dealers were in constant touch with fuel depots and were making advance bookings and payments for supplies.
“Sometimes it takes two to three days for fresh stock to arrive, which is causing temporary inconvenience at some places,” he said.
Similar scenes were reported from some other cities in the state.
In Kondagaon district, some pumps in the city remained shut, while fuel stations in outer areas imposed limits on purchase quantity.
Dinesh Kumar Jain, owner of Dinesh Fuels on the outskirts of Kondagaon town, said restrictions were imposed to ensure equitable distribution among consumers.
“We are giving petrol worth Rs 200 to two-wheelers and fuel worth Rs 1,000 each to cars and diesel customers so that everyone can get fuel. We are receiving one tanker daily,” he said, adding that situation is expected to normalise within a day or two.
Krishna Kumar Maravai, a school teacher waiting in a queue at the same fuel station in Kondagaon, said the situation appeared worrying.
Several fuel stations were seen shut in Bilaspur and Jashpur districts. (PTI)
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