NEW DELHI, Sept 16:
State-owned oil companies have restored petrol and diesel supplies in flood-hit areas of Jammu and Kashmir including the worst-hit Kashmir valley.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat Petroluem Corp Ltd. (BPCL) have resumed operations at their fuel depots in Srinagar and have been dispatching petrol and diesel to outlets across the Valley.
“IOC has loaded and dispatched about 400 kilolitres (kl) of petrol and 1,000 kl of diesel in tank-trucks from its Srinagar depot till yesterday, for distribution in local markets. More loads are planned for release today,” the company said in a statement.
The bulk petroleum depot of BPCL at Srinagar has also resumed operations and about 400 kl of petrol and 600 kl of diesel were dispatched from the depot till yesterday.
“Since the Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd’s depot in Srinagar is yet to become operational, its petrol pumps in the flood-affected areas are receiving products from both IOC and BPCL as part of hospitality arrangement,” the statement said.
The three Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are ensuring that all operable petrol pumps in the flood-hit districts are up and running for the benefit of motorists.
“Apart from replenishing stocks at petrol pumps, high priority is being given to the fuel requirements of the various flood-relief agencies, district administration, hospitals and other essential services and telecom operators,” it said.
Bulk stocks of petrol, diesel and LPG available at IOC’s winter-stocking installations at Leh and Kargil were moved to flood-hit areas to restore normal supplies.
“Distribution of LPG cooking gas cylinders to customers in Srinagar market has also commenced with stocks already available with the local distributors as well as fresh stock moved from bottling plants in Srinagar and Leh,” it said.
Till yesterday, the three OMCs have together dispatched over 125 truck-loads of LPG cylinders to Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir Division through alternative routes from as far as Chandigarh, Hoshiarpur and Jammu to replenish stocks available with the LPG distributors.
As roads connecting Jammu to parts of Kashmir division were cut off for the past 10 days, trucks carrying petrol, diesel and LPG had to be moved in from Leh, Kargil, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Bhatinda, Hoshiarpur, Bahadurgarh and Rewari to feed markets in Srinagar, Anantnag and other south Kashmir districts.
The average time taken by the trucks to reach Srinagar market is 3 to 4 days.
“The OMCs have taken steps to replenish bulk stocks of all petroleum products in Jammu, Leh and Kargil on a continuous basis. They are in constant touch with the State and district administrations as well as the armed forces and other para-military agencies engaged in flood-relief and rescue work, for rendering all possible assistance in respect of fuel supplies,” the statement added. (PTI)
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