AS TRUCKERS remained off the road to protest against the new law for hit-and-run cases for the second consecutive day, several states witnessed panic buying, especially at fuel stations, Tuesday. As people stood in long queues to fill up their fuel tanks, states held review meetings and assured that adequate supplies were in place.
Punjab was among the worst-affected with several fuel stations running dry. In Chandigarh, the district magistrate imposed temporary cap on fuel sale — two litres for two-wheelers and five litres for four-wheelers per transaction.
Manjeet Singh, general secretary of Punjab Petroleum Association, said all 3,800 fuel stations in the state were affected by the truck drivers’ protest. “The last fuel supply came on December 30. Now the pumps have run dry. Some stations had a stock for 3-4 days, which will be over by tomorrow morning,” he said.
“We are uncertain when we will receive a fresh supply. Despite deliveries scheduled on December 30 and 31, truck drivers did not show up,” said R A Batra, owner of a fuel station in Chandigarh.
Punjab Home Secretary Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, also in charge of Food and Civil Supplies, said the state had adequate stock of petrol and diesel, and there was need for panic buying. Earlier, he held a high-level meeting to monitor fuel distribution in the state.
Huge rush was also seen at fuel stations in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh. Many pumps in Dharamshala, Kullu-Manali, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Chamba, Una and Shimla turned away customers. Authorities of Hamirpur, Una and Bilaspur issued directions for rationing of fuel, and Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation stopped plying buses on 138 routes with low occupancy.
Long queues of vehicles were seen at fuel stations in Mumbai, which also witnessed a dip of 20-40 per cent in supply of vegetables and other food items. This resulted in a spike in prices of fruits and vegetables. “If the situation continues, there may be a shortage of fuel but we are hopeful that the situation will be controlled before that,” said Chetan Modi, secretary of the Petrol Dealers’ Association in Mumbai.
The Maharashtra government gave directions for supply of fuel to state transport buses under police security. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), which operates the buses, had fuel stock till Tuesday. Senior officials said the corporation may have to cancel some bus trips from Wednesday if the strike continued.
The daily fuel requirement for the 14,500-odd state transport buses is around 11 lakh litres.
In West Bengal, truck drivers blocked roads in Kolkata leading to the port, as well as in Dankuni in Hooghly and Narayangarh in West Midnapore.
Congress’s leader in Lok Sabha and party state unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury supported the protest. “This law is a Draconian law… What does a truck driver do? They have no other options. We are opposing this law and for that reason they suspended us otherwise they could not pass this law in Parliament. This law is anti-people and anti-workers,” he said.
In Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai chaired a meeting with top officials where he directed them to ensure that there is no shortage of essential commodities. “There should be no shortage of essential commodities,” Sai said.
Several petrol pumps across major cities in Chhattisgarh saw long queues since Monday night. Many tanks carrying petrol were seen parked outside Raipur as part of the protest. Further, commuters were left stranded at bus stations as none of the inter-district and inter-state buses operated on Tuesday.
In Uttarakhand, drivers of autos and other commercial vehicles remained off the road in Haridwar for the second day in solidarity with the truck drivers. Long queues were seen at petrol pumps in Dehradun and other districts.
In Gujarat, 23 truck drivers were detained by Surat Police after protesters stopped a city bus on the way to Dumas at Magdalla junction. The protesters also allegedly beat up a policeman.
Inputs from ENS/Dehradun and Surat
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 03-01-2024 at 01:44 IST
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