The administrations of Chandigarh and Panchkula ordered rationing of fuel amid panic buying by motorists on Tuesday in wake of the truckers’ protest that had cut off supply to filling stations.
The truckers, however, called off their stir by evening and refueling was on at most filling stations after 11pm.
As a precautionary measure, Chandigarh limited the sale of fuel to two litres (with maximum value of ₹200) for two-wheelers and five litres (maximum value of ₹500) for four-wheelers, per transaction, till further orders.
In Panchkula, the cap has been set at two litres or ₹200 for two-wheelers, five litres or ₹500 for four-wheelers and autorickshaws, and 10 litres of ₹1,000 for commercial/utility vehicles. Retailers here have also been directed to issue bills with the name and mobile number of the purchaser.
Panchkula deputy commissioner Sushil Sarwan, in his orders, also instructed the retail outlets to maintain an emergency buffer stock of 1,000 litres of petrol and diesel. Chandigarh district magistrate Vinay Pratap Singh said restrictions on the sale of fuel have been imposed as a precautionary measure, so as to ensure availability to all during the temporary suspension of supply.
What are the truckers protesting about?
{{/usCountry}}What are the truckers protesting about?
{{/usCountry}}Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, set to replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code, drivers who cause serious road accidents due to negligent driving and run away without informing police or the administration face up to 10 years in prison or a fine of ₹7 lakh. Truckers in several states had launched a protest against the “stringent provision” on Monday.
Mohali truck union president, while stating that over 1,700 trucks had gone off roads in the district, said, “No one kills anyone intentionally on the road. Instead, drivers have an additional fear of getting lynched by the public in case of any accident.”
Brawls, traffic jams at several places
In Chandigarh, almost 50% of the fuel stations had run dry by Tuesday evening, said Ashwinder Singh Mongia, Mohali district petroleum dealers’ association president.
Serpentine queues were seen at the filling stations in Sector 4, 7, 9, 10, 27, 28, 35, 38-West, 43, even as the stations had to be temporarily shut as supply dried up. Chandigarh has a total of 47 fuel stations.
Amid the chaos, brawls were also reported at several fuel stations, with the Chandigarh police receiving at least a dozen calls from people. Around 1 pm, the traffic police was forced to close the slip road leading to CITCO petrol pump in Sector 9, as the long queue of people headed to the fuel pump was causing a traffic jam on Madhya Marg.
Despite curbs, fuel sold in loose
In Panchkula, almost 70% of the petrol pumps went dry by Tuesday evening. The problem was aggravated as motorists from Chandigarh too started queuing up at Panchkula pumps after UT started closing the filling stations that went dry.
Making matters worse, many petrol pump dealers were also seen selling petrol in plastic bottles, cans and other containers even though there is a curb on such practice.
Section 8 of the Petroleum Rules, 2002, prohibits the sale and carrying of petroleum in bottles and containers.
Rajan Katia, a petrol pump owner in Panchkula, said, “There are about 52 petrol pumps in Panchkula, out of which 70% were out of fuel by evening. The panic buying by residents led to increased sales. Even the dealers had kept low stock amid speculation of price reduction.”
Petroleum dealers’ welfare association president Sanjeev Chaudhary said, “Owing to the rate disparity with Chandigarh, most dealers in Panchkula keep low stocks. This was one of the reasons why the petrol pumps here dried up quickly.”
Bhagwan Dass Mittal, another petrol pump owner in Panchkula, revealed that all the pumps had last received their supply on December 31 due to which their stock was exhausted within a few hours on Tuesday.
50% Mohali petrol pumps
dried up by afternoon
In Mohali, people started queueing up at petrol pumps from the morning itself, with many seen carrying jars, bottles, and even huge drums to get the maximum possible fuel for their vehicles. Chaos reigned supreme as anxious buyers got into heated arguments in a bid to get their vehicle tanks filled up first. Many drove long distances, even from Panchkula, to fill up.
As the queues started swelling, petrol pumps on the Landran-Rajpura highway had to restrict the entry of buyers by putting up iron chains and ropes. At least 50% of the petrol pumps in Mohali had exhausted their stocks by afternoon.
Major traffic jams were seen near Sohana gurudwara, Phase-2 market, Kharar, Sector 117, Phase-8 and Zirakpur. Mohali senior superintendent of police Sandeep Garg said police presence was amped up to avoid any untoward situation.
Mongia revealed that most pumps in Mohali had received their last supply on Saturday, December 30.
The supply, however, resumed by late night. Mohali deputy commissioner Aashika Jain confirmed this. She said, “Our efforts to resume distribution operations of fuel and LPG bore fruit as the Bharat Petroleum Company Limited’s Lalru plant has resumed supply. After several rounds of negotiations, the truckers finally consented to allow transport of fuel.”
She added that the Lalru depot caters to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh besides Kurukshetra, Hisar and Rohtak districts of Haryana.
(With inputs from Aneesha Sareen Kumar)