Protest in Tripura over fuel crisis; CM writes to Centre

In a letter to Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the chief minister has asked for necessary steps to be taken amidst the fuel shortage in the state

Agartala: As fuel supply lines were stalled for the past two weeks due to restricted train movement owing to landslides in Assam, the crisis has rocked Tripura leading to protests in several places in the capital Agartala.

(Representative Photo)

Officials aware of the matter said that disturbances occurred at the Radhanagar, Chandrapur, and Kalyani petrol pumps in the city apart from the Ganaraj Chowmuhani petrol pump on Thursday night where a scuffle broke out between the people waiting in the queue and the pump authorities denied to provide any more fuel leaving many stranded.

Officials mentioned above said a contingent of police was rushed to Ganaraj last night to disperse the people protesting in front of the petrol pump. Police said that the petrol pump was shut after fuel stock became empty at around 11pm but the pump authorities assured those waiting in queue with tokens to give fuel the next morning. However, some miscreants tried to create violence.

When asked, a senior police officer from East Agartala Police Station said, “There is a crisis (fuel) in the state. Provisions of fuel have been made in all petrol pumps. As the fuel rationing system was started, we were instructed to ensure a law and order situation. There are long queues in front of many petrol pumps. When stocks are over, people who don’t get fuel are responsible for the disturbances”, he said.

The officer said they also arrested one miscreant and forwarded it to the court on Friday.

State minister for food and civil supplies, Sushanta Chowdhury, said that the government is working to make the situation normal at the earliest. Chowdhury also appealed to traders not to push for artificial inflation in this situation and warned of strict action if they do so.

“It is seen earlier that prices of essential commodities get hiked with disruption in communication via Assam. They (traders) should not do so or else, strict action will be taken. Confusion has been created among people due to the demand for petrol. We have discussed how to make the situation normal at the earliest, and we hope that it will get solved soon,” said the minister.

Meanwhile, chief minister Dr Manik Saha has written to the Centre over the crisis.

In a letter to Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the chief minister has asked for necessary steps to be taken amidst the fuel shortage in the state.

Train movements have been affected since April 25 following the derailment of an engine of a goods train between Jatinga Lampur and New Harangajao station under the Lumding division of Northeast Frontier Railway.

With constraints in the supply of fuel stock due to restricted movement of trains, including goods-carrying trains linking Tripura with the rest of the country, the state government restricted the sale of petrol and diesel from May 1.