No Stock Boards at Few Fuel Stations, Trigger Panic Buying in City

Hyderabad: Long queues were reported at several fuel stations in the city on Thursday after some outlets displayed “out of stock” boards, triggering panic buying among motorists amid the ongoing LPG shortage. Many vehicle owners were seen filling tanks to capacity as a precaution, leading to unusually long queues at several petrol pumps.

Ravi Yadav, a biker at a petrol pump in Hyderguda, said, “There is so much going on around in the world. They are saying war may get extended; what if the petrol runs out of stock. I am a private job holder. I need to travel to the office, and have to drop my daughter at school. So I want to fill the fuel tank to its full capacity.”

According to industry estimates, Telangana consumes around 1.3 crore to 1.5 crore litres of diesel and 80 lakh to 90 lakh litres of petrol every day. The state has about 3,500 fuel outlets, including around 1,280 in and around the city.

Telangana Petroleum Dealers Association president Amarender Reddy said there was no shortage of fuel and urged the public not to panic, stating that the government maintains reserves for up to 90 days.

He said the withdrawal of the credit facility for dealers by oil companies had affected supply at some outlets. “Oil companies withdrew the credit option for the dealers. So the dealer has to pay `15 or `20 lakh upfront for refills. But some dealers are not in a position to pay upfront and take the stock, which led to no stock boards”

This way, he said, some dealers of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited ran out of stock. He also found fault with oil companies for withdrawing credit facilities for fuel stations during the crisis time, and urged the government of India to intervene