'I stood in line at 1am and got fuel at 2pm'

“I stood in line at 1am, and now at 2pm I finally got fuel. The suffering is endless. I couldn’t eat properly, and standing in the sun for so long has made me sick,” said motorcyclist Al Amin Hossain.

This correspondent spoke to him today, Wednesday at Trust Filling Station in Tejgaon. At around 2:00pm, he was seen collecting fuel using the Fuel Pass app.

He said he obtained fuel through the app and would not be able to purchase fuel again for another week. However, this fuel would cover the entire week. To get it, he had to queue from 1:00am the previous night.

At that time, the line of motorcycles stretched all the way to the Mohakhali rail gate. Slowly, following the queue, it took him from night to morning, and then from morning to afternoon to finally reach the station.

Al Amin said, “A few of my friends and I were standing in line. We never imagined it would take this long. The suffering has been immense. But there’s nothing we can do—we need fuel to keep moving.”

Long queues of vehicles were seen outside Trust Filling Station in Tejgaon. At around 1:30pm, 512 motorcycles and 407 private cars were waiting in line.

Meanwhile, several filling stations in Mohakhali were found closed due to a lack of fuel. At around 11:00am, Royal Filling Station had no fuel and remained shut. An official, Swadhin Ahmed, said they had been out of fuel for four days. A vehicle had been sent to the depot again today, but it returned empty.

Another station in Mohakhali, SR Enterprise, was also closed around 11:30am due to a shortage. Employee Md Habib said, “We’ve had no fuel for three days. A vehicle has gone to collect fuel today—if it returns, we can resume sales.”

On the road from Mohakhali to Jahangir Gate, a long line of motorcycles was seen outside Eureka Enterprise Filling Station. Around noon, Tashofa Filling Station at Mohakhali intersection was also closed due to a lack of fuel.

Imran Hossain, manager of the filling station, told Prothom Alo that the government is supplying the same amount of fuel as in April 2025, but demand has surged. Previously, 9,000 liters of octane lasted three days; now it runs out within a few hours, forcing the station to remain closed for the rest of the time.

M/S Sohag Filling Station was also closed due to the shortage. Cashier Ranjan Sutradhar said they received 4,500 liters of octane on 12 April, which was sold out the same day. Today, although they managed to get petrol, they did not receive octane, so they could not operate.

Kamrul Hasan, who came to Eureka Enterprise Filling Station around 12:30pm after taking leave from work, said, “I’ve been standing in the sun for two hours after taking leave from the office just to get fuel. The suffering is unbearable. But there’s nothing we can do—if we want fuel, we have to endure this.”

He added that the situation has worsened because nearby stations remain closed.

“This station also didn’t have fuel earlier; it just arrived. If other stations were open, the suffering wouldn’t be this severe.”

Due to the war in the Middle East involving Iran and the United States–Israel, global fuel markets have become unstable, leading to supply shortages. The impact has reached Bangladesh as well. Long queues at filling stations are growing longer, and customers say the extreme heat is making the ordeal even worse.