Abdur Rahman waits for 5 hrs at 7th pump after visiting 6 in Dhaka-Savar

Abdur Rahman, a driver of a rented Noah Esquire model vehicle, was waiting in line to buy fuel from Talukdar Filling Station at Asad Gate.

At around three in the afternoon, I spoke with him on Lake Road, between Zia Udyan and the National Parliament House area.

His wife was with him, and they live in Hemayatpur, Savar. At that time, their vehicle was near the middle bridge of the lake.

The vehicles lined up on that road were waiting to get fuel from Talukdar Filling Station at Asad Gate.

Abdur Rahman had also been waiting since 10 am in the queue from that pump.

Abdur Rahman said he left his house in Hemayatpur around seven in the morning.

Initially, he found the Lalon and Kofil filling stations in Hemayatpur closed. Then, after coming to Dhaka, he went to three more pumps at Technical, Mirpur 10, and Mirpur 12 sections.

He stood in line at the first pump for half an hour only to learn that the fuel had run out.

He couldn’t get any fuel even after waiting for almost an hour at the next two pumps. Later, he saw a long queue at Trust Filling Station in Bijoy Sarani and did not stand there. From there, he joined the queue at Talukdar Filling Station in Asad Gate. Since then, he has been waiting in the same spot for almost five hours.

Expressing his frustration, Abdur Rahman told Prothom Alo, "If there's no oil, then they should stop all the vehicles. They give me fuel worth Tk 1,000, and just by roaming around, that’s gone. The other day I left my car and walked about three hours away to get five liters of fuel, started my car, and went home. It’s better to leave the car idle. Don’t give fuel to anyone. When there will be enough fuel, then provide it to everyone."

He has plans to take passengers from the airport to Noakhali tomorrow morning.

At around 1:30 pm, the line of private vehicles started from Bijoy Sarani intersection, adjacent to Zia Udyan. These vehicles were lined up to take fuel from Talukdar Filling Station, about 1.8 kilometers away at Asad Gate. At that time, more than 250 private vehicles were seen waiting for fuel from Bijoy Sarani intersection to Talukdar Filling Station.

The line of motorcyclists for fuel from the same pump extended from in front of the pump to Ganabhaban intersection and towards Lake Road, covering almost a kilometer. During this time, more than 300 motorcyclists were observed waiting for fuel.

Abdul Kuddus joined the queue with his car in the early hours of the morning at 4am. when the line's end was at Bijoy Sarani intersection. In two hours, he had almost reached near Gananbhaban intersection, but the pump authorities stopped giving fuel at six in the morning. He continued to wait in his car on the street after that.

Abdul Kuddus hadn’t had breakfast until noon. When Prothom Alo spoke to him at a quarter past three, he was sitting at the back of his car eating the lunch sent from his owner’s house.

Abdul Kuddus also expressed disappointment. He said, "The government that comes to power in this country eats from our pockets. Meaning, the people don’t have any value in here, which is the main point. And being born in this country is the biggest mistake."

Ride-sharing drivers reported a decrease in income due to the fuel crisis, as they spend hours standing in line for fuel. It wastes time, and drivers are getting exhausted only to get fuel. In such situations, many have sent their family members to the village homes to reduce expenses.

One such ride-sharing driver is Ziaur Rahman. He shared that he used to live in a one-room house with his wife in Mohammadpur. Their daughter lives in a hostel in Dhaka for her studies. He thought things would improve after Eid, but when it didn’t, he sent his wife to the village on 30 March and vacated their house.

Ziaur Rahman said, "I rented a house and used to live in Dhaka. Even after Eid, I brought my family here. Again on the 30th, I sent them to the village. I vacated that house, and since then, I’ve been staying in a mess."

Drivers mentioned having to work on holidays due to the fuel crisis. Since obtaining fuel requires so much time, it’s not possible to keep the vehicle queued for fuel during normal workdays.

Mujibur Haque, a private car driver, said, "Today is a holiday. But I need to refuel the car. So this holiday is passing like this. Today is Pohela Boishakh. What to do now? One must also consider the owner's point of view." He joined the line at six in the morning. After nine hours, at around 3:15 pm, Mujibur’s car was still behind about 50 cars.

Talukdar Filling Station’s accounting officer Bimal Krishna Mridha told Prothom Alo, "Today we started selling with 9,000 liters of octane and 9,000 liters of diesel. The sales began at 2:30pm, and it’s yesterday’s diesel. The sale will continue as long as the fuel lasts. Those with bike fuel passes are given fuel worth Tk 700, and those without are given Tk 500 worth of fuel. Private cars are receiving fuel worth Tk 1,000 to 1,500."