Long waits at petrol pumps

Queues of vehicles waiting to buy fuel are growing longer by the day. In some places, the line of vehicles has stretched beyond one to one-and-a-half kilometres. Many drivers, whose vehicles have already run out of fuel, are waiting helplessly for hours in front of pumps where sales have been suspended.

Such scenes of struggle for customers were observed on Monday morning and afternoon at several filling stations across the capital. Visiting nine filling stations in Mirpur, Kallyanpur, Asadgate, Bijoy Sarani and Kalshi areas in the morning, fuel sales were found suspended at three of them. In the afternoon, sales were found closed at one visiting seven of those stations.

At the pumps where fuel was still being sold, long queues of motorcycles and other vehicles stretched from one to one-and-a-half kilometres. Some drivers said they had been standing in line for more than one and a half to two hours.

Instability has emerged in the global energy market due to the ongoing war between Iran on one side with the United States and Israel on the other. Fears that oil and gas production and supply could be disrupted have created anxiety among some people in Bangladesh as well. As a result, many have rushed to filling stations to buy extra fuel.

In this situation, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has reduced fuel supplies to filling stations since Sunday. Sources concerned say that compared with the same period last year, around 25 per cent less fuel is currently being supplied.

However, the government maintains that the country has sufficient reserves and that the reduction is part of a stock management strategy. The Cabinet Division has also decided to operate mobile courts to ensure a stable and uninterrupted fuel supply. The district administrations will conduct these courts.

At around 9:00 am yesterday, a queue of cars and other vehicles was seen starting near the Institute of Bank Management, about 300 metres before the Sam Associates Limited pump in Mirpur-2 area. Further ahead, there was a separate line of motorcycles. On reaching the pump, it was found that fuel sales had been suspended there.

Inside the station, cashier Arafat Swapnil said that around 4:00 pm on Sunday they had received 4,500 litres of octane in a single tanker. The entire stock was sold by around 10:30 pm. The pump has remained closed since then. The fuel tanker had gone to the Narayanganj depot and it was uncertain when it would return. Sales would resume as soon as the tanker arrived, he added.

A biker, Selim Mia had been waiting for fuel in front of the pump since 7:30 am. He works as a ride-sharing driver. Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said, “I have been waiting for an hour and a half. They are not selling fuel. I cannot even go to another pump. I may have to push my bike.”

Later visiting the pump again around 3:30 pm, fuel sales was found resumed there. In the afternoon, the queue of motorcycles appeared longer than that of private vehicles, which had been longer in the morning.

Similarly, the fuel sales section at Khaleque Filling Station in Kallyanpur was found closed in the morning. Only CNG gas was being sold there. At around 9:30 am, the cash counter for fuel sales and the adjacent manager’s office were both found closed. However, when visited again in the afternoon, fuel sales had resumed.

Meanwhile, fuel sales were suspended both in the morning and afternoon, at the Comfort Filling and CNG Refuelling Station opposite Khaleque Filling Station. In the morning, only CNG gas was being sold there. Apart from that, among two nearby filling stations in Shewrapara, Messrs Sabur Filling Station had suspended sales, while AS Filling Station was selling only diesel.

At around 9:45 am, Talukder Filling Station at Asadgate was selling diesel and octane. Before reaching the pump, a queue of cars could be seen from the main bridge beside Zia Udyan lake, about 1.25 kilometres away from the pump. Fuel sales were still continuing there in the afternoon, though the queue of motorcycles was longer than that of cars then.

At around 10:00 am, car driver Mohsin Hossain said he had joined the queue shortly before 9:00 am. By 9:55 am, his car was only three vehicles away from the pump. He told Prothom Alo that this was the first time he was refuelling since the situation began. He had attempted to buy fuel on Sunday but left after seeing the long queue, which had stretched to Monipuripara.

Talukder Filling Station cashier Mohammad Azam said in the morning that two tankers carrying 27,000 litres of octane had arrived on Sunday night. Of that, 20,000 litres had already been sold, with around 7,000 litres remaining. Another tanker arrived in the afternoon, said a sales worker at the station.

The longest queue yesterday morning was seen at the Trust pump near Bijoy Sarani. At around 10:45 am, the line of cars waiting for fuel stretched more than one and a half kilometres—from the pump past Jahangir Gate to Universal Medical in Mohakhali. The queue of motorcycles extended to the main gate of the Prime Minister’s Office.

When visited again at around 4:30 pm, the queue of private vehicles had shortened compared with the morning, while the line of motorcycles had grown longer.

Motorcyclist Arman Hossain was seen pushing his bike forward in the queue near the Prime Minister’s Office. He told Prothom Alo that while travelling from Banani towards Farmgate, his bike ran out of fuel near Jahangir Gate. He then pushed it to the queue near the Prime Minister’s Office.

“I have been waiting for more than half an hour and I am still far from the pump. It may take another one to one-and-a-half hours,” said Arman.