Auto LPG shortage leaves Hyderabad drivers waiting for hours

Autorickshaw drivers in Hyderabad are facing long queues and hours of waiting at LPG dispensing stations due to a severe supply shortage. Many drivers say the crisis is affecting their daily earnings as they struggle to find fuel across the city.

Hyderabad: Auto drivers continue to face problems due to a shortage of auto LPG gas, with long queues witnessed at some LPG dispensing stations in the city.

Auto drivers complain of having to wait in queues for about four hours at the gas station. “I arrived at 6.30 am on coming to know that a tanker had arrived at the dispensing station. After waiting for nearly five hours, they filled Rs 500 worth of LPG gas in the tank,” said Shaik Nadeem, a resident of Tadban.

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The WhatsApp groups of auto rickshaw drivers are flooded with enquiries from distressed auto drivers about the gas station operating in the city, as several of them are closed in view of short supplies. “I travelled all the way from Chandrayangutta to Nacharam. By the time I reached, there were already around 200 auto rickshaws lined up. After waiting for five hours, my turn came,” said Ali Bin Khaled, a resident of Chandrayangutta.

“In the night, the drivers are sleeping in their vehicles outside the gas station, hoping the tanker arrives the next morning. It’s becoming difficult to pay auto rent and buy food,” said Abdul Sayeed, another auto driver, a resident of Chaderghat.

An auto driver said that in many cases, the long wait is futile. “There are 500 auto rickshaws lined up outside the gas station at times, and in such cases, it’s purely luck. Several of us had to return as the supplies got exhausted quickly,” he said.

Some fuel station managements are said to be cashing in on the situation, with auto drivers complaining of being excessively charged. “We are already suffering huge losses due to gas shortage; whatever meagre amount we are earning is looted by the fuel station managements,” complained Dayakar, another auto driver, of LB Nagar.