Khammam faces fuel shortage; normal life, farm activities crippled

Khammam: Shortage of diesel in erstwhile Khammam district has been troubling the farmers and commuters alike for the past few days. The problem intensified for the past couple of days as the filling stations at Kothagudem, Yellandu and Sujatha Nagar in Kothagudem district and at Wyra in Khammam were not dispensing diesel as required by […]

Khammam: Shortage of diesel in erstwhile Khammam district has been troubling the farmers and commuters alike for the past few days.

The problem intensified for the past couple of days as the filling stations at Kothagudem, Yellandu and Sujatha Nagar in Kothagudem district and at Wyra in Khammam were not dispensing diesel as required by the consumers.

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The problem was particularly severe at Sujatha Nagar and Wyra where long queues of farmers were seen to purchase diesel as the Vaanakalam agriculture season commenced with the arrival of monsoon.

With the arrival of monsoon the farmers started preparing the lands for cultivation of crops and they need diesel to run tractors and other farm equipment. But the filling station proprietors were selling the fuel citing various reasons, complained a farmer Balram Naik of Sujatha Nagar.

The same was the complaint of a farmer, K Ramulu of Wyra. He said the farmers were compelled to stand in queues for long hours to purchase diesel leaving aside their farm work. But the officials concerned were not responding to the crisis, he alleged.

The owners and drivers of cars and buses, especially the school buses, were equally troubled with the shortage of diesel. “I need to go to Hyderabad on business work but I am stranded here at the filling station” worried a businessman Bathula Srinivas of Kothagudem.

The filling station proprietors on the other hand stated that they have nothing to do with the crisis as the petroleum companies have recently introduced a coupon system to ration diesel in view of increased prices of diesel.