Motorists rush to fuel stations amid shortage fears in Andhra Pradesh

Thousands of motorists queued at fuel stations across Andhra Pradesh amid fears of petrol and diesel shortage, while Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu assured that supplies would normalise soon and directed officials to prevent hoarding and black marketing

Amaravati: Thousands of motorists thronged fuel retail outlets in Andhra Pradesh on Monday, fearing a shortage, even as the government assured that there would be “no shortage of petrol and diesel”.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu took stock of the measures taken to overcome the shortage and officials informed him that normalcy would be ‘restored’ in the majority of places by Monday evening.

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Naidu directed state officials and OMC officials to work in tandem to restore normalcy in petrol and diesel supply, an official release said.

According to OMC officials, tankers loaded with fuel will reach retail outlets by the evening.

The CM also directed district collectors and SPs to personally supervise fuel supply to avert hardship to people.

He instructed officials and ministers to give him updates every three hours, tapping into data from the Real Time Governance System (RTGS).

Further, Naidu directed officials to crack down on fuel black marketing and hoarding, the release said.

Earlier in the day, several two-wheelers, cars, trucks and other vehicles were seen lined up at a petrol pump in Rajahmundry. People were also seen carrying plastic containers to buy petrol and diesel.

At a petrol bunk in Auto Nagar in Vijayawada, similar scenes played out with several vehicles lined up.

It was the same on Sunday afternoon at all the petrol pumps in Vijayawada’s Ajit Singh Nagar and the vicinity.

Gopala Krishna, a member of the fuel retailers association from Guntur, said the crisis has spread across the state.

“Not only Guntur, this is the situation across the state. We are receiving information that diesel is getting exhausted everywhere from our dealers,” he told reporters.

“We are expecting that 70 to 80 per cent of petrol bunks will get fuel by tomorrow (April 28),” he said, claiming that last week oil companies were intending to supply less fuel to dealers but stopped, which led to this crisis.

People are thronging to bunks where fuel is available, he said, and appealed to consumers not to panic or hoard fuel.

All petrol bunks will be supplied with fuel and things will return to normal in a couple of days, he asserted.

Motorists have been waiting since 3 am, a person at a fuel outlet in Rajahmundry told reporters.

Talluri Raj Kumar, who sells medicines and probiotics to aquaculture farmers and tours across more than a dozen villages in West Godavari district, said petrol pump stations are rationing fuel sales to consumers.

He alleged that at a petrol bunk near Eluru old bus station, they have rationed fuel sales, where two-wheelers were allowed to fill only up to Rs 200 and four-wheelers up to Rs 600.

Several fuel retail outlets were shut in West Godavari district, he said.

Diesel is not available. It has started impacting agriculture and aquaculture in the southern state as harvest machines are not available, he added.

Meanwhile, Polavaram district collector Dinesh Kumar issued a statement saying that “petrol and diesel supply is normal”.

“There is no fuel shortage. There is no need for people to panic,” Kumar said in an official release.

He advised people not to resort to unnecessary bulk purchase of fuel and called on them to pass on information in the event of a shortage.

Transport Minister M Ram Prasad Reddy directed officials to ensure that transport services are not affected even amid temporary disruption to petrol and diesel supply.

Calling on transport services to be alert, the minister said people should not be inconvenienced.

“All transport services should take immediate steps to avoid inconvenience to passengers across the state,” he said, calling for alternate arrangements if needed.

Keeping the needs of people in mind, buses and other transport vehicles should be operated without disruption in coordination with the transport department and private operators.

Further, he warned of severe action in the event of any negligence and also requested people to cooperate.