AGARTALA, January 8 (TIWN): Petrol crisis again hit Tripura badly with the customers suffering and standing in long queues for the last two days at petrol pumps across the capital city, Agartala. Recently, only two petrol pumps are active. It is to be mentioned that from the early days of Puja, petrol crisis continued in the State. Though, the petrol crisis continued, but Dept of food & civil supplies had not yet taken any proper steps to purchase oil from other oil corporations except IOCL.On the other hand, corrupt traders were fully utilizing the scarcity by selling the petrol inblack markets. Speaking to TIWN a bike owner Pradip Ghosh said that he had come here for petrol but they are only giving two liters per bike. How can we do with so little petrol? Outside in the black-market petrol is available at Rs. 300 to 350 per liter but that is also adulterated with kerosene.

 Most of the filling stations have put the board of no petrol but actually there is oil. We are compelled to buy petrol from the black-market at Rs.300 to 350 per liter, he added.Owners of vehicles are facing great difficulties in obtaining fuel. They are forced to spend their days from the early morning onwards waiting in long queues in front of the petrol stations to get fuel. 

It may be mentioned here that the fuel that comes to the state from Assam has been disrupted due to the continuous blockade of National Highway (NH) 44 in Meghalaya till last September 28.And the same has hit the stock of petroleum products of the state and by that time demand of petrol and diesel went up drastically among the Durga puja revelers.

The people of the city are facing a huge crisis of petrol with most of the pumps shut down while only one petrol pump is reported operating but with  a shortfall. Due to this, people were seen waiting for refilling their vehicle tanks. While most of the pumps supplied fuels much less than the required quantity, few other ones were open for the whole day facing huge throng of vehicles.  On the other hand, anticipating further slash down of price of fuel, dealers of the state did not send advance requisition and payment to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which further deteriorated the situation, officials stated.

However, the petrol pump owners of the city have said it was only a temporary problem caused by blockade of National Highway (NH) 44 in Meghalaya and also for the recent landside in Meghalaya and assured that the situation would be normalized, soon.