Ahmedabad/ Rajkot/Surat: Long queues and fuel pump closures were seen across the city on Monday as rumours of petrol and diesel shortages triggered panic buying. By evening, an estimated 15 to 20 petrol pumps run by public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) had run dry and shut operations.Petroleum dealers reported an unprecedented rise of about 200% in demand. “Total consumption rose around 2.5 times, but OMCs are supplying the same amount as on normal days. This resulted in stock getting over and we were forced to close the pump,” said a dealer. The spike in demand is linked to several factors. Bulk buyers such as transporters and private travel companies, who earlier received fuel from OMCs at lower rates, have shifted entirely to retail outlets. This followed a sharp increase in the diesel price for bulk buyers to Rs 112 per litre, compared with the market price of Rs 96 per litre at dealer pumps. Adding to the strain, several private company-operated pumps have shut operations, diverting their customers to OMC-run outlets. The situation has been further aggravated by widespread panic buying by consumers. Rajkot district collector Dr Om Prakash said. “All petrol pumps in Rajkot district have sufficient stocks and OMCs are providing sufficient stock to the pumps,” he said. Rajkot city has 97 petrol pumps, while the district has a total of 361. Average daily consumption in the city stands at around 5 lakh litres of petrol and 9 lakh litres of diesel. In Vadodara, barring a couple of petrol pumps, all of them functioning normally on Monday. Some petrol pumps witnessed rush during the peak hours but there was no panic buying. “The supply went down a bit due to the change in payment structure but most pumps were selling fuel on Monday,” said Mehul Patel, president of Federation of Gujarat Petroleum Dealer’s Association. “Earlier, petrol pump owners used to pay after getting the fuel delivery but now we have to pay money in advance to the suppliers as the companies need liquidity. This structure is causing a bit delay in fuel supply but the situation is normal as of now and people need not panic,” Patel, who owns a petrol pump in Vadodara, told TOI.
