Rumours trigger fuel rush in Indore, nearby districts

Indore/Ujjain/Barwani: Rumours of petrol shortage triggered panic buying across Indore, Dhar and Ujjain on Tuesday evening, leading to long queues at fuel stations as motorists rushed to fill tanks fearing supply disruptions. Long queues were also witnessed at petrol pumps across Barwani district headquarters, Ratlam and Dewas. The sudden surge led to crowding at several fuel stations, with people waiting for extended periods.The sudden rush prompted district administrations to issue advisories assuring citizens there was no shortage of petrol, diesel or cooking gas.Fuel stations at Nipaniya, Vijay Nagar, Rasoma Square and several other parts of Indore saw long lines of cars and two-wheelers stretching onto the roads. Many commuters, including families travelling with children, stopped midway during their journey and joined the queues to get fuel amid fears that pumps might run dry.Indore petrol dealers' association president Rajendra Wasu said that the panic was triggered by a temporary delay in supplies from one oil company. "There was some delay in supply from a depot of one oil company which created panic in the evening. But there is no shortage of fuel. Supplies resumed later and situation is normal," he said.At a few locations, police made public announcements asking people not to hoard fuel and not to panic as supplies were normal.A senior official from one of the oil companies, requesting anonymity, said that the shortfall was temporary. "Fuel supply from one oil company got disturbed on Monday and on Tuesday it led to delayed supplies at some petrol pumps. There is, however, adequate supply of fuel and no shortage anywhere," the official said. Some petrol pumps in Indore also faced short-term dry-outs due to the sudden rush and delayed tanker arrivals. "Our petrol pump went dry for nearly two hours on Tuesday afternoon because demand suddenly shot up and tanker supply was delayed. We received fresh supplies later in the evening and resumed normal sales," a petrol pump owner in Indore said.District supply controller M L Maru said panic buying was main reason behind the sudden rush. "People are buying fuel in panic and that is creating the problem. There is sufficient stock available and petrol pumps will continue to receive supplies," he said."I saw messages saying petrol pumps might run dry, so I came to fill fuel. Many people are getting their tanks completely full even if they don't need it immediately," said Rohit Sharma, a motorist waiting at a petrol pump in Vijay Nagar.According to the petrol dealers' association, Madhya Pradesh has around 5,500 fuel stations. Indore district alone has about 275 petrol pumps, of which 103 are located within Indore city. The daily consumption in the district is estimated at around 10 lakh litres of petrol and about 15 lakh litres of diesel.The panic quickly spread beyond Indore as well. In Dhar, some petrol pumps temporarily capped sales to manage sudden surge in demand.Piyush Agrawal, owner of a BPCL petrol pump in Mhow, said purchases were restricted to prevent hoarding."We capped purchases at around Rs 200 per vehicle to manage the crowd and stop people from stocking fuel unnecessarily. There is no shortage from the company side," he said.In neighbouring Ujjain, police also made announcements at Station Road petrol pumps asking residents not to fall for rumours and avoid panic buying.Shalu Verma, district supply officer, Ujjain, said rumours spread late in the evening leading to panic buying across the city. "There are around 150 petrol pumps in Ujjain and we have adequate stocks — about 16,000 KL of petrol and 25,000 KL of diesel. We have also barred people from buying fuel in cans to prevent hoarding. We have nearly two months of fuel stocks available," she said."Everyone suddenly came to fill petrol because of the rumours. The queue was so long that it took nearly half an hour just to reach the pump," said Anjali Jain, a commuter who had come to refill her scooter in Nipaniya area of Indore.