Petrol rush in Mumbai & metropolitan region amid truckers' protest

SV Road is packed with two-wheelers as riders scramble for fuel amid the stir, in Malad, on January 2. Pic/Anurag Ahire

More than half of the fuel stations in Mumbai, Palghar, Thane and Raigad districts have run dry due to the nationwide truckers' protest, triggering panic buying on Tuesday. The three-day backup storage at these petrol pumps - last replenished on Saturday - is proving insufficient to cope with the escalating demand.

Dozens of cars and motorcycles are observed forming queues stretching for kilometres at fuel stations. At some places in Vasai, motorcyclists have to wait at least six hours in queues to refill their petrol tanks while a petrol pump owner in Mulund had to call in the police to manage a panicked crowd.

A petrol pump in Vasai is besieged by vehicles on Tuesday. Pic/Hanif Patel

The Petrol Dealers Association told mid-day that the establishments of pump owners who possess tankers to fetch petrol from installation centres are functional in some places but those who are fully dependent on truckers are running dry. In some places the petrol pump owners' tankers were also blocked by the protesting truckers, which deepened the crisis.

Ripple effect

The protest is impacted various industries within the supply chain. Substantial quantities of fruits, vegetables and other perishable items were wasted as they aren't reaching end users. The Dahanu-based chikoo farmers told mid-day that the auctioning of fruit would remain closed on January 3. "Chikoos can't be packed and sent to different markets all over India due to the ongoing strike," said Kunal Mali, a farmer.

SV Road is packed with vehicles as riders scramble for fuel amid the truckers' stir, in Malad on January 2

Above all, common people have to bear the brunt of this nationwide protest as parents are unable to send their children to schools and tuition classes as school bus drivers have either joined the protest or are not allowing others to ply the vehicles.

Most of the local vendors, who supply milk door-to-door on their motorcycles in Vasai, Virar, Nalasopara and Mira-Bhayandar could not do so on Tuesday because their fuel tanks had run dry on Monday night and they could not refill them, said Avinash Kuse, a hotelier living in Vasai.

Vehicles queue up outside a Mira-Bhayandar petrol pump on Tuesday. Pics/Anurag Ahire

Most of Virar residents could not get fresh vegetables at Mangal Bazaar, where only a limited amount of greens were sold on Tuesday. Vegetable sellers said that they could not bring in fresh vegetables as the truckers were on strike.

Escalation imminent

The situation would deteriorate if the protest by Indian truckers persists, warned the petrol pump associations told mid-day before the strike was called off. They have appealed to the public to refrain from panic buying.

"There are 170 petrol pumps in Mumbai, and more than 50 per cent of them have run dry. By the end of Tuesday night, many others will meet the same fate. All pumps were last refilled on Saturday and each has enough fuel backed up to supply consumers only for three days, which ended on Tuesday. And if not refilled on Wednesday, almost all the pumps will run dry in the city," the president of the Petrol Dealers Association, Chetan Modi told mid-day.

"The protesting truckers are not only agitating but also preventing their own drivers from performing their duties. Our drivers have been stopped by the agitating truckers who have blocked their path at installation centres in Mumbai. Only three vehicles could manage to refill the tanks at the installation centre and reach the petrol pump, and this was possible only because they had reached the centre early in the morning," he added.

Panic being triggered

"The protest has triggered panic among the people, who are rushing to petrol pumps to refill their tanks. The petrol pumps are witnessing long queues only because of this. I request people not to indulge in panic buying as it is leading to fuel shortage. Those who actually need petrol for R500 are buying petrol for Rs 2,000. This is affecting others and leading to long queues," Modi said.

Many motorcyclists travel to Mumbai from Vasai-Virar every day to go to their offices in Dadar, Mahim, Vikhroli, etc. "But on Tuesday, they could not go as their fuel tanks were empty. They could not refill their tanks as there was no petrol at the stations in Vasai and Mumbai, or they had to wait in a long queue which snaked up to six km in Vasai," said Ram Iyer, a motorcyclist from Vasai.

‘Diesel is available'

The Secretary of the Petrol Dealers Association of Thane, Raigad and Palghar Districts, Keyur Parikh, said, "There are 500 petrol pumps in Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts. More than 50 per cent of petrol pumps at Kalyan, Dombivli, Vasai, Virar and at other locations are running dry."

"Diesel is available everywhere, but petrol is in short supply. It is because truckers are protesting," said Parikh, adding, "Petrol pumps are witnessing long queues where some elements are not following discipline and often indulge in verbal dispute. Though no major dispute was noted till now; there was a minor incident in Vasai where customers had become aggressive when the petrol pump owner wanted to shut the fuel station at 10 pm on Monday. But the matter was resolved."

A total of 95 lakh heavy vehicles across India are off-road as their drivers have resorted to protesting the amended hit-n-run law. The transport association is meeting Ministry of Home Affairs officials in the national capital to end the crisis.

500
No. of petrol pumps in Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts