People resort to panic buying of petrol, diesel in Kangra district

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, January 2

Normal life was hit in Kangra district today as people resorted to panic buying of petrol and diesel. Long queues of two-wheelers and four-wheelers were seen before most of the petrol stations in the district right from early morning. People were apprehensive that petrol supplies would dry up due to nationwide strike of truckers against a provision of 10 years’ imprisonment and Rs 7 lakh fine in hit-and-run cases in a new law enacted by the Union Government.

No shortage of milk, fruits, vegetables

• There was no impact of the trukers’ strike on the supplies of essential commodities in Kangra district
• Most of the shops in Kangra had an adequate supply of fruits, vegetables and milk

Guddu Pathania, GM of a Bharat Petroleum petrol station in Dharamsala, said that they had adequate supplies of petrol and diesel but people were resorting to panic buying. “We started rationing of petrol. We are giving only Rs 200 petrol to two-wheelers and Rs 1,000 fuel to four-wheelers. We have also sought help from the police and district administration in controlling traffic outside our petrol station,” he added.

Due to long queues before the petrol stations traffic was disrupted at many places. On the main road passing through Dharamsala, traffic was disrupted due to hundreds of vehicles lined up for petrol refuelling.

In the Dehra area of Kangra, many petrol stations went dry. Suresh Kumar, a resident of Dehra, said that he wanted to go to Dharamsala for some work but could not get fuel for his car.

Private bus operators in Kangra have decided to join the strike of truckers from Wednesday. About 3,000 private buses ply in Kangra district on various routes, most of them rural.

Sukrit Sagar, owner of a gas agency, said that his stock of commercial LPG cylinders had dried up. “We have deposited money with the company for the supply of gas cylinders but are not getting any stock due to strike of truckers,” he added. Many school buses remained off road due to the non-availability of fuel.

Meanwhile, the district administration of Kangra has issued orders to the petrol stations in Kangra to maintain minimum supply of petrol and diesel for emergency situation.