Jalandhar: Truckers’ strike hits fuel supply

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, January 2

Due to the nationwide strike by truck drivers, supply of petrol and diesel was affected in the district, leaving residents in a state of panic.

Fuel sold in containers

Voicing frustration, Kamaljeet Singh, a commuter, said while he was waiting in a queue for around two hours at a petrol pump near Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall, employees were selling fuel to people in containers.

Reports of ‘black-marketing’

There were reports that some petrol stations allegedly involved in black-marketing of fuel. They sold diesel illegally to those having containers. Residents accused the administration and the police of failing to prevent such malpractices at fuel stations.

Oil tanker operators call off stir

With the persistent efforts of the civil and police administration, oil tanker operators called off their strike on Tuesday evening, leading to the resumption of fuel supply in the district. Civil and police officials, led by Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Sarangal, Senior Superintendent of Police Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar, Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Kumar Sharma, held meetings with the striking operators in the depot of the Indian Oil Corporation at Suchi Pind. Senior officials assured them that their demands were being raised before the top officials of the state government and appropriate solution would be provided at the earliest. They said the operators were also key part of the supply chain and all their issues would be resolved. Later, the officials also took memoranda of demands from the operators to be forwarded to the higher authorities.

Approximately 80 per cent of the petrol pumps in the district ran out of stock. Long queues of vehicles were witnessed at filling stations throughout the day.

Chaos prevailed at some fuel stations, with minor incidents of arguments being reported between those waiting in queues to get their vehicles refilled. Despite having an adequate supply, a few petrol pumps opted to shut down operations in order to prevent any untoward incident due to the chaotic rush.

Some petrol pump owners reportedly sold petrol and diesel in huge containers, cans, bottles and drums by charging an extra amount.

Voicing frustration, Kamaljeet Singh, a commuter, said while he was waiting in a queue for around two hours at a petrol pump near Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall, employees were selling fuel to people in containers. He said only vehicles should be allowed to refuel at petrol pumps.

There were reports that some petrol stations allegedly involved in black-marketing of fuel. They sold diesel illegally to those having huge containers. Residents accused the administration and the police of failing to prevent such malpractices at fuel stations.

Unending queues of vehicles continued to get longer as the day progressed, with a majority of fuel stations remaining closed.

Defending their stance, petrol pump owners claimed that they made efforts to manage the rush and panic buying, but residents refused to cooperate, leading to the chaos.

There was fuel scarcity in the district till late evening, with residents anxiously waiting for a resolution to the ongoing crisis. The administration, meanwhile, claimed that a meeting with tanker operators was successful and the fuel supply had been resumed.