Govt measures shorten queues for fuel: Operators

The long vehicle queues for petroleum in front of filling stations started shortening with increased fuel supplies and introduction of pass system particularly for bikers, pump operators said on Thursday.

“We witnessed with a sense of fright in past weeks long queues of octane/petrol dependent vehicles, especially motorbikes under scorching suns, causing frequent quarrels and scuffles often requiring police interventions,” a petrol pump owner in Uttara area said.

He said the supply shortfall in view of the panic rush for fuel had made the situation worse requiring consumers to exhaust hours almost like “thirsty men in deserts looking for water”.

Meghna Model Petrol Pump and Service Centre operators said increased fuel supplies by Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and the mandatory fuel pass system for motorcyclists two days ago largely reduced length of vehicle queues and shortened waiting time.

“The length of queues have shortened reducing our waiting time in lines for fuel,” a car driver of a private corporate as approached for comments at the same filling station.

The driver added on several occasions he had to wait in lines for even over 10 hours and when “my luck favoured the waiting time too was more than three hours”.

A biker named Sultan Miah said at City Filling Station at Motijheel area that his waiting time for fuel too reduced significantly.

"Earlier, I had to wait nearly 10 hours to get the oil but today I got in two hours," he said.

The correspondent who visited several petrol pumps in the city reported pump operators and vehicle operators reconfirmed the scenario and visibly heaved a sigh of relief with extra supply of fuel and shortened lines.

BPC officials, meanwhile, said they directed its state-run distribution companies to increase diesel and petrol supply by 10% and octane by 20% from 20 April at refueling stations across the country.

The energy division two days ago introduced the mandatory “fuel pass” system for bikers to get petroleum from seven designated filling stations in the capital as motorcycles had appeared as the major factor to lengthen the queues.

The reporter, himself a biker, reported that the number of motorcycle queues at filling stations at Asadgate, Arambagh and Tejgaon nearly halved compared to what he observed two days ago.

A petrol pump owner alleged amidst ongoing fuel supply crunch, ride-sharing bikers collected fuel beyond their actual requirements exacerbated the energy crunch caused by the Middle Eastern crisis.

He said the situation simultaneously caused panic rush for fuel amid fears of depleting stocks despite repeated government assurances of steps to overcome the crunch.

Padma Oil PLC Managing Director Md Mafizur Rahman said that the government was supplying adequate quantity of petrol, octane and diesel every day.

“We will increase 75% oil supply on Friday so that buyers can easily take fuel from filling stations,” he said.

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The government also introduced a QR code-based “Fuel Pass” mobile application for fuel rationing and disciplining bikers, which also was reported to have largely yielded expected results in the port city of Chattogram.

The Energy Division, meanwhile, continued to conduct mobile court operations across the country to prevent illegal fuel hoarding and prevent creation of artificial crisis.