Petrol rush in Mumbai & metropolitan region

More than half of the fuel stations in Mumbai Palghar Thane and Raigad districts have run dry due to the nationwide truckersrsquo protest triggering panic buying on Tuesday The threeday backup storage at these petrol pumpsmdashlast replenished on Saturdaymdashis proving insufficient to cope with the escalating demandDozens 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 crowdA petrol pump in Vasai is besieged by vehicles on Tuesday PicHanif PatelThe Petrol Dealers Association told midday 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 ownersrsquo tankers were also blocked by the protesting truckers which deepened the crisisRipple effectThe protest is impacted various industries within the supply chain Substantial quantities of fruits vegetables and other perishable items were wasted as they arenrsquot reaching end users The Dahanubased chikoo farmers told midday that the auctioning of fruit would remain closed on January 3 ldquoChikoos canrsquot be packed and sent to different markets all over India due to the ongoing strikerdquo said Kunal Mali a farmerSV Road is packed with vehicles as riders scramble for fuel amid the truckersrsquo stir in Malad on January 2Above 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 vehiclesMost of the local vendors who supply milk doortodoor on their motorcycles in Vasai Virar Nalasopara and MiraBhayandar 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 VasaiVehicles queue up outside a MiraBhayandar petrol pump on Tuesday PicsAnurag AhireMost 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 strikeEscalation imminentThe situation would deteriorate if the protest by Indian truckers persists warned the petrol pump associations told midday before the strike was called off They have appealed to the public to refrain from panic buyingldquoThere 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 cityrdquo the president of the Petrol Dealers Association Chetan Modi told middayldquoThe 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 morningrdquo he addedPanic being triggeredldquoThe 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 2000 This is affecting others and leading to long queuesrdquo Modi saidMany motorcyclists travel to Mumbai from VasaiVirar every day to go to their offices in Dadar Mahim Vikhroli etc ldquoBut 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 Vasairdquo said Ram Iyer a motorcyclist from VasailsquoDiesel is availablersquoThe Secretary of the Petrol Dealers Association of Thane Raigad and Palghar Districts Keyur Parikh said ldquoThere 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 dryrdquoldquoDiesel is available everywhere but petrol is in short supply It is because truckers are protestingrdquo said Parikh adding ldquoPetrol 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 resolvedrdquoA total of 95 lakh heavy vehicles across India are offroad as their drivers have resorted to protesting the amended hitnrun law The transport association is meeting Ministry of Home Affairs officials in the national capital to end the crisis500No of petrol pumps in Thane Palghar and Raigad districts