Panic buying of fuel continues in Belagavi

Panic buying of petrol continued in Belagavi and other towns on Wednesday, despite officials saying that there was no scarcity.

Long queues were seen before petrol stations in Belagavi, Bailhongal, Hukkeri, Gokak, and other places. However, the rush was less compared to the last two days.

In Belagavi, officers of the Mal Maruti police station arrested two youth for fighting over petrol near a station.

In Davangere, officials clarified that there was no scarcity of domestic cylinders or fuel.

“There is no shortage of fuel including cooking gas, petrol and diesel in the district. There is no need to panic and reserve cylinders. Commercial cylinders are also being supplied,” Deputy Commissioner G.M. Gangadharaswamy told reporters.

“There was a problem with commercial cylinders initially as a result of the conflict in West Asia. This problem has been resolved and sufficient fuel is being supplied. As many as 182 commercial cylinders are being booked in the district every day and distribution is also under way. There is enough stock for nine days and supply is being made as per the requirement. However, it is advisable for consumers to emphasise on the moderate use of cooking gas. It would be beneficial if the villagers use biogas,” he said. “Strict action will be taken if rumors are spread on social media in this regard,” he said.

According to him, 41 gas agencies of government-owned Hindustan Petroleum (HP), Bharat and Indane Oil Company (IOC) in the district had reported that 9,427 out of 9,546 cooking gas cylinders were reaching customers every day. The service was provided within 24 hours of booking. The agencies said that the daily bookings of cooking gas increased to an average of 46,345.

The fact that the bookings have increased five times shows the anxiety of the people. “There are 220 petrol stations in the district, and there is stock of petrol and diesel. The supply of LPG used for autos has also been restored. People should not listen to the rumors spread on social media,” he said.

“The Union government has made it clear that there is enough fuel stock in the country for the next five months. Fuel is being supplied to Davangere from Mangalore daily. Information has been received that people are coming to the stations with cans in panic. The stations have been instructed not to fill fuel in such cans,” he said.

Officials conducted raids on hotels and shops where domestic cylinders were being used for commercial purposes, and recovered 90 cylinders. A raid was conducted on a centre that was refilling domestic cylinders for autos and legal action was taken.