Artificial Fuel crisis is being seen in the Petrol Pumps throughout the country. Depot owners reduced unloading oils, after the government’s recent announcement on reducing oils prices. Hence, the crisis is diffused throughout the Petrol Pumps as well. As a result, consumers have not been able to get required amount of oils from the petrol pumps.
According to the related sources, there has been no oil in almost 250 Petrol Pumps from Friday to Tuesday. It means, those Pumps are not loading any more. Out of almost 100 Pumps of the capital’s, there are reportedly 7 pumps at least that doesn’t have any fuel to refuel the cars. According to the Godnail depot of Narayanganj sources, the sale
of oil has dropped since the last three days.
Reportedly Petrol Pumps in and around the Capital have the lowest reserve in recent times. Depot owners reduced unloading oils and Pumps are discouraging customers to take oils from them.
Regarding this matter, the state minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said to the Energy Bangla, that this is a temporary crisis. The price of oils will get adjusted as soon as possible, he added. The crisis situation will be over soon, once the price get lowered and fixed ultimately, he stated.
The president of ‘Petrol Pump Owners Association’, Nazmul Haque said to the Energy Bangla that, Businessman will have to count loss for their stock oil, if the price gets reduced abruptly. Therefore, they decreased their pace of unloading, which may cause a temporary crisis in the market, he added. He criticized the government’s policy makers who made the declaration of price cut as early as it is yet to get approved by the Prime Minister and that caused this crisis.
As the reduced price is not formally effective yet, the advance announcement of price cut of oils caused the slower oil uptakeing in the depots and pumps. Pump Owners are now afraid of a great loss and that’s why they are not buying any more oils from the depots. Consumers are not getting adequate oils from the pumps. On 3rd April, the state minister Nasrul Hamid declared that, the price of other fuels except for Furnace were about to get lower in three phases. A proposal comprising this price cut issue was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office for accreditation. At this situation Pump Owners inclined buying oils from the depots of Bangladesh Petroleum
Corporation (BPC).
A proposal for reducing oil prices was sent from the energy division to the Prime Minister’s office for approval. A revised pricelist on these fuels is going to be published as a gazette after it gets approved by the prime minister.
According to the sources, this proposal includes the price cut issue of Diesel, Kerosin, Octane and Petrol.
So far, Octane, Diesel, Kerosine are sold at a price of 99, 96, 68 TK respectively. According to a gazette which published on 31st of this last March, the price of Furnace oil was cut by 18 TK. Furnace was previously sold at 60 TK per liter and now it’s 42 TK. Government is now in way of reducing the price of other oils.