The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : They rush in where scarcity greets them

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Tuesday, Jul 01, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

They rush in where scarcity greets them

City bureau

With short supply of fuel causing Monday blues, scores of motorists found themselves in the midst of pile-ups

Spurt in demand, panic buying compound problems
Diesel shipment from Kochi expected on Tuesday

— Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

in and out: The surging crowd in search of fuel at a retail outlet on TTK Road on Monday . (Right) In what looks like a study in contrast, this bunk in the same area is deserted.

CHENNAI: Monday was not a day to be on the roads of Chennai and its suburbs, as hundreds of motorists, caught in pile-ups as a result of the heavy crowd at petrol bunks, found much to their dismay.

The snarls that started building up after the rush hour continued late into the evening, with many of the petrol bunks either closing down or putting up boards to announce that they have no stock of diesel. There were also complaints of non-availability of petrol at some outlets. Long queues of vehicles to the outlets selling diesel were witnessed. Many of the motorists who went to purchase petrol found the process time consuming as the diesel-driven vehicles had blocked the way.

Police were deployed to regulate vehicular movement. Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Sunil Kumar, said steps were taken to ensure that general traffic was not affected. While short supply of diesel was reported in almost all fuel stations, police personnel were deployed at places where traffic problems were encountered, he said.

“We advised petrol bunk managers to appoint additional staff to regulate the rush. Vehicles were put on a queue system with police manning the entry and exit points,” a police official said. The number of vehicles at the outlets rose in the evening amid fears that fuel supply would be hit by the proposed lorry strike commencing from the night of July 1.

However, in a press release, V.K. Jaychandran, State-level coordinator of Oil Industry (Tamil Nadu and Puducherry) and executive director of Indian Oil Corporation, said the “supply problem presently experienced is very temporary. It is owing to delayed receipt of diesel supplies through coastal tankers by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. This has depleted the stocks of diesel available with that company … also resulted in diversion of BPCL’s customers to the retail outlets of other two companies — IOC and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.”

Sources in BPCL said the company was expecting a diesel shipment from Kochi. The consignment, of 10,000 tonnes of diesel, is expected to reach Chennai port on Tuesday. The company was also expecting an import consignment by the end of this week.

Admitting that the queues of vehicles seen at the outlets on Monday was unprecedented, officials of companies said the situation was partly on account of the panic buying by the customers and increased demand for diesel, particularly for power generator sets.

In the suburbs, traffic pile-ups were reported on Grand Southern Trunk Road in Meenambakkam, where vehicles lined up one behind the other near three outlets in the area. Vehicles proceeding to Chennai Airport, Pallavaram, Tambaram and beyond were stranded for a long distance on this stretch.

Similar problems were reported on Mudichur Road, West Tambaram and Rajendra Prasad Road in Chromepet. Vehicles were seen lined up on these for a long distance and drivers of lorries carried huge cans to carry diesel and later filled them in their vehicle fuel tanks.

Drivers of tourist vehicles and vans racing against a deadline were an agitated lot. “I waited for more than two hours and they are supplying diesel for just Rs.300,” said Rajendran, a cab driver.

Angry motorists accused filling stations of hoarding them and cashing in on the situation. Tamilnadu Petroleum Dealers’ Association president M. Kannan said the oil companies were not supplying the quantities for which the dealers were placing indent.

Vegetables turn dearer

Vegetables were sold at a higher rate at the wholesale market in Koyambedu on Monday as the vehicles transporting produce from the neighbouring States were stranded en route due to fuel shortage.

Vendors at the wholesale market said several lorries transporting vegetables and fruits were stranded near the State border. The market, which normally receives about 550 lorry loads of vegetables, got only 300 loads of produce on Monday.

The vendors noted that spiralling price of most vegetables had come under control for a week now. But, fuel shortage and the lorry owners’ association’s strike from Tuesday night threatened a price hike of the vegetables again, they said.

Market Management Committee advisor V.R. Soundararajan said the cost of several vegetables had dropped due to more arrivals to the market for a week now. However, vegetables and fruits may cost more by at least Rs.2-Rs.3 a kg in the coming days due to the strike and fuel shortage, he said.

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