The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Panic over fuel price hike leads to spurt in demand

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Friday, May 30, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Panic over fuel price hike leads to spurt in demand

M. Gunasekaran

Photo: M. Balaji

Ensuring stock: As many petrol pumps go without stock in Tirupur city, diesel being loaded in a barrel for a garment unit as a precautionary measure. —

TIRUPUR: Fear of steep hike in auto fuel prices and talk of oil majors’ plan to ration supplies have led to long queues of vehicles in most of the petrol pumps here.

There has been a spurt in the demand for diesel and petrol.

Of the more than 40 petrol stations of Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation around the city, which sell over 1 lakh litres of petrol a day, the sudden demand has led to many pumps going dry on Tuesday and Wednesday. Almost all the pumps on Palladam Road went dry on Wednesday.

A petrol pump owner said that the situation eased by Thursday noon following arrival of fresh supplies.

“There is a talk of hike in petrol and diesel prices by Rs. 5 to Rs. 10 and every one want to be on the safer side. Most of the two-wheeler owners, who normally buy one or two litres at a time, are filling the tanks.

Though there is a decline in supply, the spurt in sale due to panic buying is behind petrol stations going dry,” reasons another distributor.

Consumers complained that most of the bunks compel them to buy their premium brands of petrol and diesel, which is Rs. 3 more a litre than the regular product.

None of the distributors here are in a position to explain the reason behind the shortage of supply of petroleum products. Stating that there was no possibility of hoarding petrol and diesel by the bunks, a petrol pump owner appealed to the motorists not to panic.

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