The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Panic buying hits diesel supply

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Tuesday, Jul 22, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Panic buying hits diesel supply

Staff Reporter

Power cuts and absence of rain adding to ‘dry out’

Panic buying evident at many pumps in city
Some pumps placing restrictions on quantity

Hyderabad: ‘No stock diesel’—this is a common signboard that motorists see today at gas stations across the city. Petrol bunk owners are attributing the rather frequent ‘dry out’ to power cuts, absence of rain and most importantly - ‘panic buying’.

K. Venkat, a businessman, turned away from the petrol bunk at Tarnaka on Sunday evening after seeing the ‘No stock’ sign put up under the diesel pump.

When asked about the shortage, a staff member bluntly replies, “There is not enough supply from the company,” he says on condition on anonymity.

“In the last 10 days, we got two consignments of diesel - each of eight kilolitres (kl) and four kl. But we ran out of stock within a few hours of loading the tanks,” he adds.

‘Stock up’ syndrome

However, officials from oil companies attribute the dry out of petrol bunks to ‘panic buying’ which is evident at all the petrol bunks in the city.

“Car owners who used to fill diesel worth Rs. 500 are now filling their tanks when they drive into a petrol bunk. This only goes to say that people are stocking up on diesel so that they do not run out of fuel in future,” says an official.

“Moreover we have increased the supplies to 40 per cent when compared to last year,” he adds.

But the ground reality is a contradiction.

At some bunks, car owners are requested not to buy diesel exceeding Rs. 500. “I pulled up at a bunk in Begumpet and car owners were asked not to buy diesel worth more than Rs.500. I’ve stopped using air conditioning in my car due to the shortage. In fact I use the car sparingly now. If this continues, then I guess the situation will worsen,” says Madhukar A., a stock market analyst.

Alternative

With this situation on hand, seven-seater auto drivers have devised an alternative for the shortage. Most of them mix kerosene with engine oil as a substitute to diesel.

“Instead of diesel, we have started using a mixture of kerosene and engine oil. Though this combination can wreck the engine, people like us have no other choice. I have a family to feed,” says Syed Pasha, who is seen frequently plying on the Balnagar-Lingampally route.

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