Chhattisgarh govt junks fuel shortage rumours asks people not to indulge in panic buying

Raipur, May 14 (PTI) The Chhattisgarh government on Thursday said adequate stocks of petrol and diesel are available in the state and asked people not to indulge in panic buying amid rumours of fuel shortage.
The clarification came after long queues of vehicles were seen at several fuel stations in Raipur and some other cities during the day following rumours about shortage of petrol and diesel.
An official statement quoted state Food Secretary Reena Babasaheb Kangale as saying that regular supplies of petrol and diesel were reaching oil depots as per requirement and the distribution system was being continuously monitored.
"A total of 2,516 petrol and diesel pumps are currently operational in the state. At present, Chhattisgarh has a stock of 45,474 kilolitres of petrol and 84,654 kilolitres of diesel. The state's daily requirement stands at 3,635 kilolitres of petrol and 5,873 kilolitres of diesel," the statement said.
Oil depots across the state received 6,551 kilolitres of petrol and 4,760 kilolitres of diesel on Thursday, the statement added.
"Raipur city has 326 petrol and diesel pumps, of which 35 are temporarily dry, while Bilaspur has 156 fuel stations, including 13 that are currently dry. Oil company depots are continuously supplying fuel to restore stocks at these outlets at the earliest," Kangale said.
The state has sufficient fuel reserves and the supply system was functioning normally, she said, adding that consumers must not to be influenced by rumours or confusion and avoid unnecessary hoarding or panic purchase of fuel.
Over the past two days, the drying up of fuel stocks at certain petrol and diesel pumps gave rise to rumours and panic, resulting in an unprecedented surge in petrol and diesel consumption by the general public. This sudden spike in demand led to the creation of an artificial scarcity in several locations, the statement informed.
The government and oil companies have been jointly monitoring the situation and ensuring regular supply at all petrol pumps, the statement added.
On Thursday, motorists were forced to wait for long hours, while a few outlets temporarily shut operations after exhausting available stock due to heavy demand at some petrol pumps in the state capital.
Fuel station operators, however, said there was no major disruption in supply and attributed the rush to panic buying triggered by rumours of petrol running out.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)