Daily life slows down amid growing fuel crisis

Ahsan Habib, who works in a private company in Dhaka, came to his home in Bogra for Eid vacation. He was having a happy time with his family. But suddenly, that joy was overshadowed by a shadow of uncertainty. He left for Dhaka a day before the scheduled time. The only fear was that if the petrol pump was closed, there would be suffering on the way.

Ahsan Habib is a resident of Jahangirabad Fultala area of ​​Bogra.

He said that although his date of departure for Dhaka was March 24, he left a day early. It is heard that the petrol pump may be closed due to the fuel shortage. He did not want to get into any trouble, so he left for work in advance.

Shovon Islam, a resident of the same area, is also worried like Ahsan Habib.

He said that he is getting news that the pump may be closed. There was a fuel shortage before Eid. Now the situation is even worse. After traveling for three days, I have only got 4 liters of petrol for my motorcycle. I don't know what will happen next.

When I went to the filling station named M/s. Haque & Co. Petrol Pump in Banani area of ​​Bogra city, I saw that motorcyclists and various car drivers were waiting in a long queue to get oil on Monday afternoon (March 23). They are worried about whether they will get oil.

The pump authorities said that they received 3,000 liters of petrol, 3,000 liters of octane and 9,000 liters of diesel on Monday itself. Earlier, they received 4,000 liters of petrol on March 15 and 4,000 liters of octane on March 11. Which is not enough compared to their demand.

Haque Pump Manager Sakhawat Hossain told Views Bangladesh that currently, a maximum of 3 liters of petrol or octane is being given to motorcycles and 10 liters to private cars. Passenger buses are being given 100 to 120 liters of diesel as per the requirement.

Later, when we went to Shah Sultan Filling Station in Betgari area of ​​Bogra, it was found that there was no stock of petrol or octane.

Abu Sayeed, the salesman of the station, told Views Bangladesh that we had not received petrol or octane since before Eid. We only received 9,000 liters of diesel the day before Eid. That too is being given in limited quantities.

Although there is actually an oil shortage, Jamuna Oil Company Limited is denying the matter.

When asked about it on the phone, the company's AGM in Bogra region, without disclosing his name, said that there is no oil shortage. People are panicking and buying more oil. Apart from that, there is no problem.

On the other hand, Mizanur Rahman Ratan, president of the Rajshahi-Rangpur division of the Petrol Pump Owners Association, painted a different picture.

He said that the supply of oil is less than the demand. There is an oil shortage. If this situation continues, there is a risk that the pumps will be shut down in the coming days.

He further said that there are a total of 72 petrol pumps in the Bogra region. So far, no pump has been completely closed, but oil is being sold on a limited scale.