The government has confirmed that there is no shortage of petrol, diesel or LPG in the country, according to senior government officials on Thursday. As reported by IANS, the government is receiving feedback about petrol pumps across India and full supply of fuels is being maintained to all retail outlets. Petrol pumps that are not giving fuel or giving fuel in reduced quantities are being pulled up by authorities to ensure adequate supply across the country. The government has warned that petrol pumps restricting sales or supplying fuel in reduced quantities are being strictly monitored and pulled up by authorities, with officials stating that the Centre has been receiving continuous feedback from retail outlets across India and maintaining uninterrupted fuel supplies to ensure normal operations.
Fuel shortages reported at certain retail outlets in the country were primarily on account of panic buying and bulk diesel buyers shifting to fuel stations due to a price difference of roughly ₹40-42 per litre, a senior government official said on Thursday. According to Business Standard, some fuel retail outlets have seen a demand spike of nearly 20-30 per cent, with Sujata Sharma, joint secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), noting that petrol pumps generally have stocks of two to three days, and if they see 20-30 per cent growth in demand, they may temporarily face some issues. These locations are continuously monitored and are being replenished regularly, as reported by Business Standard.
The oil marketing companies (OMCs) had raised prices of bulk diesel by ₹12 per litre on May 1 amid elevated crude oil prices, while retail diesel prices have been raised by around ₹4 per litre in the last week. In Delhi, the price of bulk diesel is around ₹149 per litre, against retail diesel rates of ₹91.58 a litre. According to Business Standard, bulk diesel needs to be purchased from bulk supply points and related issues could be addressed to state-level nodal officers of the OMCs, with bulk diesel buyers being large institutional or industrial consumers such as state transport corporations, factories and manufacturing plants, and telecom tower operators that purchase diesel directly from oil companies instead of regular petrol pumps.
On supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, Sharma said the government has ensured cooking gas for domestic users despite constrained supplies from West Asia. India's refiners have ramped up LPG production to around 47,000 tonnes to meet domestic demand. During the last three days, around 1.34 crore LPG cylinders were delivered against bookings of around 1.32 crore cylinders, with OMCs delivering about 47.51 lakh LPG cylinders on May 20 against bookings of around 45.36 lakh cylinders, as reported by Business Standard.
