Truckers’ strike: panic fuel buying in Maharashtra amid fear of shortage

Mumbai, Jan 2 (PTI) The agitation by truck drivers against a provision in the new penal law on hit-and-run road accidents entered the second day on Tuesday, leading to non-delivery of petroleum products at depots in Maharashtra and people rushing to petrol pumps amid the fear of fuel shortage.

The truck drivers staged protests at various places in Maharashtra, including the capital Mumbai, Nagpur, Solapur, Dharashiv, Navi Mumbai, Palghar, Nagpur, Beed, Hingoli, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nashik, Gadchiroli and Wardha, an official said.

Petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG cylinders could not be transported to dealers and consumers in various parts of the state as drivers of the vehicles used to carry these products did not report at the fuel plants, he said.

Hundreds of trucks and tankers, part of the LPG cylinders and petroleum products distribution system, were parked in front of the HPCL and BPCL refineries in Mahul area here till Tuesday afternoon, the official said.

With the petroleum products not being delivered, there were long queues of people at petrol pumps in Mumbai and other cities waiting to get their vehicles refuelled amid the fear of fuel shortage.

Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which replaces the colonial era Indian Penal Code, drivers who cause a serious road accident by negligent driving and run away without informing police or any official from the administration can face up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine of Rs 7 lakh.

A senior government functionary said a driver who accidentally hits a person and subsequently informs police or takes the victim to the nearest hospital will not be prosecuted under the stringent provision of the recently enacted BNS.

On Tuesday morning, truck drivers tried to block the Eastern Express Highway near Vikhroli in Mumbai, but police intervened and some of the protesters were detained, an official said.

A group of truck drivers raised slogans against the new penal law provision in Mahul area.

Petrol Dealers Association, Mumbai, president Chetan Modi told PTI that the fuel supply to petrol pumps was affected due to the drivers' agitation since Monday.

"Petrol pumps started getting dry since yesterday. If we won't get the supply, most of the pumps will run out of fuel from today," he said.

Mumbai has around 200 petrol pumps.

Modi said he went to the depots of oil marketing companies at Sewri in Mumbai, but the drivers were not letting any fuel tanker move from the facility despite police security.

Nearly 180 tankers are refuelled daily at the Sewri-based depots of oil marketing firms, he said.

Anil Garg, president of the School Bus Association here, told PTI that several fuel pumps witnessed long queues of vehicles for refuelling.

According to transporters, it was a spontaneous agitation started by some over-enthusiastic drivers which got fuelled through messages circulated among them on social media.

No truckers' body has officially declared any strike, they said.

Baba Shinde, a leader of transporters, said the All India Motor Transport Congress has convened a meeting of transporters from across the country wherein the future course of action will be decided.

In Nagpur, the truck drivers' protest triggered panic buying as people started queuing up at petrol pumps since Monday night to fill up their vehicle tanks.

Nagpur Collector Dr Vipin Itankar on Tuesday appealed to the people not to indulge in panic buying of fuel.

Itankar said he held a meeting with representatives of various oil companies and petrol pump associations and there was sufficient stock of petrol, diesel and LPG.

People should not fall prey to rumours and not crowd the petrol pumps unnecessarily, he said.

Local transportation was on Tuesday hit in the city located in Vidarbha region due to a 'chakka jam' by the truck drivers, claimed a local functionary of the Shiv Sena (UBT) which is supporting the agitation.

Members of various truck driver associations staged protests at Samvidhan Chowk and Pardi in Nagpur.

Various associations of truck drivers also held a meeting in Maa Umiya industrial area of Nagpur to discuss the future course of action, the Sena (UBT) functionary said.

In Hingoli, hundreds of truck drivers tried to block a national highway for a brief period as a part of their 'chakka jam' agitation.

Later, police intervened and the highway was cleared for traffic movement, an official said.

In Nashik district, police convinced the agitating truck drivers following which they decided to report to a fuel plant in the Manmad area for the delivery of petroleum products, another official said.

In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the public transport services were running smoothly. But the depots have fuel stock which can last till Wednesday evening, after which the services may get halted, MSRTC's divisional controller Sachin Kshirsagar told PTI.

"We had enough stock when the protest by tanker drivers commenced. The stock can last till Wednesday. We run 490 buses in the division and they require 35,000 litres of diesel every day. The depots may go dry if the fuel does not reach here till Wednesday evening, which can impact the public transport services in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar," he said.

The Maharashtra Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Protection Department on Monday requested police to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted supply of petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders in the market.

It also urged for appropriate action under the Essential Commodities Act against drivers and transporters for the interruption of the supply of petroleum products. PTI