Fuel, LPG crisis rumours due to Iran war spark panic buying in several states

Rumours about a shortage of petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) due to the ongoing West Asia conflict triggered panic, with long queues witnessed at fuel stations in several states.

Telangana

Petrol pumps across Hyderabad have witnessed heavy crowds. Long queues were noticed across the city from Monday night onwards. While petrol currently costs around Rs 109-Rs111 per litre, social media has been rife with exaggerated claims. Posts circulating online suggested that petrol supply might stop and prices could shoot up to as high as Rs 500 per litre.

These claims heightened anxiety among the public. Many people rushed to nearby petrol pumps late at night to fill up their vehicle tanks. Some even stored petrol in bottles and water cans as an extra precaution. A video showing a man filling fuel into a 1,000-litre water tank also went viral on social media.

Crowds at petrol pumps in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana continued.

The rise in LPG cylinder prices has also led to concerns in Telangana. A cylinder that cost Rs 900 last month has now increased to Rs 965.

Concerns are growing among the public that prices may keep rising further. The worry stems from the fact that while the cost of essential commodities rises rapidly, salaries and incomes do not increase at the same pace.

Gas dealers across the state have started enforcing a rule that there must be a gap of exactly 30 days between the supply of two cylinders. Though this rule is unofficial, it is being implemented in practice. Dealers are insisting on a 30-day gap for booking double cylinders and a 21-day gap for consumers using a single cylinder.

Telangana has around 1.3 crore LPG consumers. Among them, the majority use Indane gas cylinders. In the state, Indane, Bharat Gas and HP Gas cylinders are available. Although there are private gas dealers as well, their numbers are relatively small.

Uttar Pradesh

Queues of people seeking to purchase petrol and diesel were witnessed across several fuel stations in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich and Lakhimpur Kheri.

According to a report in Amar Ujala, the rush was heaviest at fuel pumps in the Sujauli area in Bahraich, where crowds began gathering from early morning on Friday (March 6). Bikes, cars and tractors queued up, with many villagers filling extra canisters and gallons to stockpile fuel against possible price hikes or supply disruptions.

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The sudden surge — several times the normal footfall, according to pump operators — briefly overwhelmed distribution. Police were called in to restore order and manage the lines.

Villagers said they were acting out of caution given the deteriorating international situation. "Prices are bound to go up," said one resident, "so it's better to fill up now."

Ignore rumours, say officials

Administrative officials urged residents to ignore rumours and purchase fuel normally, warning that panic buying was creating unnecessary chaos.

Long queues were seen at many fuel stations on Friday in Lakhimpur Kheri’s Nighasan, Pallia and Bhira areas amid fears of a possible shortage, officials said.

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However, District Supply Officer Anjani Kumar Singh dismissed the rumours as baseless and said there was no shortage of petrol, diesel or LPG in the district.

"The rumours of shortage of petrol, diesel or LPG in Kheri district are baseless and unfounded," Singh told PTI, adding that adequate stocks of petroleum products were available and people should purchase them only as per their needs.

He also warned of strict action against anyone found hoarding petroleum products.

Sufficient stock

District Magistrate Durga Shakti Nagpal also took cognisance of the rumours and appealed to people not to panic, assuring that the supply of petrol and diesel in the district was normal.

Kheri Petroleum Traders Association district president Abhishek Dixit emphasised that there was no fuel crisis in the district and sufficient stock was available at petrol pumps to meet consumer demand. Similarly, Arun Kumar Singh, district president of the LPG distributors association, said there was adequate LPG stock in the district and urged residents not to panic.

The administration in Barabanki district also dismissed rumours of a fuel shortage circulating on social media and other platforms, with District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi saying the claims about a shortage of petrol and diesel are baseless and misleading. Tripathi said that adequate stocks of petrol and diesel were available at all fuel stations in the district, and the supply system was functioning normally. The administration was continuously monitoring the situation at petrol pumps, and there was no shortage of fuel anywhere, he said.

He warned that action, including registration of an FIR, would be taken against anyone found spreading rumours about a fuel shortage.

Meanwhile, petrol pump operator and former treasurer of the district petrol pump association, Pradeep Kumar Jain, said there had been a slight rush across pumps two to three days ago due to the rumours. However, the situation is normal now following the administration's clarification.

Karnataka

People in Bengaluru were seen queuing up at fuel stations, fearing a possible oil shortage in the future. However, the public need not panic under any circumstances, as sufficient stocks of petrol and diesel are available, clarified A Balaji Rao, president of the Bangalore Petroleum Dealers' Association.

Speaking to The Federal Karnataka, he reassured vehicle owners and the public that there is no cause for concern.

As the Central Government has already stated, the country currently has oil reserves sufficient for the next 74 days. Once petrol pump owners place an indent (supply request), oil companies are supplying petrol and diesel immediately without any delay. Therefore, no petrol pump in the city is facing even a minor disruption in fuel supply, Balaji Rao said.

He also urged the public not to pay attention to baseless rumours.

Petrol sales rise due to confusion

Fears triggered by the war cloud have led people to worry that fuel may not be available in the coming days. As a result, over the past two days many have been unnecessarily anxious and are taking precautionary steps by filling their vehicle tanks completely.

Such scenes have become common at petrol pumps across Bengaluru. Consequently, each pump is witnessing petrol and diesel sales that are higher than the usual daily average by about 500 to 1,000 litres. Despite this increased demand, there have been no reports of any petrol pump in the city running out of fuel.

No indication of price hike

There has also been speculation that petrol and diesel prices in the country may soon rise due to the increase in crude oil prices in the international market.

However, the association president clarified that they have not received any official communication or indication from oil supply companies regarding a price hike so far.

West Bengal

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday (March 7) said the women's wing of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) will stage protests on the streets over a hike in LPG prices.

The prices of domestic LPG and commercial cylinders were hiked by a steep Rs 60 and Rs 114.5, respectively, amid rising energy costs linked to the West Asia conflict.

Banerjee, while addressing party workers on the second day of her sit-in against the deletion of names during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, said the Centre is arbitrarily hiking LPG prices without making alternative arrangements, in an "anti-people manner".

"Tomorrow is International Women's Day. I urge Chandrima (state minister and TMC's women wing state president Chandrima Bhattacharya) to ask women to organise protest rallies against the increase in LPG prices. If needed, wear black clothes. We will protest democratically in a peaceful manner," she said.

Castigating the BJP, Banerjee said, "Yesterday, they increased LPG price by Rs 60. Then they put a lock-in period of 21 days for booking gas. What will people do if their cylinder is exhausted?" "Should they not have thought about these issues beforehand? They have also reduced the kerosene quota. You are forcefully increasing prices. Why did you not plan all this earlier? Why did you not think about these things?" Banerjee said.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said news reports on the potential shortage of LPG cylinders are speculative and not in the interest of the country.

He appealed to the media to refrain from speculative reporting, stressing that the Centre is looking into the situation.

Responding to a query regarding news reports about the potential shortage of LPG cylinders, Fadnavis appealed to the media not to create panic or fear among the citizens without any reason.

"Showing speculative reports and discussing hypothetical scenarios leads to panic and confusion, which is not in the interest of the country and society. The Central government has clearly stated this yesterday," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)