Godavari Officials Deny Fuel Shortage, Urge Calm
KAKINADA: Joint collectors of Kakinada, Eluru, Konaseema, East Godavari and West Godavari districts on Sunday said there was no shortage of petrol or diesel and appealed to people not to buy or store fuel except for their immediate needs.
Housing Minister Kolluri Partha Saradhi held a Zoom meeting with joint collectors, MLAs and oil company representatives and directed officials to ensure uninterrupted supply to consumers. He said rumors about diesel shortage in the media and social media were creating concern among the public.
The minister instructed officials to maintain adequate stocks of petrol and diesel, prevent panic buying and ensure that vehicles carrying paddy do not face shortage during the ongoing rabi season. He also asked the authorities to ensure that no petrol tank remains completely dry.
Eluru district collector K. Vetri Selvi said that steps have been taken to meet the local demand and there is no shortage of diesel. He said the region’s normal daily diesel consumption is around 365 kl, but demand increased by 10 to 20 percent last week due to panic buying.
Kakinada joint collector Apoorva Bharat said that 160 fuel outlets in the district are continuously supplied with petrol and diesel. He said 13 bunk beds were temporarily out of stock on Sunday, but the supplies were brought back immediately. He added that the district has sought 10 per cent additional allocation from the state government.
Konaseema joint collector Vykhoma Nidiya Devi said additional supplies would reach the district on Monday morning and the situation would return to normal within two days. He said there are 110 sales points in the region with a stock of 778.7 kl of gasoline and 497.6 kl of diesel.
He said that in the same period last year, gasoline sales increased from 169.9 kl to 213.2 kl, and diesel sales increased from 207.8 kl to 273.1 kl. He asked consumers to report excessive pricing or irregularities by calling 9059920242 or 9493313862.
East Godavari district collector Y. Megha Swaroop said consumers can report issues by calling 8074661259 or the state’s toll-free number 1967. He said that 23 fuel stations were out of stock, but they would continue sales starting at 6 a.m. on Monday.
He added that loose diesel will be made available to the agricultural sector and farmers facing difficulties can contact the control room. Current stocks in the district stood at 1,397 kl of gasoline and 1,052 kl of diesel.
West Godavari district collector T. Rahul Kumar Reddy said 4.5 lakh liters of diesel are being supplied daily against a requirement of 3 lakh litres. He added that VROs give coupons to farmers to buy fuel.
