DRY RUN: A queue of cars for fuel at an oil pump in central Calcutta on Wednesday, when most pumps either said they had run dry or were rationing supply. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

Subhasis Chatterjee dashed off in his car to a filling station near his Behala house on Wednesday afternoon as soon as he heard the news of the fuel price hike. But not a drop could he get.

He then visited six other pumps in south Calcutta and heard the same reply everywhere: “No stock”.

“I could finally refill my car at the eighth pump. How could all the outlets run out of stock simultaneously?” wondered Chatterjee.

His ordeal was shared by many other car-owners across the city, with pumps on Park Street, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, Raja Rammohun Sarani, Taratala Road, Prince Anwar Shah Road, Ashutosh Mukherjee Road and other places either claiming to have run dry or refusing a refill because of a “power cut”.

Of the pumps that did sell fuel, quite a few set their own terms for the buyers. For instance, a pump in New Alipore refused to sell fuel worth more than Rs 300 to an individual. “We are doing this on a strict order from the owner. This will ensure that more vehicles get refilled,” said an employee.

Tollygunge resident Harsh Goel stood disappointed at a Prince Anwar Shah Road pump, near South City. He had planned to fill up his car’s fuel tank and stock at least another 10 litres for the back-to-back bandhs. “But here, they are selling only up to five litres a person,” said Goel.

The software professional was not convinced with the “no stock” or “limited stock” explanation. “They are simply hoarding fuel to sell it at a higher rate after the hike comes into effect at midnight.”

By evening, there were long queues of cars in front of the few pumps that kept selling fuel. At places, the queues spilled onto roads, causing traffic snarls.

Tushar Sen, the president of the state petroleum dealers’ association, admitted that a few “unscrupulous dealers” were holding back fuel to make a killing later.

But most pumps, he added, ran out of stock as people started rushing for a refill as soon as the government announced the fee hike. “Some were forced to down their shutters after consumers held demonstrations demanding more fuel.”

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) officials denied having received any complaint of shortage. “As far as I know, there is no shortage in supply to IOC pumps. I would look into the matter if there was any genuine problem,” said A.K. Singh, a spokesperson for the company.

Long queues were seen at the LPG outlets, too, though there was no shortage of refilled cylinders.

“People had come to make advanced bookings, but we explained to them that since the cylinders would be delivered after the price hike comes into effect, they would anyway have to pay the revised rate,” said Gautam Biswas, a dealer at the Tollygunge CIT market.