Several members of a parliamentary panel on Monday grilled officials of the Oil ministry over "long queues" and "rationing" of petrol and diesel at petrol pumps in some parts of the country, and were informed by the officials that the country had crude oil stocks for the next 78 days, sources said.
The officials told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, which met to discuss the impact of the West Asia crisis on maritime trade, that 13 Indian ships continued to be stranded in West Asia due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, they said.
The government has made efforts to ensure there is no shortage. However, the uncertainty on when the war would end continues, the officials told the panel.
Raising with officials of the Oil ministry the issue of "shortage" of petrol and LPG, some opposition members pointed out that the Oil ministry did not provide any official data to them, the sources said.
Some opposition MPs also sought to know why corrective measures were not taken in advance, knowing that the West Asia war would not end soon. Some members told the officials that they should have planned in advance to mitigate the suffering of common people due to high oil and fertiliser prices.
The officials of the Shipping ministry informed the Parliamentary Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture that as many as 37 Indian ships were stranded in West Asia in March and 13 are still stuck due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, amid uncertainty over the end of the war, the sources said.
The Fertiliser ministry officials are also learnt to have informed the parliamentary panel members that there is no shortage of fertilisers in the country ahead of the Kharif sowing and the government has made alternative arrangements.
The sources said that when some opposition members raised the issue of high global prices of fertilisers, the officials informed the panel that the government has procured around 80 lakh tonnes of fertilisers from alternative sources.
At present, the demand is to the tune of 78 lakh tonnes of fertilisers, which was being met, the sources added.
The panel had arranged a meeting with the officials of the Ministry of Shipping, Petroleum and Fertilisers. Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Vijay Kumar, made a presentation before the panel members on the steps taken by the Ministry.
The officials are also learnt to have informed the panel that the insurance premiums for cargo ships have risen considerably in view of the West Asia war.
They also said that while the Ministry, along with the help of the External Affairs Ministry, is trying to get Indian ships out of the war zone in West Asia, ships are facing problems in crossing the affected area.
"They said it is difficult to cross the Strait of Hormuz due to its closure by Iran and also the presence of the US," the sources said, without elaborating.
Chairperson of the Standing Committee Sanjay Jha later lauded the government's efforts in handling the crisis.
"You know that India has not done this; the whole world is facing, but the initiatives that have been taken... We also do not know how long this will continue; the government is addressing them... Things are in control at the moment," he told reporters after the meeting.
The members of the panel discussed the subject 'Implications of the West Asia crisis on India's maritime trade, shipping infrastructure and seafarer safety.
India's maritime trade, especially in the energy sector, has been hit after the West Asia war broke out on February 28, disrupting ship movement in the Strait of Hormuz. A large portion of India's fuel supplies came from the Gulf and West Asian countries.
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