Imphal, Nov. 12: Almost all the oil depots in the Manipur have been forced to close down following an indefinite economic blockade imposed along the Imphal-Kohima highway by a student body in protest against poor maintenance of the road.
After the All Manipur Petrol Tankers’ Association stopped supply of fuel to the oil pumps in support of the blockade, the Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) Imphal depot was unable to meet the demands from its retail outlets.
The Senapati District Students Association, which imposed the blockade from November 2, has rejected repeated appeals from the state works minister Konthoujam Ranjit Singh to call off their protest.
While the IOC could manage diesel supply, it could not cater to the daily requirements of the 42 oil depots across the state.
“I am monitoring the situation every hour. We have a limited stock of petrol, diesel and kerosene. Besides, our cooking gas stock will run out in a day or two,” food and civil supplies minister Yumkham Erabot Singh told this correspondent.
The truckers, too, have extended support to the blockade. “A drive from Imphal to Mao, which normally takes one-and-a-half hours, now takes six hours because of the bad road conditions,” Rajen Singh, a tanker driver, said.
With more and more petrol pumps downing their shutters, those involved in black marketing are having a field day. Several women were seen selling petrol well above the normal price of Rs 48.19 per litre, in front of the closed oil pumps in and around the city.
“I bought 54 litres from the petrol pump this morning. I am earning a profit of Rs 5 per litre,” Memchoubi Devi, a woman involved in the “trade” said. The kiosks and roadside paan shops in various areas of the Greater Imphal, too, were doing brisk business.
The civil supplies minister admitted the “practice” was illegal but defended the government’s passive role in the matter.
“We can arrest those involved in black marketeering but not at the cost of public ire. We are in a fix. If we put an end to it, the consumers might accuse the government of completely stopping fuel supply,” the minister said.
The minister, however, said petrol would be rationed (sold in limited quantity to owners of vehicles), as and when the situation demanded.
Sources alleged that several retail outlets have been selling fuel in the black market. However, government sources and petrol pump owners maintained that those who purchased fuel from the pumps in bulk sold them after the outlets were closed.
The retail outlet owners have expressed concern over the inadequate loading of oil from the IOC depot following the blockade.
“Previously, tankers on arrival in the depot were sent to the retail outlets after registering their entry in the depot without unloading and loading of the fuel. With no new tanker arriving after the blockade, loading by the depot is not enough to meet the demands of the outlets,” a petrol pump owner said.