Hyderabad, Mar 25 (PTI) The Telangana government on Wednesday debunked claims of a fuel shortage and advised the public to ignore the rumours that have triggered panic buying across the state.
As motorists began rushing to fuel stations in Hyderabad amid rumours of shortage since Tuesday evening, the Telangana Petroleum Dealers Association reassured the public that there is adequate stock available with HPCL, IOCL and BPCL, and the supply chains are functioning normally.
To address the situation, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will hold a review meeting here on Wednesday with officials on petrol, LPG cylinders and urea stocks, an official release said.
After many fuel stations were overcrowded across Hyderabad, motorists were advised not to store fuel in large containers unnecessarily.
“As many as 1,500 petrol, diesel tankers were dispatched to fuel stations on Tuesday alone. Around 20,000 kilo liters of petrol is available,” Civil Supplies Department Commissioner M Stephen Raveendra said in a release.
Petrol and diesel stocks are available with oil companies as required for daily needs, the official added.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar on Wednesday urged residents to remain calm.
In a post on ‘X’, he said: “Citizens are requested not to panic or indulge in unnecessary rush that may create disruption. The situation is being closely monitored. Please remain calm and cooperate.” The government had on Tuesday assured that there is no shortage of petrol, diesel and LPG.
The association said that it has come to its notice that due to circulation of rumours regarding fuel shortage, people are rushing to fuel stations and filling their tanks unnecessarily.
“This panic buying has led to an abnormal surge in sales–nearly 2.5 to 3 times the normal levels–resulting in temporary stock exhaustion at several retail outlets across the country,” the association said in a statement.
The association urged the public to avoid panic buying and to purchase fuel only as per regular needs and not store fuel in unauthorised containers.
Long queues of two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws and other vehicles were witnessed at petrol pumps in several parts of Hyderabad since Tuesday evening over rumours of shortage of fuel.
A two-wheeler rider said he waited at the gas station for more than 20 minutes to refill and found several outlets were overcrowded. PTI VVK GDK VVK ROH
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
