Panic buying hits Sylhet petrol pumps amid fears of fuel price hike over Mideast war
However, sellers said there is no likelihood of a price increase this month and that fuel supply remains sufficient.
A surge of buyers has been seen at petrol pumps in Sylhet today (6 March) amid fears that fuel prices may rise due to the war in the Middle East.
Long queues of vehicles were observed at petrol pumps across the city from last night (5 March), and the same situation continued today.
Several buyers said they rushed to petrol pumps to stock up on fuel in advance, fearing that instability in the Middle East and fluctuations in global oil prices could lead to a price hike in the country.
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However, sellers said there is no likelihood of a price increase this month and that fuel supply remains sufficient.
Since depots remain closed on Fridays and Saturdays, increased demand from customers has created an artificial shortage at many pumps. As a result, some pumps today limited the sale of petrol or octane to Tk200 per motorcycle.
At a petrol pump in the Pathantula area of the city, long queues of motorcycles were seen as riders waited to collect fuel.
Motorcyclist Suyeb Ahmed told The Business Standard, "Fuel prices may increase because of the war, so I wanted to buy a little extra petrol. But the pump gave me only Tk200 worth of fuel."
Rupok Das, manager of the petrol pump, said they have received no information about a price increase. "The government issued a notification on 1 March keeping prices unchanged, and we are selling fuel at that price," he said.
Car driver Jalil Mia, who was standing in line at a pump in the Subhanighat area, alleged that pumps were giving less fuel than required, which has further increased panic among people.
Riashad Azim, joint general secretary of the Petrol Pump Owners Association's Sylhet Division, said there is sufficient stock of fuel.
"Petrol and octane are being regularly supplied from Sylhet and nearby depots. Moreover, there is no scope for increasing fuel prices in the middle of the month. According to the rules, prices are adjusted at the end of the month if necessary," he said, adding that there is no reason for panic.
He also urged people not to crowd petrol pumps unnecessarily.
"Since depots remain closed during the weekly holiday, many people are trying to buy more fuel than they need out of fear, creating a temporary artificial shortage. Petrol pumps are therefore forced to ration fuel sales, and some pumps may run out of stock before Sunday," he added.
Zubair Ahmed Chowdhury, central general secretary of the Bangladesh Petroleum Dealers, Distributors, Agents and Petroleum Owners Association and president of its Sylhet divisional committee, said there has been no actual fuel shortage in Sylhet so far.
"All petrol pumps in Sylhet currently have adequate fuel," he said.
He added that if petrol pumps receive fuel supply as required from the Rashidpur and Kailashtila gas fields, there will be no fuel shortage in Sylhet.
He also warned that if everyone rushes to buy large amounts of fuel at the same time, it will put pressure on the supply system.
He urged people to avoid unnecessary stockpiling and use fuel responsibly.
