Fuel supply ramped up, long queues at filling stations begin to thin

The long queues of fuel seekers, particularly car and motorbike drivers, at filling stations across the country started to reduce from this afternoon (20 April) after the government began increasing fuel supply to the pumps.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources expects the situation to return to complete normalcy within the next two to three days.

Monir Hossain Chowdhury, spokesperson for the ministry, told The Business Standard that the increased distribution of fuel would be maintained to ensure that every filling station across the country remains stocked around the clock.

"Since morning, the depots of Padma, Meghna, and Jamuna across the country began releasing fuel at an enhanced rate. While it took until the afternoon or evening for some tank lorries to reach the pumps, the impact was visible by late today as the long lines started to shrink," he said.

The fuel crisis in Bangladesh intensified, exacerbated by supply chain disruptions following escalating conflicts in the Middle East between the US-Israel and Iran. For the past few days, commuters and commercial drivers were forced to wait for 12-14 hours in queues at filling stations.

The situation was further strained after the government hiked the price of diesel by Tk15 per litre, petrol by Tk19, and octane by Tk20, effective from Saturday midnight.

Despite the price hike, the persistence of the shortage sparked intense criticism both inside and outside the parliament. Many questioned the authenticity of the government's claims regarding sufficient fuel reserves.

In response, the government announced a 10% increase in diesel and petrol supply and a 20% increase in octane supply starting today.

At Asad Gate, where queues typically snaked past the road adjacent to Chandrima Uddan and reached the northeast corner of the Sangsad Bhaban, the lines shortened significantly by 7pm today. The tail end of the queue no longer even reached the park's entrance.

A similar scene was observed at Meghna Model Services Limited in Paribagh at 4:30pm.

"Usually, we receive one tank lorry of 13,500 litres a day. Today, two lorries arrived with 27,000 litres," Ahmed Rushd, assistant manager of the station, said, adding that the pump would remain open until 8 pm to serve every vehicle currently in line.

At the Ramna Filling Station near Matsya Bhaban, tankers were seen unloading fuel at 8 pm, with almost no series of waiting vehicles.

However, the experience was slightly different in Gulistan. Shamsher Ali, a seller at a local station, noted that while a tanker arrived on Sunday morning, the stock was exhausted within four hours.

"Fuel arrived again on Monday evening, and the pressure of bikes and cars seems slightly less than previous nights," he said.

Some pump owners, however, alleged that they were still being denied their increased quotas. Sajjadul Karim Kabul, owner of Hasan Filling Station in Agargaon and a convenor of a faction of the Petrol Pump Owners' Association, shared his frustration.

"My tank lorry has a capacity of 13,500 litres, but for the last three days, the Jamuna Oil Company depot in Fatullah has only been giving me 9,000 litres. Even today, they offered the same amount despite the government's announcement. I refused to take it out of protest," Sajjadul told TBS.

When approached with such allegations, the ministry spokesperson issued a stern warning. "If any owner reports that they are not receiving the government-mandated increased supply of diesel, petrol, or octane, we will take the strictest possible action against the responsible depot."