Long queues outside petrol stations on the third day of CNG shortage

A worker at the Bharat Petroleum-owned petrol pump opposite the Regional Transport Office in Pune said that unlike their station, others had shut down due to the shortage. “We had a CNG supply with very low pressure for about two hours from 12 pm to 2 pm, which is why drivers have been facing issues since early morning,” he said.

Anand Kadam stated he had been waiting since 9 am but despite standing in line all day, did not get a chance to refuel his auto. “I have been here since morning, and it is now around 5 pm. There are auto drivers who have been waiting since 7 am,” Kadam said.

Ravi Sarode complained about no prior information from the authority regarding the CNG pipeline maintenance. “We have been waiting for almost 10 hours without any food. The queues stretch from the RTO office to COEP college even now in the evening,” he said.

Dhruv Ruparel, president of the Petrol Dealers’ Association in Pune, mentioned that many petrol pumps, such as those at Dapodi Chowk, Bhosari, Sinhagad, and Shivajinagar, were fully queued due to the CNG shortage and that no prior notice was given to the public about the inconvenience. “Although the CNG supply has been restored, the low pressure across all pumps has caused panic among the public. Many petrol stations operating under PMC and PCMC were closed today. We have written a letter to the administration, and the administration has issued a letter to oil companies,” he said.

“The customers should be aware of what is happening to avoid chaotic situations in the city,” Ruparel added.

District Supply Officer Prashant Awate responded by saying that unfortunately they could not resolve the issue as CNG does not fall directly under their jurisdiction. “We could have acted if it were LPG or other fuels. However, we have forwarded the complaint letter received from the associations to the oil companies,” he said.