Chennai can breathe easy as fuel crisis eases

The Hindu:Chennai:29 May2012

With the arrival of 67,000 kilo litres (KL) of petrol and diesel at Chennai Port, the fuel crisis in the city would come to an end immediately, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said on Tuesday.

By evening there were indications that the crisis was easing. Serpentine queues, visible in every functioning petrol bunk, were getting shorter.

Earlier, the Chief Minister held a meeting with Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi and Food and Civil Supplies Secretary M.P. Nirmala at the Secretariat to review the situation.

Three tankers, carrying 67,000 KL of petrol and diesel, reached the Chennai Port on Tuesday afternoon and steps had been taken to distribute the fuel immediately to 72 bunks of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and bunks of the Indian Oil Corporation and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited.

Besides, the government had arranged for delivery of 2,000 KL of diesel from Bangalore to Chennai by road.

Moreover, the Indian Oil Corporation and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited had taken measures to supply more petrol and diesel to bunks in Chennai and the suburban areas.

City requirement

Pointing out that the city required 2,100 KL of petrol and 2,500 KL of diesel a day, the Chief Minister, in a statement, said the suspension of work at the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited for 10 days, non-supply of diesel to the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and a spurt in the requirement of petrol and diesel resulted in fuel shortage in Tamil Nadu.

In a separate statement, V.K.Jaychandran, Executive Director of Indian Oil Corporation and State Level Coordinator for Oil Industry, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, said oil companies confirmed the availability of sufficient stock of diesel at their storage locations.

He said that apart from three tankers, one tanker with 7,000 KL of petrol and 17,000 KL of diesel was expected to reach the city shortly.

With the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited maintaining normal production, adequate diesel supplies would now be available. The three public sector undertaking oil companies would be working extended hours this week and, if required, on Sunday too.

There was no need for anxiety regarding the availability of diesel or petrol in the market, he added.

The fuel crisis, however, did not affect ambulance services by the Emergency Medicine Research Institute.

“All the 434 ambulances are on the road and case counts [number of persons transported] have not come down,” an EMRI official said.