Blockade here, fuel crisis in Tripura, Mizoram
Source: The Sangai Express / Courtesy NDTV

Guwahati, December 28 2016: Even as the economic blockade on both the highways leading to Manipur continues, there seems to be a spill-over effect in other landlocked regions of North East India � both Tripura and Mizoram are witnessing scarcity of fuel for a week after the Centre asked Indian Oil Corporation to shift the route of sending fuel tankers to Imphal on priority, leaving the main fuel loading terminal in Guwahati to delay its load for other North Eastern States.

With hundreds of fuel-laden trucks stranded, the BJP is blaming the Congress Government in Manipur for the mess.

"Centre has provided security forces to Manipur Government in time and it is up to the State Government to use force or have dialogue to resolve the crisis but Manipur Chief Minister is playing politics over the issue and wants the deadlock to continue to get political gains," said BJP general secretary Ram Madhav.

After the Centre asked for maintaining fuel supplies to trouble-torn Manipur on priority, Indian Oil Corporation Limited had to make operational changes in its supply that has perhaps led to a shortage of petrol, diesel and cooking gas supply to two other States � Tripura and Mizoram, which are equally landlocked like Manipur.

"The petrol tankers are not coming from Assam regularly and there is crisis of petrol, the present situation in Manipur also led to the crisis," Bhanulal Saha, Food and Civil Supplies Minister of Tripura told NDTV.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited admits to the operations switchover.

"We have to make operational changes, we had to bring back the loaded fuel tankers and send them via Jiribam to Imphal and the empty tankers were diverted from Tinsukia to Guwahati loading terminal, thereby creating bit of delays for fuels tanker from Guwahati terminal to Mizoram and Tripura but it is getting sorted within this week," said Kailash Kumar Handique, Deputy General Manager, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, at Guwahati.

In both Tripura and Mizoram, long queues of two-wheelers and other vehicles were seen in front of all petrol pumps and people were also facing a tough time arranging LPG cylinders during Christmas.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited has claimed that normalcy would return within this week.

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