IOCL fails to meet fuel demand
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 18 2024: Even though there are abundant stocks of petrol and diesel in its Malom depot, the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) is unable to deliver sufficient quantity of fuel to the retail outlets of the valley districts.

Some ROs said that petrol now sold to the public is mixed with 20 per cent ethanol under an initiative to reduce air pollution.

However, there is no separate storage tank for petroleum blended with 20 per cent ethanol in the Malom depot although it has a storage tank for petroleum blended with 12 per cent ethanol.

As such, petroleum blended with 20 per cent ethanol is supplied directly to oil pumps from standing tanker trucks.

With transportation of fuel from outside the State now suspended, there is no standing tanker truck loaded with 20 per cent ethanol at Malom depot, said the ROs.

Given this situation, petroleum blended with 12 per cent ethanol currently available abundantly at Malom depot should be supplied to oil pumps.

But it requires changing the product code in the ROs' 'automation' .

IOCL is the service provider for changing the product code and this task should be done by IOCL engineers.

However at the moment, only one engineer is engaged in the task of changing the product code.

With only one engineer engaged in the task of changing the product code, oil pumps are unable to meet the public demand for fuel, said the ROs.

Meanwhile, the ROs have extended assistance to tanker drivers Tularam Magar and Khomdram Romesh who sustained injuries when suspected Kuki militants attacked a convoy of fuel tankers and other goods carriers on Imphal-Jiribam highway in between Tollen Kuki village and Kaimai on April 16 .

Acknowledging the contribution of tanker drivers in delivering fuel to the public, the ROs extended monetary assistance of Rs 40,000 to Tularam Magar and Rs 20,000 to Khomdram Romesh.

The ROs are also planning to provide monetary incentive to the drivers who fixed leakage of LPG from a bullet tank after it was badly damaged by Kuki militants and averted a major disaster.

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