ROs question Govt's claim of 'enough fuel in stock'
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 27 2024: In the backdrop of the Government's repeated claims that there are enough stocks of fuel in the State, Retail Outlets or ROs have questioned as to why fuel supply is restricted to a limited number of ROs if there is enough stock of fuel in the depot.

A joint meeting of IOCL, BPCL, HPCL and Nayara Energy ROs operating in the valley districts was held at Hotel Nirmala here today.

Notably, there are 85 ROs of IOCL and 42 ROs of BPCL, HPCL and Nayara Energy in the valley districts.

Briefing media persons after the meeting, one Ngangom Mamata (RO) raised questions on the claim of the CAF&PD Minister and officers of the department that there is enough stock of fuel in the State.

She asked why only around 42 ROs are supplied with petrol when there are 127 ROs in total in the valley districts.

People have difficulty in purchasing petrol from the oil pumps as petrol is not released from the depot to the maximum number of ROs, she said.

She then appealed to the authorities concerned to release petrol to all the ROs as done in the past if there is enough stock of petrol.

In the past when the situation was normal, an RO received 12 Kls of petrol in the afternoon after an indent of the same volume was submitted in the morning of the same day.

Nowadays, supply of petrol is received three/four days after submission of indent.

When an RO submits an indent of 12 Kls, it would get only 4 Kls or 8 Kls.

The ROs get only 4 Kls most of the time, Mamata said.

She appealed to the CAF&PD Minister to address the problems of the maximum number of ROs not receiving petrol supply.

Putting up the 'petrol nil' signboard, the ROs are selling only diesel, she said before asking the CAF&PD Minister to direct the IOCL to release petrol in sufficient volumes to all the ROs.

Although almost all the ROs submitted indents, petrol was released to only 42 ROs, she pointed out.

Saying that ROs have no authority to check black marketing of fuel, she urged the Government to check the sale of fuel in black market.

Even though ROs have instructed their pumpmen not to allow purchase of fuel using jerry cans and other containers, pumpmen cannot say anything when a customer purchases fuel using vehicles and come back repeatedly after emptying the fuel tanks of their vehicles, Mamata said.

She also urged the Government to take up necessary action against the HPCL RO which allegedly spiked fuel.

She said that they do not support the RO which indulge in unlawful and unethical practice.

Another RO identified Johnson said that all the ROs work from 6 am till evening following certain protocol and procedures.

All ROs are automated.

As such, fuel cannot be dispensed if any of these procedures is skipped or left out, he said.

It is not possible to dispense lesser volume of fuel to customers' fuel tanks or procure fuel from black market and put them in the ROs' storage tanks.

There is no question of manipulating the quality or quantity of fuel dispensed by ROs, Johnson added.

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