Fuel crisis deepens in northern dists
From last three days, 16 northern districts in the country face crisis of fuel oil, especially diesel, due to shortage in supply from Baghabari Oil Depot.
However, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) claimed the crisis would be removed from next Sunday.
Poor supply to the BPC oil depot in Baghabari in last two weeks has caused its fuel oil reserves, especially diesel, to deplete, BPC sources said.
Lack of fuel reserves amidst the increasing demand of fuel for irrigation caused the sudden crisis in the area, sources added.
A BPC official, seeking anonymity, said reserves of 4 crore liters of fuel recently ended to meet the increasing fuel demand in the area.
When contacted, BPC Deputy General Manager (DGM) Md Rabiul Islam said, “We are distributing whatever amount of fuel we are getting everyday, but no reserve exists.”
“At least 23 lakh liters of diesel is needed everyday for the northern districts in this peak irrigation season, but we are not getting this amount regularly,” he said.
The demand of diesel increased from the middle of March due to it being the peak season for irrigation, he explained.
According to BPC sources, 14 lakh liters of diesel was supplied in the northern districts on Tuesday, 24.5 lakh liters was supplied on Wednesday, and 19.69 liters on Thursday.
But the supply is too poor to the need, sources added.
Additional 15.9 lakh liters of diesel would be delivered to Baghabari port early Friday, said the DGM.
"We will supply the Friday and Saturday's delivery on Sunday,” he said, expecting to remove the crisis from next Sunday.
In the meantime, more fuel laden vessels would come to the Baghabari Port to reduce the crisis," the DGM added.
Last few months, the fuel laden large vessels from Chittagong Port did not come to the Baghabari Port directly due to navigability crisis, said BPC officials.
Instead, these vessels came to the Narayanganj Port, from where shallow draft vessels carried the fuel to the Baghabari Port, they said.
This reduced the fuel carrying capacity since a shallow draft vessel can carry 6.5 lakh liters of diesel while a large vessel can carry at least 10 lakh liters, officials added.
When contacted, Assistant Manager Md Sayed Hassan Khan of Jamuna Oil Depot of Baghabari Port Said the reserves of Padma, Meghna and Jamuna oil depots deteriorated due to the poor supply.
Only 90 percent of the fuel demand could be met in the northern districts, he said.
We had to return many of the pump owners and dealers empty handed with the onset of the fuel crisis, he added.
“The fuel reserve of almost all fuel pumps in the 16 northern districts is rapidly ending as the depot authority is supplying lesser fuel than required by the pumps,” said Md Faruk Ali Sheikh, secretary of Pabna district unit Petrol Pump Owner's Association, also vice-president of Northern districts Petrol Pump Owner's Association.
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