Tripura reels under fuel crisis

Agartala: Tripura was reeling under severe fuel crisis following a road blockade in Meghalaya and disruptions in supplies of Indian Oil Corporation, an official said here Monday.
“Road blockade in Meghalaya, delivery problem in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and workers problem led to the crisis of petrol and diesel,” said an official of the food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department.
“We expect that the situation would be normalised within the next two-three days,” said the official.
The state government has asked the petrol pump owners and operators to sell a maximum of two to five litres of fuel per vehicle. However, most of the petrol pumps in Tripura remained closed. The northeastern states of Tripura, Mizoram, parts of Manipur and southern Assam remained cut off from the rest of India for around a week following a blockade of the National Highway (NH) No.6 in Meghalaya. The NH-6 (formerly known as NH 44) serves as the lifeline for Tripura, Mizoram, southern Assam (known as Barak Valley) and western Manipur.
For carrying goods, food grain, essentials and other materials from other parts of the country, the NH-6 is very vital for southern Assam’s four districts, land-locked Tripura, Mizoram and parts of Manipur.
The highway starts from Guwahati and passes through Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district.
The official said there were also workers’ problems in the IOC due to the Durga Puja festivity.
“The Tripura government officials have taken up the matter with the IOC authorities to resolve the problems related to the fuel crisis,” he added.
Due to the fuel crisis, fewer numbers of public and private vehicles are plying on the roads making it a tough time for the commuters in the northeastern state.
Agitated vehicle owners have damaged a petrol pump at Santir Bazar in southern Tripura Sunday. (IANS)