Amid continuous hikes in fuel prices, several fuel stations in Bengaluru are now beginning to face reduced supplies, with operators reporting that the number of tankers arriving daily has dropped sharply over the past week. While there is no immediate shortage of petrol or diesel, fuel station owners say the situation could become difficult if supplies are cut further in the coming days.

A visit by The Hindu to multiple fuel stations across Bengaluru on Tuesday revealed that many outlets are currently receiving only one tanker a day, compared to the usual two or more tankers. Fuel station operators said that the reduced supply has increased pressure during peak hours, especially in busy areas of the city, resulting in longer queues and concerns about temporary stock-outs.

Manju Prasana, a fuel station owner on Bannerghatta Road, said, “Usually, we receive two tankers of fuel every day, but from the past one week, only one tanker has been coming daily. For now, one tanker is manageable, and we are adjusting according to demand. But if even that does not arrive on time, then it will become difficult.”

Another fuel station owner, Mohan Kumar from Jayanagar, said that his outlet had already faced a temporary shortage of regular petrol recently after a tanker delivery was delayed. “A few days ago, normal petrol ran out of stock for some time because the tanker arrived late. We had to provide premium fuel for customers, which is more expensive. Many customers were unhappy and went to other fuel stations. If this situation continues along with the fuel price hike, it will become very difficult for us to maintain operations smoothly,” he said.

Panic buying

Swagath R., who operates a fuel station near Shanthi Nagar, said that panic buying by some motorists following the repeated price hikes had also increased pressure on fuel stations. “People are topping up their tanks more frequently because they fear another increase in prices. Demand has suddenly increased in the evenings and weekends. Since supply has reduced, we have to carefully manage the available stock throughout the day,” he explained.

Meanwhile, some fuel station owners have begun taking precautionary measures to avoid exhausting their stock before fresh supplies arrive. Rudramurthy, who runs a 24-hour fuel station in R.R. Nagar, said he had temporarily stopped round-the-clock operations due to fears of running out of fuel overnight.

“For the last week, I have started shutting the station at 11 p.m. and reopening at 6 a.m. Earlier, we operated 24/7, but with reduced supply, there is a risk of fuel running out before the next tanker arrives. Night-time demand from cabs and goods vehicles is usually high. To avoid complete stock-outs and inconvenience to customers during the daytime, I decided to limit operations for now,” he said.

No overall shortage

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest oil marketing company, had on Saturday, May 23, clarified that there was no overall shortage of petrol or diesel in the country. The company described fuel outages reported at certain retail outlets as “highly localised” and temporary in nature.

IOC said that higher demand at some outlets was being driven by increased diesel consumption during the harvesting season, a shift of customers from private fuel stations where prices were relatively higher, and rising institutional purchases at public sector outlets as bulk fuel prices remained elevated due to international market conditions.