Low supply hits fuel stations in city

With petrol and diesel in short supply, operations at fuel stations across the city were affected on Friday, with a few of them in south Mumbai running dry.

According to petrol dealers, bulk consumers have been purchasing fuel from retail outlets after the discontinuation of discounted rates, leading to low supply. Bulk purchasers include the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation and the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport.

“The problem of non-availability of fuel is across the country. One of the major reasons is the discounted rates have been discontinued for bulk consumers of petroleum products and they are being charged at premium. The bulk consumers, including railways, transport companies, and mills, have now started buying fuel from retail outlets, resulting in low availability for retail consumers,” Uday Lodh, president, Federation of all Maharashtra Petrol Dealers Association, said.