The sale of petrol and diesel to public has been stopped from December 17 morning following instructions from the Manipur Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Karam Shyam. Earlier, he had announced that Manipur had petrol stock for five days and diesel for seven days only.
As a result of the turmoil in Assam, Manipur is one of the northeastern States facing shortage of fuel and consumer items.
Some transport organisations are raising questions about the disappearance of a huge quantity of fuel from Manipur. They say said that only a few days back officials had disclosed that there was stock for three months, which is the usual government controlled stock. So far, there has been no official explanation in this regard.
Illegal sale
Officials said that the government planned to ration fuel so that it could be provided to transporters who were rendering public service. As a result, private cars and other vehicles have to depend on the ubiquitous roadside fuel vendors who are charging extortionate prices. Some ranking police officers said that there was no “official report” on the widespread illegal sale. The black marketeers continue to earn profit from the gravy train. Clay Khongsai, IGP, said that actions would be taken if there was an official report on the illegal business.
Transporters say that 10 litres of fuel to be allotted to them was too little and threatened to suspend all services, including that of school buses. On the other hand, some private transporters are planning to hike fares since they are paying huge amounts to the roadside vendors. This will also affect tourists. A luxury taxi is charging ₹15 per km and tourist agencies are likely to increase the fare.
Meanwhile, trucks and oil tankers cannot bring fuel and consumer items through NH 37 as the economic blockade by the land owners will continue till December 20. The drivers and others have been staying in the mountain highway in the chilly weather since December 12 as the government has not made any arrangement to escort the trucks to the State capital. Most of the drivers and cleaners and those who had hitched a ride in the trucks are stranded and facing food shortage and lack of amenities.
