Long queues were seen in front of petrol pumps today as consumers in Shillong city panicked upon seeing the headlines that the North East Petroleum Mazdoor Union (NEPMU) will stop the supply of oil and petroleum products to Meghalaya from November 29.
NEPMU took the decision due to alleged harassment by Meghalaya police towards the oil tankers drivers and helpers.
Amid the rush and panic buying, the Minister of Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Comingone Ymbon along with the Petroleum Dealers Association of Meghalaya, have urged the public to not panic since there is enough supply and the petrol pumps have also been stocked with ample fuel.
Furthermore, the minister informed that a meeting has been called between NEPMU and the government, which will be held at Nongpoh on Wednesday, to resolve the issues.
“We’re hopeful that with the meeting held tomorrow the issue will be resolved,” said Ymbon.
Meanwhile, president of the Meghalaya Petroleum Dealers Association, Kennedy Khyriem, said that the association extends full support to the Meghalaya government and police. They also lauded the police for taking action and nabbing culprits involved in stealing fuel from the tankers which are enroute to Meghalaya along National Highway 6.
“As a member of the association and as a dealer, we have experienced the challenges and we learnt that there are certain locations along National Highway 6 starting from Jorabat where stealing and theft of petroleum is taking place. These tankers which are supposed to go to Meghalaya have their fuel stolen and adulterated,” he stated.
According to Khyriem, the police raided seven places along NH6 and caught the people red-handed and also arrested a few culprits. He also said that police seized a few vehicles and also recovered different oils stored in drums.
Concerning the supply of oil, he said, “We have enough oil. Each petrol pump or service station has a capacity of storage tank of minimum 60,000 litres whereas for a large petrol pump it can store upto more than 1 lakh litres, which will last for three-four days and the government will resolve the issue by then,” he said.
