Mumbai petrol bunks running dry; supplies rolled in from Gujarat

In order to resolve the collateral backlash from the fire at a refining plant's pipeline in Wadala last week, which almost dried up around 210 fuel stations in the city, petrol supplies are being rolled in from the neighbouring state of Gujarat.

According to the Petrol Dealers' Association of Mumbai, tankers from Ahmedabad and Surat are being wheeled into the city to replenish the fuel stocks, as the fire in the BPCL line had smoked away around 45,000 litres of stock.

The fire, which broke out on Saturday, caused major concerns in the 83 fuel stations run by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and 45 pumps of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

"There is a shortage of fuel in the city because of the fire incident at Wadala. However, we have asked for additional tankers from Gujarat to replenish the dwindling stocks in the pumps across Mumbai for the next two days," Petrol Dealers' Association (Mumbai) vice-president M Venkatrao said.

He assured that the situation will improve once the supplies reach Mumbai. The daily fuel requirements of the island city come to over 13,000-14,000 litres per day.

"By Thursday there will be no shortage of petrol in Mumbai," Venkatrao added.

Meanwhile, a senior official from Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) said work is being carried out on a war-footing to pump out the residue oil from the busted pipeline in the Pirpau terminal.