New Delhi: Govt Monday said that with the country having sufficient stocks of diesel and petrol, there was no need to import automobile fuels to meet domestic demand. Addressing an inter-ministerial press briefing, Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in ministry of petroleum and natural gas, said the shortage of diesel at certain outlets in Andhra Pradesh was caused by panic buying and that Centre was in touch with state govt to resolve the issue. “We have observed exceptional growth of 30-33% in HSD (diesel) sales in certain areas (of Andhra Pradesh). That’s the reason why certain ROs (retail outlets) have faced stock shortages. We are monitoring the situation and by (Monday) evening, stocks will be available at all retail outlets,” Sharma said. More than 400 filling stations reportedly shut down temporarily in Andhra Pradesh on April 26-27 due to a severe fuel crisis driven by panic buying and rumours of supply shortages, despite govt’s assuring that ample stocks were available. Long queues of vehicles were witnessed at several outlets. Sharma said supply of diesel and petrol in other parts of the country remained smooth, with no shortages reported. Any reports of unavailability of automobile fuels due to panic buying were being addressed on a priority basis. “I want to re-emphasise that we have sufficient stocks of diesel and petrol in the country. We don’t see any situation where we would need to import petrol and diesel. I urge people not to believe rumours,” she said. While more than 42,000 PNG consumers have surrendered their LPG connections so far, Sharma said an assessment is being conducted to ascertain how many consumers continue to hold both connections. In a related development, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who met Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, assured him of uninterrupted energy supplies during Char Dham Yatra. “We discussed the energy situation and efforts being undertaken to ensure uninterrupted energy supply to Uttarakhand,” he wrote on X.
