Cap lifted, but Dhaka pumps still rationing fuel

The government has managed to curb the drain on national fuel stocks by imposing restrictions on purchases for 10 days straight, bringing daily demand back to near last year’s levels.

On Sunday, the cap on fuel purchases was withdrawn, but many filling stations in Dhaka continued operating on a limited scale yesterday, with some closed and others rationing supplies. Queues, however, have begun to shorten.

In Chattogram, pumps operated smoothly yesterday after receiving fresh supplies, with motorists refuelling without difficulty.

Officials concerned and pump owners in the capital said the government is supplying fuel based on last year's demand, leading to some shortages, but expected the situation to improve soon.

As of yesterday, diesel stock stood at 1.25 lakh tonnes, while petrol and octane stocks were 16,000 tonnes each, which is enough for 10–14 days.

Officials said additional fuel shipments are due, including 60,000 tonnes of diesel.

According to data from the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, the average daily diesel demand between March 1 and 15 was 13,000 tonnes, compared to 12,000 tonnes last year. Petrol and octane demand averaged 1,300 tonnes, similar to last year.

Demand spiked after the US‑Israel war on Iran broke out on February 28, with diesel use rising to 24,000 tonnes and petrol/octane exceeding 2,000 tonnes in early March.

In response, the government imposed a cap on fuel purchases: 2–5 litres for motorcycles and 10 litres for cars per day. The restriction was lifted Sunday ahead of Eid.

This newspaper visited a total of 14 pumps in Dhaka city and four on the outskirts. The four pumps on the outskirts, located on the Banasree-Demra road, were not selling until the evening, citing fuel shortage.

In the city area, two stations were found shut and one partially closed, while 11 operated smoothly. Long lines were reported at Trust Filling Station (Bijoy Sarani), Clean Fuel (Mohakhali), Southern Automobiles (Tejgaon), and Ideal Filling Station (Tejgaon-Gulshan Link Road).

Employees at those pumps told The Daily Star that the queues, though long, were shorter than in recent days.

At Trust, cars stretched only to the PMO gate, compared to Jahangir Gate the previous day. Southern’s queue remained on the main road, not spilling into alleys.

Some stations, including Satata and City in Tejgaon, reported running out of octane or closing temporarily. Sikder station limited sales for vehicles.

Outskirts stations -- Banasree Filling Station, Keeco Filling Station, Moon Filling Station and Shikder Filling Station -- declined service, citing delayed tanker deliveries.

Keeco staff told customers at 3:00pm they had failed to secure fuel from the depot. Shikder staff said supplies would arrive in the evening.

Keeco, Shikder, Satata and City stations are dealers of the state-owned fuel distributor company Padma Oil PLC.

Contacted, Haris Ahmed Sarker, assistant general manager (sales) at Padma Oil’s Dhaka office, said Padma supplied fuel as per demand, but congestion delayed tanker deliveries.

“If fuel runs out quickly after supply, there is little we can do,” he said.

“Keeco received fuel yesterday and also today. Why they said they would not get fuel today or did not receive it needs to be examined. City and Satata are also receiving sufficient fuel, but it is running out quickly.”

Meanwhile, in the port city, fuel supply at filling stations began returning to normal, with queues thinning out.

Several filling stations that remained closed a day earlier due to a lack of fuel were found operating normally yesterday after receiving fresh supplies. As a result, motorists are now able to purchase fuel without facing the long lines.

Ayub Ali, a sales staff member at Tigerpass Agencies, one of the busy fuel outlets in the city, said they received fuel after a four-day gap and resumed regular operations yesterday. “Today there is no limit on sales. We are supplying as per customers’ demand.”