TIRUPATI: Fuel supply delays and increased weekend demand have led to long queues at petrol bunks in Tirumala and Tirupati on Sunday, disrupting the pilgrimage of devotees to the Lord Venkateswara Temple.
The situation over the past few days has been marked by delays in fuel supply from oil companies and uneven distribution. This, coupled with panic buying, has led to localised shortages at several outlets.
Queues at fuel stations began building up on the hill town from Friday night as vehicle inflow increased ahead of the weekend. The only two fuel stations in Tirumala saw continuous rush, as pilgrims queued up to refuel before starting their return journey.
Demand for fuel remained high throughout Saturday, leading to stocks at the bunks getting exhausted by Sunday afternoon. This led to several motorists delaying their travel.
According to official estimates, around 8,000 to 10,000 private vehicles reach Tirumala on an average day, while the number crosses 12,000 during weekends. Limited storage capacity on the hill and delayed tanker arrivals led to stocks depleting quickly once the demand peaked.
“We came with our family for darshan and planned to return the same day. But there is no petrol available now. We have been waiting for over two hours”, said Ch. Ramesh, a devotee from Nellore.
Diesel availability has been particularly affected in Tirupati.
Several fuel stations reported depleted stocks, leading to long queues of trucks, autos and other commercial vehicles. Queues built up from early morning itself. Transport operators waited for hours to collect fuel for vehicles.
Fuel dealers attribute the situation to delayed and irregular diesel supplies. They say stocks were reaching their outlets only once in two or three days. The disruption has affected the local transport sector during the peak weekend rush.
Taxi drivers said they are losing trips as they spend more time in queues for diesel, instead of picking up new passengers.
However, officials maintain that there is no overall shortage of fuel at the district level. Joint collector Govinda Rao said reports of fuel shortage circulating on social media are misleading and adequate stocks are available.
He pointed out that the district has 185 fuel stations, including 68 of IOCL, 50 of HPCL, 48 of BPCL, 14 of Nayara and five of Reliance. The current availability is about 1,294 kilolitres of petrol and 2,102 kilolitres of diesel.
The joint collector said some outlets are temporarily dry due to a sudden demand and supply gap. He said fuel supply is being restored in coordination with oil companies and normalcy is expected shortly. He urged people not to panic or store fuel unnecessarily.
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