The situation surrounding petrol and diesel availability in Odisha intensified further on Saturday, long queues continued at fuel stations across the state despite repeated assurances from the government and oil companies regarding adequate stock availability.

Heavy crowds of customers were witnessed at petrol pumps from daytime till late at night on Friday, with people reportedly waiting for several hours to obtain fuel. Similar scenes were reported from different districts over the past two days, while the situation in Bhubaneswar also remained tense.

People with two-wheelers and four-wheelers were seen standing in queues for hours at multiple fuel stations. The continued rush reportedly caused inconvenience to those engaged in emergency work and essential services.

Long Queues Continue Across State

Despite assurances issued by the Odisha government on Friday, panic buying continued in several areas. The Supply Minister had earlier stated that sufficient quantities of petrol and diesel were available in the state, while officials of oil companies had also appealed to people not to panic.

However, the fear of shortage among the public reportedly persisted, leading to heavy rush at petrol pumps across Odisha.

For the past three days, people have reportedly been leaving aside their routine work and waiting in queues for fuel under extreme heat as well as during late-night hours.

Although meetings are being held frequently at the government level regarding the fuel situation, the crowd at petrol stations has shown little sign of easing.

Berhampur Petrol Pumps Witness Heavy Rush

Long queues were also reported from Berhampur, where customers gathered at fuel stations soon after reopening.

One of the locals said, “This particular petrol pump was closed for the past two days, but it opened today. We have been standing here for the past half an hour to fill fuel in my bike.”

A petrol pump worker said, “We have put up barricades here as the number of people trying to buy petrol is high and workers are limited. We have also installed these barricades to manage the crowd and avoid rush.”

He further added, “We have nearly 8,000 litres each of petrol and diesel. Given the crowd, we do not think this will last for long and we may have to shut the petrol pump again.”

Public Expresses Concern Over Situation

Meanwhile, customers continued expressing concern over the prolonged queues and uncertainty surrounding fuel availability.

Also Read: Odisha has enough fuel stock, no need for panic buying: Supplies Minister

Another local said, “The situation is similar across Odisha. We are having to queue for long hours to get a little bit of petrol. It is unfortunate that we are dealing with this.”