Hyderabad: While households scramble for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders and restaurants switch to firewood, the city’s autorickshaw drivers are fighting their own battle, from fuel stations shutting down during the day, prices swinging wildly and the number of rides drying up.
Most LPG fuel stations across Hyderabad have been temporarily closing, leaving auto drivers stranded at their usual spots with nowhere to refuel and fewer passengers to ferry.
Prices all over the place
The closure of stations is only half the problem. Drivers who do manage to find an open pump are running into erratic pricing. “Private stations are selling it as per their whims and fancies, some at Rs 90, others at Rs 98,” V Ravi, a 65-year-old auto driver from Alwal, who was waiting near a juice centre for customers that weren’t coming, told Siasat.com.
Ravi said the shortage has hit his daily income hard, with fewer rides available. Not being on aggregator apps like Uber and Rapido has made it worse. “I don’t know how to operate these apps, so I never signed up for them,” he said.
The situation is no different elsewhere. At Tadband, a private fuel station was shut through the day. “They are closing during the day. Currently, the price here is Rs 93, and by evening it goes up by Rs 2-3. This has been going on for three days,” said Abdul Hakeem, an auto driver from the area. Another driver, Vinay, who was waiting outside the closed station, pointed out the sharp spike. “Just a few days ago, LPG was available at Rs 65-67 at stations in Secunderabad. Look at the price now,” he told Siasat.com.
At Patni, Bangaryya, who drives an LPG auto, said he left home at 9 in the morning and had been waiting two hours for a passenger. “Earlier, we used to get sufficient rides, but now we have to travel long distances before finding anyone,” he said.
When asked, a staff member at one of the shut stations was blunt. “We are short on fuel. I can’t do anything. I have to follow what the superiors say.”
But drivers aren’t buying it. “When the government is saying there is enough LPG, why are fuel stations closed?” asked Ashok, who had come all the way from Monda Market after finding that station shut too.
The CNG queue
With LPG stations unreliable, many auto drivers have shifted to compressed natural gas (CNG), but that comes with its own wait. Long queues have formed at Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum outlets across the city.
“I got CNG for Rs 96 at the Bharat Petroleum outlet in Krishnanagar,” said Naresh from Ameerpet. Srinivas from Balanagar paid Rs 97 at a BP station and said it would last him around 35 km. A staff member at the station added that drivers could travel up to 200 km if they filled CNG worth Rs 800. Surya from Kukatpally got CNG at Rs 94, while Sudheer, waiting in a queue at the Moosapet Hindustan Petroleum outlet, noted that CNG was available at most stations, but patience was required.
“The waiting time is long,” he said. Most drivers reported waiting around 15 minutes before being served.
Panic buying and advance payments
Fuel station owners, for their part, say panic buying is at the root of the crisis. Shaik Sohail, owner of Royal Fels station, said four fuel tankers were being emptied in a single day. “The company is providing fuel only after advance payment. It is sufficient for 4-5 days, but panic buying is causing the shortage,” he told Siasat.com.
Owners who cannot make advance payments, he added, are being forced to shut their pumps. Sohail also said fuel dealers are planning to call a strike, frustrated by the petroleum ministry’s silence on the shortage.
Not everyone is in the same boat. Another station owner said his pump had never closed. “We have sufficient stock – 10,000 litres of diesel and 14,000 litres of petrol were supplied. Other stations may have closed due to lack of preparedness,” he said.
