As fuel prices rise, mile-long lines at pumps disappear, fuel is now available everywhere without rationing

Staff Correspondent

A week after the fuel price hike in the country, long lines of cars at petrol pumps have completely disappeared. At the same time, the rationing system of fuel has been stopped. Currently, there is sufficient stock of fuel at the pumps and sales are going on normally.

Sources and market analysts say that this situation is the result of creating an artificial crisis. Before the price hike, black marketers had created an artificial crisis in the market by stockpiling a huge amount of fuel oil. As soon as the price increased, they released the stockpiled oil into the market and made hundreds of crores of taka in illegal profits.

How did the crisis arise?

Throughout March-April, long lines of cars were seen at petrol and diesel pumps due to the Iran-Iraq war. On the pretext that many pumps were running out of fuel, the government introduced a rationing system. Ordinary consumers were forced to stand in lines for hours to get a few liters of fuel.
In the midst of this crisis, the government decided to increase the price of fuel oil.

The situation changed dramatically after the price hike. Lines disappeared, rationing stopped, and oil supply at the pumps returned to normal. This sudden change made it clear that the previous crisis was artificial. Black marketers had hoarded oil they had bought cheaply. Taking advantage of the price hike, they sold that oil at a higher price and made a huge profit.

Experts Opinion

Energy experts say that such hoarding and creating an artificial crisis to take advantage of price increases is a conspiracy. Since the government did not strengthen market supervision before increasing prices, black marketers have exploited the opportunity. As a result, ordinary consumers have already been hit by the price increase, while a group has looted hundreds of crores of taka in profits overnight.

There have been demands for a government investigation into the matter. Consumer rights organizations say that such incidents will happen again and again unless strict monitoring and punitive measures are taken to prevent fuel oil hoarding.

Although the supply of oil at the pumps is now normal, the money that went out of the pockets of the common man in this successful ‘operation’ of the black marketers will never be returned. The urge to ensure transparency and accountability in the energy sector has now become stronger.