No shortage of fuel, avoid panic buying based on rumours: Centre appeals to public

Amid reports of long queues at fuel pumps and panic buying in many parts of the country, the Centre on Wednesday assured that there is no shortage of petrol, diesel, or LPG in the country and urged citizens not to believe rumours circulating on social media.

All refineries are operating at high capacity with adequate crude inventories. Sufficient stocks of petrol and diesel are being maintained, and retail outlets are functioning normally across the country, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, told reporters here.

She said panic buying had been reported in some areas due to rumours, leading to unusually high sales and crowding at petrol pumps, even though adequate stocks of petrol and diesel were available at all outlets.

Separately, the three oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) — also issued statements on social media confirming there was no shortage and assured uninterrupted fuel supply across their networks.

They advised customers not to be misled by rumours or indulge in panic buying and urged them to continue with normal consumption patterns.

On the LPG front, Sharma acknowledged that supply continues to be affected due to the prevailing geopolitical situation. However, she clarified that no dry-outs have been reported and cylinder deliveries are continuing as normal.

The government has made additional allocations to states, gradually increasing commercial LPG supply to 50 per cent in a phased manner, with priority given to restaurants, hotels, and community kitchens.

To ease pressure on LPG, the government is accelerating the shift to piped natural gas (PNG). Domestic PNG and CNG for transport have been given 100 per cent supply priority, while industrial and commercial users are receiving around 80 per cent of their usual allocation.

Sharma said that in the last 25 days, 2.5 lakh new PNG connections have been issued and 2.20 lakh LPG consumers have already shifted to PNG.States have been directed to take strict action against hoarding and black marketing. So far, over 2,700 raids have been conducted, around 2,000 cylinders seized, more than 650 FIRs registered, and 155 arrests made, she said.

Dismissing the social media posts claims, the Ministry of Petroleum clarified that there is no change in LPG refill booking timelines.

The Ministry said the existing refill booking timelines remain unchanged and continue to be 25 days in urban areas, and 45 days in rural areas, irrespective of connection type.