The seven-day government holiday for Eid-ul-Fitr began yesterday. Long queues of vehicles were seen on a visit to 10 filling stations in Dhaka, including Asad Gate, Bijoy Sarani, Paribaug, Motijheel, Rajarbagh and Moghbazar, even on the first day of the holiday. At some stations, fuel is being sold under rationing, while at others the sale has stopped after the stock ran out.
At a filling station in Rajarbagh, motorcycles are being sold octane worth not more than Tk 200, while private cars are limited to Tk 500. “This restriction has been imposed by the depot. We can’t do anything,” said MD Iman, an employee.
At Karim & Sons pump located in Motijheel, customers are getting fuel as per demand after waiting for 20 to 25 minutes. A similar situation was seen at Pubali filling station in the same area. However, the fuel supply at Navana pump near Dainik Bangla intersection ran out by 1:00 pm, forcing many motorcyclists and car drivers to return without fuel.
When asked about the suspension of sales, Khokon Shaikh, a pump employee, said there was heavy pressure of vehicles since morning, due to which the fuel stock was exhausted by afternoon.