The frenzy to refill fuel tanks amid the truckers’ protest caused traffic to pile up on city streets, including the Western Express Highway, on Tuesday.
Nafeez Ali had to wait for nearly two hours to refill his car’s petrol tank in Goregaon only to be told by the petrol pump attendant that he could only have five litres of fuel. “I am returning from a hospital in Andheri. There is an ailing family member with me. There is a mad rush,” he said.
Kiran Raste, a commuter who was headed to his Ghatkopar residence from Malad, said, “I have been waiting for more than two hours in the queue but I am yet to reach the petrol pump. If this fuel station runs dry, how will I reach home,” he said.
A worker at the petrol pump said, “We do have sufficient fuel. We have our own tanker to fetch fuel, but the people are panicked and are queuing up. The capacity of this fuel station is 22,000 litres. People should not panic.”
Malad resident Siddhi Shaikh was seen waiting for more than an hour at the fuel station in his car, “I am yet to refill the tank,” he added.
At Borivali, the scene was no different. More than 500-600 bikes were seen in a 1.5-kilometre-long queue at a petrol pump.
Dipak Narkar, a biker, said, “It took me two hours to refuel. Bikers are not queueing up properly and the petrol pump staff is unable to handle this crowd. I am frustrated.”
Another biker, Vinod Kumar, a delivery person by profession, said, “I have been in this queue for the past hour and it will take another hour to me to get petrol.”
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