An Indian truck driver visits 16 gas stations but still finds no fuel; Indian officials deny fuel shortage

Golden Ten Data reported on May 13 that at a service station on the outskirts of Nagpur in central India, nearly 30 trucks were lined up along the highway, loaded with various goods. Most of the drivers had already been waiting for several hours or even longer. In response to rising international oil prices, India’s private petrol station operators are either cutting diesel sales or raising prices, making it difficult for state-owned refineries to meet the resulting surge in demand. Government-regulated fuel prices may be expected to rise, for the first time in four years, and panic buying at the pumps is intensifying. For the truck drivers who bear the vast majority of domestic freight transportation in India, this means they are forced to face fuel shortages at stations and long waits in the heat by the roadside. “We drove almost 80 kilometers looking for diesel. We visited 15 or 16 petrol stations but couldn’t find any,” said a coal truck driver squinting under the scorching sun, “In the end, when the tank was nearly empty, we were forced to stop here.” A station manager said they can usually only meet about one-third of the demand, and, before most customers can fill up, the fuel is already gone. India’s Oil Minister Puri said on Tuesday that there is no fuel shortage in India.