At the age of 65, he waited for seven and a half hours in the oil line

photo collected

A+ A A-

Altaf Hossain is 65 years old. He has no profession now. The whole day’s work is taking the grandson to school. He does that on a motorcycle. But the motorcycle ran out of fuel. Stand in line next to M/s Afrin filling station in Sagarpara area of ​​Rajshahi Nagar around 3:30 am to get oil. Talked to him around 9:30 in the morning. He then came close to the pump and was sure to get Rs 500 worth of oil.

This problem has arisen due to insufficient supply of petrol and octane in the petrol pumps of Rajshahi Nagar. Oil is being given at M/s Afrin filling station from eight o’clock yesterday morning. The pump has run out of gasoline, only offering octane. When you go there, you can see a long row of motorcycles on one side and microbuses on the other side. The queue of motorcycles in front of this pump was almost one and a half kilometers long on Monday morning.

Government employee Bulbul Ahmed was in the motorcycle row. He has been standing since three o’clock in the morning. Around 9:30 in the morning, there were at least 50 motorcycles in front of him. His turn will come when the front motorcycles finish taking oil. A young man named Saikat of Tikapara area of ​​the city got 500 rupees worth of oil. Qayyum Islam works in the marketing department of a private company. His oil is essential. For this, come at three in the night and stand in the queue. The businessman came from court market area of ​​the city at 2.30 am. Jewel Rana. They all came near the pump. But this queue of motorcycles is getting longer and has taken a turn from Swachh Tower junction of the city and crossed Sagarpara Battala. At the end of the line, it can be seen that many people are talking on the phone next to the motorcycle. Some are tired of waiting.

Manager of the pump Solaiman Kabir told Prothom Alo that he was given 4500 liters of octane yesterday, not a bit of petrol. After the meeting of the owner’s association with the district commissioner, it was decided that oil should be given from eight o’clock in the morning every day. No oil should be given at night. He said, if oil is allocated again tonight, then the car will go to fetch oil in the morning. He can sell that oil next Wednesday morning at eight o’clock. He said, today at 12:30 pm when the oil ran out, about 300 cars were in front of the pump. The drivers started protesting. Calling the police and journalists, he opened the tank lid of the car and showed them. Then the people moved away from the pump.

Around 3:30 pm, a kilometer long queue of motorcycles was seen in front of the Nayan petrol pump in Rajshahi Nagar’s Octroymore area in the blazing sun. A student named Mohan said that he has been standing in the sun for almost two hours. Another student named Pallab said the same thing.

Mominul Haque, president of Rajshahi District Petrol Pump Owners Association and owner of Lata Filling Station said, this problem would not have happened if oil was available as per demand. Hundreds of cars are standing in front of the pump as soon as they start giving oil. He said agents are also not being given oil. He has an agency, but is not getting oil. After Eid, as a dealer, only two chambers (four and a half thousand liters) of oil have been received.