Truck Driver's Strike Day 2: Chaos Prevails At Punjab, Haryana Petrol Pumps Amid Protests Over New Hit-And-Run Law

Chandigarh: Utter chaos prevailed at the fuel stations in several districts of Punjab and Haryana as well as union territory of Chandigarh amid the panic buying of petrol and diesel on Tuesday in the wake of the strike by truckers against the new law for the hit and run cases.

By this evening in the two states, several of the fuel station dealers held that their retail outlets had either already been exhausted or were on the verge of running dry as the tanker drivers had refused to ferry the supplies in several parts of the region.

PANIC WAVE SPREADS ACROSS DISTRICTS OF PUNJAB & HARYANA

In Punjab, the fuel station dealers in Bathinda - which is among the key bulk storage points of the major oil companies – said the diesel had been completely exhausted, while long queues of motorists lined up for petrol for their vehicles throughout the day.

A similar situation was reported from Mohali, Ludhiana, Patiala districts, besides a few other parts of the state. However, in a significant development, the tanker operators in Jalandhar called off their strike towards evening thus leading to the resumption of the fuels' supplies.

In Haryana too, with the motorists in several of the districts indulging in panic buying, the fuel station dealers reported shortage of the fuels. The situation in Haryana had got aggravated with some of the private bus operators and auto-rickshaw unions joining the truckers' stir.

In Ambala, while several fuel stations reported shortages of petrol and diesel as there was no fresh supply of the same, similar reports came from Panchkula, Hisar, Rewari and Panipat, besides a few other places.

Notably, according to media reports, there was nil or little impact of the truckers’ strike in several districts of the state including Gurugram, Nuh, Faridabad, Palwal, besides a few other districts.

RESTRICTIONS ON SALE IN CHANDIGARH

Meanwhile, the Chandigarh administration had ordered temporary restrictions on the sale of petrol and diesel – two litres for two wheelers and five litres for the four-wheelers.

VEGGIES, FRUIT PRICES UP

Meanwhile, the prices of vegetables, fruit and several other goods had already seen a sudden increase due to the said stir and there were reports of the LPG being in short supply. Also, there were reports that the prices of the same were set to skyrocket if the truckers strike continued.