Cars queued up at a fuel retail outlet in Dimapur on Monday evening, April 21. (Morung Photo)
Admin appeals consumers not to panic
Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 20
Dimapur witnessed an allegedly panic buying episode on April 20 that had a few fuel retail outlets running out of stock. There was no explanation for the occurrence, which saw a steady stream of cars queuing up in fuel stations throughout the day. By evening, atleast 2-3 outlets located in the municipal area had run out of stock.
It had a cascading effect as consumers turned up at other outlets that had stock left. Even as late as 8:00 to 9:00 pm, vehicles were lined up at two Bharat Petroleum outlets— one located near the West Police Station and the other at the Clock Tower. Hardly anyone could explain the cause for the sudden rush. Businesses located in the vicinity also wondered, with one asking this reporter what was the rush about.
Employees also could not provide any plausible explanation. One attendant at an Indian Oil outlet, which had run out of stock for the day, had only this to tell, “Our stock has run out today. It will be replenished and will be available tomorrow.”
Another attendant at a Jio-BP outlet gave the same response. He said that fresh stock will arrive from the refinery by Tuesday morning, April 21.
The Morung Express reached out to the district administration for comment. The Dimapur Deputy Commissioner, Dr Tinojongshi Chang said that his office made inquiries with the IOC depot in Dimapur after reports were received of the rush during the day. IOC is the largest petroleum player in Nagaland.
According to the DC, the IOC officials reported there was sufficient stock of fuel. The DC appealed for calm and restrain from panic buying.
