Diesel price shoots up in Sylhet region
Short supply in the last one week blamed
Shortage of diesel in the region for the last one week has shot up the price of the fuel to Tk. 60 from Tk. 44 a litre.
This has hit the extraction of stones from the country's biggest stone quarry- Bholaganj - as the use of motorised pumps in stone collection declined sharply.
Sources said, depots of state-run BPC's Padma, Jamuna and Meghna oil companies in the district have cut their supply to the agents and dealers since Saturday.
The present supply stands at two to three lakh litres as against the average demand for 5 lakh litres of diesel everyday in greater Sylhet region.
Boro farming would face a setback if the crisis is not resolved immediately, farmers apprehend.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) officials said a total of 3.99 lakh hectares of land in the region have been brought under the boro farming this year including 3.3 lakh hectares under irrigation.
During the last year's boro season, farmers in the region also suffered huge crop loss of about Tk 1300 crore, DAE officials informed.
General secretary of the Sylhet Division Petroleum Dealers' Association, Zubayer Ahmed Chowdhury, said that the crisis is deepening.
“There is no headway yet although the companies assured us of raising the supply immediately”, Zubayer Ahmed added.
Pointing to the shortage of railway wagons and engines, district manager of the BPC's Padma Oil Company Mir Fokhoruddin, said they have already requested the railway authorities to arrange things immediately.
Asked about the rise in the price of diesel in different upazilas, Mir Fokhoruddin said he is yet to get specific complaint in this regard. There might be some incidental rise as there is a shortsupply in the area, he added.
Kabir Hossain, station manager of the Bangladesh Railway, Sylhet told this correspondent on Wednesday night that they are facing a crisis of locomotives as well as tank wagons used for transporting oil.
"We have sent urgent message for arranging additional wagons and engines for the region, he said adding “The situation may improve within two to three days”.
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