Diesel shortage leaves around 1600 trucks stranded in Chhattisgarh

Diesel shortage has almost paralyzed the transportation system at NMDC's Bailadila iron ore project in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district. Around 1,600 trucks have been stranded in the Kirandul and Bacheli areas for the past two days due to diesel scarcity, severely affecting iron ore transportation. The local administration has acknowledged the diesel shortage but claims that the system will be operational by tonight.

In Dantewada, iron is being loaded onto trucks in the Kirandul and Bacheli mines, but vehicles are unable to move due to the unavailability of diesel. NMDC's iron ore factories, one of the top companies in the country, are located in Dantewada's Kirandul and Bailadila, and are among the largest in the country. Hundreds of trucks transport lakhs of tons of iron from here to Raipur, Bilaspur, Raigarh, and Visakhapatnam daily, but now long queues of vehicles can be seen on both sides of the road along with transport towns. The reason cited is the unavailability of diesel in the vehicles.

Out of 19 petrol pumps in Dantewada district, only a few have limited diesel available, providing limited quantities of petrol and diesel. Long queues of trucks, tractors, and other vehicles are waiting to refuel. Often, after waiting for hours, they return empty-handed. Iron transportation has been halted for the past two days due to the diesel shortage, which has brought the wheels of over a hundred trucks of the Bailadila Truck Union and Bastar Transport Union to a standstill.

The situation is such that hundreds of trucks from the Raipur Truck Union are also stranded in the transport town due to the diesel shortage. Transporters say that if diesel supply does not return to normal soon, NMDC and the Bailadila Truck Owners Transport Association may face losses of crores of rupees. A transporter said that trucks have been stranded for two days, and the entire movement has been affected due to the diesel shortage. If the situation does not improve soon, significant losses are inevitable.

The diesel crisis is not only affecting the industry but also agriculture. Farmers are circling pumps with their tractors. Due to the diesel shortage during the Kharif season, plowing and sowing work has come to a standstill. Farmers say that even after waiting in line for hours, they are not getting adequate diesel. Farmers Panak Pandey and Son Sai Kashyap say that the diesel shortage is also causing trouble for farmers in the area. The situation appears serious, although the administration is trying to normalize the situation.

Pardip Pathak, president of Bastar's largest Bastar Transport Union, says that if this situation continues for a few more days, it will become difficult for transporters associated with the transport sector to support their families. Because iron is easily available, but there is difficulty in delivering goods on time, as diesel is not available in sufficient quantities at one time. For a 300 km journey, one has to stand in line at about 4-5 petrol pumps to refuel, which is also wasting a lot of time. If the goods are not delivered within the time limit set by the factory, the GST department takes action against them. The government has been requested to provide relief to them at such times.

Petrol pump operator Rajendra Pandey says that there is no regular supply of petrol and diesel at the pumps, due to which crowds have gathered at the pumps. Whatever petrol and diesel they have is being distributed among the public.

In this regard, Dantewada's Additional District Magistrate Rajesh Patre told Hindusthan Samachar that there was a shortage of diesel and petrol in some areas of the district, but it has been addressed. As far as Kirandul is concerned, the situation will be normalized by tonight. Diesel supply has started.