Boro paddy irrigation across the country may be affected this season as the supply of petroleum fuel, such as diesel and kerosene, has dropped significantly since the ongoing blockade began on January 6.
In addition, owners of fuelling stations and tank-lorries are facing serious financial losses due to the blockade.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, leaders of Bangladesh Petrol Pump and Tank-Lorry Owners and Workers’ Association said drivers and workers are reluctant to carry the highly flammable fuels on the roads and highways, fearing attacks.
They also said fuel supply has dropped by 70% on average as they fear arson attacks during transporting the oils from depots to the fuelling stations.
There are around 9,000 fuelling stations in the country, most of which have been shut down because of the blockade, said Mohammad Nazmul Haque, president of the association.
Supply of fuel to 16 northern districts has been disrupted more than others during the blockade, he added.
But it is the farmers around the country who are bearing the brunt of the blockade-induced crisis, especially those in the northern region.
“The farmers cannot get fuel to operate their machines to irrigate the crop fields, nor can they take their produce to the markets due to lack of transportation. They are now fearing that they may not be able to reach the target of Boro cultivation this year,” Nazmul said.
“Most of the fuelling stations in Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions now remain closed during day time for fear of bomb attacks or vandalism by the blockaders,” he said.
A total of 90% petroleum fuel is usually transported across the country through waterways, while 8% is supplied through rail wagons and 2% via roads.
Currently, petrol is being sold at Tk125 per litre at some places, while diesel is being sold at Tk90 per litre.
However, the retail price of petrol was officially fixed at Tk96 per litre, for diesel at Tk68 per litre.
Seeking anonymity, a farmer in Dinajpur who has been preparing for Boro cultivation, told to the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday that some dishonest fuel traders have increased the retail price of diesel by Tk15 per litre, taking advantage of the short supply.
He said the retailers have also raised the price of kerosene by Tk5 per litre at some places.
No problem in fuel supply, says BPC
On the other hand, officials at Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) said they were delivering fuels to the lorries as usual, because they are escorted by law enforcers on the road.
“There is no crisis of fuel. We are supplying the oils to different points with the escort of law enforcers,” BPC Chairman A M Badrudduja told the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.
However, the security measure is not enough to maintain the regular supply as the fuelling station and tank-lorry owners are still reluctant to transport fuel oils during this political turmoil.
The country’s lone oil importer and distributor, the BPC sells oil to fuelling stations through oil companies such as Padma, Meghna and Jamuna.
According to the BPC, A total of 1,865,024 irrigation machines will be used for boro irrigation this year. Of them, 2,979 are deep tube-wells and 1,307,351 shallow tube-wells. Around one million tonnes of diesel will be used in this regard.
“Fuel stocks in most of the fuelling stations along the highways have been depleted as the tank-lorries failed to transport the fuels to the stations,” said Nazmul, the president of fuelling station and tank-lorry owners association, to the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.
Around 12,000 tonnes of diesel, petrol and octane are sold across the country every day. “Now we are selling around 1,500 tonnes every day. We have incurred a loss of Tk250 crore over the past 22 days, and sales have dropped by almost 70%,” he said.