Bengal govt relaxes restrictions on supply of diesel in containers for crucial sectors
Kolkata, June 28
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday announced relaxation on the recently imposed ban on the supply of diesel in containers for crucial and emergency sectors, such as healthcare, agriculture, food supply, public services, and tea gardens.
The Chief Minister issued a statement in the morning, and also attached the official order from the state Food and Supplies Department announcing relaxations for the aforesaid sectors from the fuel restriction regulations.
In his statement, the Chief Minister also explained that the relaxation for the aforesaid sectors underlined the commitment of the new state government led by him to ensuring that the daily lives of ordinary people, emergency services, and the state's economy continue to progress smoothly without any hindrance.
"Recently, a ban was imposed on diesel supply in containers (vessels), which had put our hardworking farmer brothers, various hospitals, and emergency service-providing organisations in extreme distress in their operations. To safeguard the interests of the general public, the West Bengal government intervened immediately," the Chief Minister said in his statement and added that accordingly, the state government directed the major oil companies to completely exempt vital sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, food supply, public services, and tea gardens from the fuel restriction regulations.
In his statement, the Chief Minister also clarified that individuals, organisations, and customers associated with these essential departments can now easily purchase and carry diesel in containers or barrels, and the maximum limit that has been set for providing fuel to such customers daily has also been relaxed.
"To obtain diesel hassle-free at the pumps, simply presenting basic identification documents will suffice," CM Adhikari clarified in his statement.
The official order from the state Food and Supplies Department to all major oil companies seeks to immediately issue explicit directives to all retail outlet dealers and pump operators under the jurisdiction of the respective oil companies across West Bengal to ensure hassle-free and smooth fuel supply to the authorised representatives from the aforesaid sectors.
At the same time, the consumers from the aforesaid sectors have been advised by the Food and Supplies Department to present institutional identification, trade registration, land records, or official requisitions to facilitate quick verification at the pumps.
"Considering the widespread impact on civic life, healthcare, and the state economy, the matter must be treated as Most-Urgent," the notification read.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Why was the ban imposed in the first place if it was going to create problems for essential services? Feels like a knee-jerk reaction that they had to correct. But at least they acted fast to fix it.
Finally some common sense. Our tea gardens in the Dooars were about to shut down because of this ban. Garden managers were running around like headless chickens. Thank you for listening to the people, CM sahab.
As someone who works in a rural hospital in Bengal, this is a huge relief. Ambulances and backup generators depend on diesel. The earlier ban was creating chaos. Good to see the government responsive to ground realities.
The idea of banning loose diesel might have been to prevent hoarding or misuse, but the implementation was poor. They should have thought about essential services from day one. Still, credit where due – they corrected it quickly.
This is good news for our chai walas and tea garden workers. Bengal's tea industry is the backbone of many families in north Bengal. Hope the implementation is smooth and not just on paper. 🤞
Why only these sectors? What about small businesses and transport operators who also depend on diesel containers? Feels like a partial solution. The government
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