Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The bus was about to depart… but there was no diesel! Many passengers in the city experienced this on Thursday. A severe shortage of diesel directly hit the travel services, forcing the cancellation of journeys for as many as 60 travel buses.
Around 200 travel buses operate daily from the city to destinations including Pune, Mumbai, Solapur and Nagpur. Over the past two days, long queues have formed at petrol and diesel pumps across the city and nearby areas, and fuel stocks have quickly run out due to high demand. Drivers were forced to move from one pump to another in search of diesel. Many pumps were closed or ran out of stock, leaving bus tanks empty. Some buses were diverted to other cities, while many journeys were not even booked. Consequently, cancelling trips became inevitable, causing a significant financial loss to travel operators. The combination of cancelled bookings, refunds and halted revenue has created an atmosphere of concern among drivers and owners.
Travel operators urge administration to act
The secretary of the Travel Association, Mohan Amrutkar stressed, “Drivers had to move from pump to pump to secure diesel. Despite similar shortages in other cities, buses were dispatched with the expectation that diesel would be available. However, nearly 60 buses had to cancel their trips. The administration must ensure diesel supply to travel operators to safeguard passenger convenience.”