Sylhet Bureau :
All the 114 filling stations in Sylhet division are now facing severe fuel shortage
A severe fuel crisis has hit filling stations in Sylhet amid a shortage of freight trains carrying the fuel to the region, coupled with an increased demand for fuel for irrigation purposes.
Fuel oil arrives in Sylhet from Chattogram by freight trains. Frequent accidents on Sylhet-Akhaura route and the shortage of wagons are the main reasons behind the crisis, according to people concerned.
Besides, production of fuel from by-products of natural gas obtained from gas fields in Sylhet has stopped for about six months. As a result, the fuel crisis is intensifying in the region.
According to officials of the state-owned oil marketing companies in Sylhet, three to four oil-carrying wagons used to come to Sylhet from Chattogram every week.
Each wagon used to carry an average of three lakh litres of fuel oil. But since the middle of January, the number of wagons has dropped to one per week.
Currently, not a single wagon is coming in a week. A wagon carrying fuel oil arrived in Sylhet after about eight days on Monday night, the officials said.
Freight trains carrying fuel oil met accidents on Sylhet-Akhaura route in November and December of 2020 and in January and February this year.
A railway official, seeking anonymity, said there was a shortage of wagons. Many wagons become dilapidated, he said.
Besides, repairing of the freight trains damaged in the accidents was going on, he said.
The freight trains now ply the route slowly due to the frequent accidents, he added.
