Chandigarh Rations Fuel After Panic Buying Over Truckers' Strike

Amid an ongoing strike by fuel-tanker drivers over the penalties in the new hit-and-run law, Chandigarh on Tuesday imposed a temporary restriction on the sale of petrol and diesel. Fuel pumps in several states have been witnessing massive queues over the past couple of days amid apprehensions that the truckers' protest against the soon-to-be-implemented criminal code will hit supply.

Effective immediately, two-wheelers in Chandigarh are limited to 2 litres or a maximum value of Rs 200 of fuel, while four-wheelers are limited to 5 litres or a maximum value of Rs 500.

"The imposed limitations are a proactive measure to ensure the availability of fuel for all during this period of temporary disruption of fuel supply," the Chandigarh Administration said.

"Fuel station operators are urged to comply with these regulations, and consumers are kindly requested to cooperate with the imposed restrictions," they said in an official statement.

The District Magistrate emphasized that this measure is a precautionary step to manage the current situation until normalcy is restored.

"Efforts are going on to resume supply of fuel to Chandigarh in coordination with Oil Marketing Companies and Punjab and Haryana," the statement read.

Truck Drivers Protest Against Hit-And-Run Law

The truck drivers on Monday launched a nationwide protest against the new hit-and-run law and blocked key highways across the country.

The drivers are voicing dissent against the hit-and-run law in the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the criminal code that will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The new law has raised the penalty in road accident cases to up to 10 years. In the IPC, accidentally killing a person in a road accident had a maximum jail term of 2 years.

"Whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine," states the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

If the offender escapes or fails to report the incident immediately, the imprisonment term can extend up to ten years, along with a fine of Rs 7 lakh.

The protesting truck drivers believe that the new law is draconian and biased against larger vehicles.

No Need For Panic Buying: Punjab Amid Rush At Fuel Pumps

Punjab on Tuesday said that there was "no need" for the public to panic as adequate stock of petrol and diesel is available in the state. 

Speaking on the media reports regarding the acute shortage of petrol and diesel at certain fuel stations, Punjab  Home Secretary Gurkirat Kirpal Singh said that the stock is not uniformly positioned at all the stations at any point in time. 

"While certain filling stations may be at zero level, others may have full stock and, therefore, the stock position of a few Filling Stations should not be used to reflect the position of total stocks in the State.

He appealed to the public to refrain from panic buying as they are putting themselves in unnecessary trouble in the cold weather.

A high-level meeting involving senior state and district officials was also convened on Tuesday to monitor the distribution of petrol and diesel in Punjab.