Hyderabad fuel shortage returns: causes, concerns, daily impact
Telangana reports 7,443 kl petrol and 11,081 kl diesel supplied by Monday 4 pm, reflecting steady daily fuel distribution levels
Hyderabad: Petrol Panic Spreads Despite No Real Shortage
Hyderabad woke up to something that felt like a scene from a disaster movie on Monday morning: petrol pumps from the Old City to the southern suburbs choked with long snaking queues, and several “no stock” boards hanging from oil pumps. The city’s single‑day fuel thirst seemed to have doubled overnight, but the Telangana Civil Supplies Department insists there is no actual shortage of fuel in the state. So what really went wrong?
It started with panic, not a supply crisis.
The immediate trigger was a wave of rumours—forwarded WhatsApp messages, social‑media posts, and hushed office gossip—spreading fears about a fragile global oil market. The talking point was the raging conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, and the dreaded question: What if Indian oil tankers are hit in the Strait of Hormuz? Once those words floated around, they were enough to turn ordinary commuters into “pre‑emptive hoarders,” rushing to petrol pumps with cans, jerry cans and even plastic bottles.
At the Hindustan Petroleum pump in Tolichowki, the situation turned so chaotic that police had to be deployed just to manage the crowd and prevent stamping or fights. Vehicle after vehicle inched forward for hours in the already scorching April heat, with temperatures crossing 43 degrees Celsius. The heat didn’t matter; people were willing to sweat it out for a full tank “just in case tomorrow is worse.”
Pictures emerging from the pump showed police personnel literally pushing vehicles with dead batteries by hand, as frustrated drivers tried everything to keep their cars moving. A traffic policeman parked his Bajaj Endeavour right on the road, using his own vehicle as a makeshift barrier to control the jumble of four‑wheelers and two‑wheelers. The roads near the pump turned into a parking lot, with horns blaring, engines revving and people arguing over who had been in line first.
Right beside the pump, a restaurant waiter, watching the scene, told a customer over the counter: “Fill up immediately; after 5 pm no fuel will be available.” That line, repeated in half‑joking but half‑serious tones, became a self‑fulfilling prophecy. More people rushed in, more fuel disappeared, and the “no stock” board went up faster than officials could have imagined.
But the blame doesn’t rest only on rumour. A structural issue also played its part. An attendant at the Bharat Petroleum station at Liberty X‑Roads explained that under normal conditions the station would sell roughly one full tanker of fuel—about 20,000 litres—over the course of a day. On Monday, however, that amount vanished by early afternoon.
“People are worried that if one of the Indian oil vessels gets bombed in the Strait of Hormuz, everything will stop,” he said. “So instead of filling 10 litres, four‑wheeler drivers are putting in 100 litres. Two‑wheeler riders who usually buy ₹100 of petrol are now filling up ₹500.” That kind of panic buying, he added, pushed several smaller outlets to their limits.
There’s another layer to the problem: a change in credit policy between oil marketing companies and petrol‑bunk owners. Smaller bunks, which often struggle with cash flow, are finding it harder to pay the large advance amounts demanded by the oil majors before they can get fresh deliveries. “Those who are having difficulty paying are the ones going out of stock first,” the attendant said. “Bigger outlets, which have higher turnover and can pay quickly, are still getting supplies.”
The situation in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh was even more severe. A leader of the petroleum bunk dealers’ association in Amaravati told reporters that about 2,000 out of 4,510 petrol stations in the state had run out of fuel over the weekend. The reasons: the revised credit policy, some dealers claiming more quota than they were entitled to, and uneven distribution of tankers from depots.
State authorities reacted quickly. The Civil Supplies Department called an emergency Zoom meeting with police, legal‑metrology officials and district collectors. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu also held a separate meeting after reports that 241 petrol bunks had gone dry, even though the state was receiving about 10 per cent more fuel than usual. Naidu said the problem was primarily panic buying, not a real shortage, but he ordered officials to review the credit policy, assess depot stocks and bunk inventories, and submit a detailed report.
“The situation improved a bit on Saturday, but on Sunday it crashed again because of the weekend rush,” said the Andhra dealers’ association leader. “Panic buying is what keeps depleting the stocks.”
Back in Telangana, the government is trying to keep the message clear: no shortage, no need to hoard. The Civil Supplies Department said that as of 4 pm on Monday, the state had received 7,443 kilolitres of petrol and 11,081 kilolitres of diesel, totalling more than 18,500 kilolitres—enough to cover 40 to 45 days of normal demand. The department warned that any attempt to create artificial scarcity, hoard fuel or spread panic will be dealt with strictly under the law and urged residents to report stockpiling via the helpline number 1967.
City officials also made one more plea: “Don’t buy what you don’t need.” As the queues finally begin to shorten, the real battle is inside people’s minds—between fear and facts. And if the past is any guide, it won’t be the last time Hyderabad’s fuel pumps turn into a crowded theatre of anxiety.