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Crackdown on fuel fixers starts today

BPC withdraws kerosene sales restrictions

STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Ctg
The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) sends inspection teams to some 1,000 filling stations from today to check quality and quantity of fuel following allegations that dealers are mixing kerosene with costlier diesel, octane and petrol.
The inspection teams would examine the calibration of the fueldispensing machines at the stations. Nine three-member teams
comprising officials from the BPC, its enlisted marketing companies and the Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI).
Three teams would be at work in Dhaka, two in Chittagong and one each in Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barisal divisions.
Also yesterday, the BPC withdrew control over sales of kerosene at its depots across the country.
Earlier on December 11, the BPC imposed control over sales in the face of excessive withdrawal of
kerosene and alleged fuel adulteration.
In protest at the BPC move, the dealers suspended purchase of kerosene from the depots, leading to an artificial crisis in northern and southern markets. However, the dealers have not yet called off a planned boycott on Thursday of BPC fuel.
While taking the decision to withdraw sales control, a BPC meeting yesterday observed that its
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depots needed to offload kerosene stockpiled due to the dealers' boycott between January 13 and 19.
It needs to make room for a new supply that has already arrived at the Chittagong port last afternoon.
Meanwhile, kerosene price has gone up in the city and elsewhere after the BPC put a cap on withdrawal from its depots.
Another reason behind the kerosene price hike is that some petrol-pump owners are mixing kerosene with diesel, octane and petrol, after fuel prices went up on January 5.
There was no kerosene at a wholesale shop at the city's Karwan Bazar yesterday evening. The owner of the shop had sold 200 litres of kerosene for Tk 20 per litre.
However, retailers, taking full advantage of the situation, were selling kerosene at Tk 24 to Tk 28 per litre.
A shop owner said he had purchased kerosene from the Panthapath depot at Tk 17.60 a litre, against the government-fixed price of Tk 17.
He said that he used to buy 600 litres every day but could manage only 200 litres yesterday.
Kerosene prices have also gone up in the entire northern region, reports our Rajshahi correspondent.
The price of kerosene has gone up by Tk 2 to 4 per litre to Tk 18-20.
Meanwhile, the Rajshahi Divisional Association of Petroleum Dealers, Distributors, Agents, and Petrol-pump Owners and the Uttarbanga Tank Lorry Sramik Union in a joint meeting yesterday decided to stop procuring and selling kerosene.
Sources in three oil-marketing
agencies of the BPC - Padma, Meghna and Jamuna - in Bogra said daily demand of kerosene in this region is usually about three lakh litres.
However, about 500 dealers of the three agencies withdrew on an average 5.50 lakh litres of kerosene daily from eight depots from January 6 to 12 after the BPC imposed some new rules of kerosene procurement and sales.
The new rules required traders to report to district or upazila administrators concerned about the quantity of kerosene they planned to procure.
A businessman can earn an instant profit of Tk 6,000 by replacing two drums of diesel with kerosene from a tank-lorry carrying 9000 litres of diesel. But it will be impossible for the experts to detect the 0.05 per cent adulteration without full-fledged laboratory facilities. There are two full-fledged laboratories in the Eastern Refinery and Padma Oil Company in Chittagong.
Reports from Gaibandha say Kerosene has been selling at a much higher price in the town as unscrupulous businessmen are creating artificial scarcity in the market by hoarding the essential fuel. A similar report came from Khulna.
Our Gaibandha correspondent reports: kerosene depots in Gaibandha district as well as many other places in the northern region have run dry as the Bangladesh Petroleum Dealers, Distributors, Agents and Petrol Pump Owners' Association of Rajshahi Division stopped drawing kerosene from their respective supply depots since yesterday.
Meanwhile, prices of kerosene have shot up in the local market. In
remote areas, kerosene is selling between Tk 26 and 28 per litre. Many retailers returned disappointed from kerosene dealers.
Uttara Oils, Gaibandha agent of Padma Oil Company, said the BPC allocated only 11,600 litres of kerosene per week as against the daily demand of 7,000 litres.
Our staff correspondent from Khulna reports: The district is experiencing an acute crisis of kerosene since last Wednesday. On Friday and Saturday kerosene sold at Tk 26 at some places as against the normal price of Tk 17.32.
Retailers are blaming dealers for creating artificial scarcity in the market. It is also alleged that dealers are adulterating petrol and diesel by mixing kerosene.
Kerosene agents are reportedly refusing to comply with a government directive to inform the DC or the UNO after obtaining delivery of their quotas from depots. They are also not obtaining certificates from the DC and UNO with regard to sale of kerosene oil at fair price, alleged retailers.
Meanwhile, dealers have termed the government directive regarding kerosene oil as illogical and have stopped procuring kerosene
On the other hand, retailers are saying they have to buy kerosene from the black market where it costs between Tk 20 and 24 a litre and as such it is impossible to give a fair sale price which is lower than the purchase rate. Meanwhile, the Fuel Oil Dealers' Association has issued an ultimatum to the government setting January 23 as the deadline for resolving the dispute arising out of certain restrictions imposed on agents of kerosene.