The fuel crisis due to an acute shortage of supply in the northern districts has not eased yet, posing a threat to jeopardise the Irri-Boro cultivation.

The high price of diesel in the open market may have an adverse effect on the Irri and Boro cultivation as farmers are unable to buy the costly diesel to run irrigation pumps.

In Rangpur, the number of octane-, petrol- and diesel-run vehicles on the roads has also halved as the owners of the vehicles could not manage fuel.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and

Rangpur district administration claimed that there is no fuel crisis in the northern region now after a temporary oil depot at Kazipara in Sirajganj became operational two days back.

Deputy Commissioner of Rangpur Nazrul Islam Khan said a magistrate has been tasked with inspecting all petrol stations in the district.

A BPC dealer in Rangpur, preferring anonymity, said the Kazipara oil depot cannot do much to improve the situation since 15 oil tankers ran aground in the Jamuna and only half of the fuel they were carrying could be unloaded during the last 48 hours.

“I received only 9,000 litre diesel from Kazipara while I needed 27,000 litres. I sold all of it within six hours yesterday,” said an owner of a petrol pump in Lalmonirhat.

The ongoing fuel crisis in the north has hit the Boro cultivation hard. Hundreds of farmers were seen waiting at different filling stations in Rangpur, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat districts in vain.

Our correspondent in Gaibandha reports: The fuel crisis since last week has forced the farmers of remote areas to leave the Boro seedling fields dry.

According to the district fuel monitoring cell, the requirement of diesel during Boro season is 1,80,000 litres but the oil traders and depots have had dry tanks since Monday.

Motiur Rahman, an official at the Balashi floating oil depot, told The Daily Star that it would take another week before the oil tankers return with diesel.

Gaibandha district administration sources said 1,20,000 litres of diesel and 13,500 litres petrol reached the district but the fuel is yet to reach the farmers.