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tank refuelling out of the 12 filling stations this newspaper visited in the capital yesterday.

Maj Abul Ala Muhammad Tauhid (retd), assistant director of Trust Energy, reported a reduced supply compared to normal allocation. “Whatever amount we receive, we immediately distribute it among customers.”

He said the pump was able to sell fuel until around 9:30am yesterday, after which it remained closed for some time before resuming around 2:30pm.

“We may have to keep the station closed at night, as the current supply is not sufficient to operate 24 hours.”

In Mirpur, most pumps had their gates shut or supply halved. At five filling stations visited in the area, petrol and octane were unavailable.

A staff member at a pump on Begum Rokeya Sarani said their daily supply had been cut in half -- from around 9,000 litres to 4,500 litres -- while demand remained unchanged.

“When fuel arrives, we sell it. Once it runs out, we shut down,” he said.

At two filling stations in Paribag, long queues of motorcycles and cars were seen in the evening.

Mahfuzur Rahman was one of those waiting in line despite heavy rainfall. He had come from Mirpur to Meghna Model Service Centre.

He had visited four pumps in Tejgaon with no luck before joining the queue.

Just minutes after speaking with him, the Meghna pump also shut down for the day around 7:00pm.

Customers then rushed to a nearby station, Purbachal Traders, which had remained closed throughout the day but resumed operations immediately after the Meghna station shut down.

Both the pumps were selling fuel up to five litres per motorcycle.

Ashrafuzzaman Dulal, counter chief at the station, told The Daily Star that it had been out of operation since Monday midnight.

“We are rationing so that more customers can be served,” he said.

The country’s fuel supply chain is under pressure as a sharp post-Eid surge in demand coincides with import uncertainties linked to global geopolitical tensions.

As of yesterday, the country’s diesel stocks stand at around 1.7 lakh tonnes, sufficient for roughly 13 days, while octane supplies of 9,800 tonnes may last about eight days, and petrol reserves are estimated at 15,000 tonnes, enough for around 10 days.

Despite assurances from authorities that the stock is adequate, the reality at filling stations around the country tells a different story.

Faruk Miah was travelling from Mymensingh’s Nandail to Dhaka with his wife and two children on a motorbike yesterday noon.

“When I started, I bought Tk 200 worth of fuel and hoped to refill the tank on the way. But I’ve been finding all the pumps shut,” he said in the afternoon while waiting for fuel at Molla Filling Station on the Dhaka–Kishoreganj highway in Gazipur’s Kapasia.

Yunus Sheikh, a motorcyclist in Bagerhat’s Kachua upazila, said, “First I visited two pumps with no luck. Later, I travelled around 11 kilometres and got fuel worth Tk 200 after waiting around one hour.”

In Chattogram, motorbikes and cars were seen moving from one pump to another in search of fuel.

“I had to lobby with an influential person to get fuel,” said motorcyclist Md Reza while waiting at Kalam & Brothers Filling Station next to the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in North Salimpur, under Sitakunda upazila.

Rice trader Shahidar Rahman, 56, from the Chourasta area of Lalmonirhat’s Patgram, said, “It’s not possible for me to wait in a long queue. So, I’ve left my motorcycle at home, and I’m now using a battery-run autorickshaw.”

Ranjan Krishna Pandit, a motorbike rider from Tangail’s Kalihati, said, “Most of the pumps are running out of fuel. If someone is lucky, they can get only Tk 200 worth of fuel after waiting in a very long queue.”

In Khulna, many filling stations had little or no fuel. Some put up “No Fuel Available” signs, while others restricted entry.

[Our correspondents from Gazipur, Chattogram, Bagerhat, Lalmonirhat, Tangail and Khulna contributed to this report.]