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suspension of its depot manager Md Al Amin Khan and a halt to fuel supply.

According to an investigation report seen by The Daily Star, two tanks had excess fuel while one showed a shortfall. In total, a mismatch of 12,613 litres was identified, said officials.

In Pabna, Narayanganj, and Narsingdi, long queues were noticed daylong at all filling stations, with many compelled to return without getting fuel.

Md Jahid Hasan, a farmer of Islamgati village in Pabna Sadar, said, “I am unable to till my cropland, as none of my three tractors is operational amid the diesel shortage.”

“I have been going from one filling station to another, but I am yet to get any fuel,” he said yesterday noon.

In the coastal districts of Khulna, Satkhira, and Bagerhat, where motorbikes serve as a major mode of transport, road communication is being disrupted amid the severe crisis of fuel.

“I used to earn around Tk 1,000 daily by carrying passengers. But now my income has dropped to around Tk 150-200 due to the fuel crisis,” said Alokesh Goldar, a resident of Khulna’s Batiaghata upazila.

Nazrul Islam, a motorcycle rider in Narsingdi, said, “I have been standing in the queue for four hours, and I still haven’t received fuel.”

In Kushtia Sadar, farmer Mohammad Ali of Sonadanga village said he had to travel over 15 kilometres to get only two litres of fuel for the irrigation pump.

Another farmer, Enamul Mollah, of Ghonshgati village under Gopalganj Sadar, said, “Since filling stations are not selling fuel, we have to buy it from retail shops at higher prices.”

In Shariatpur Sadar, farmers demonstrated on Saturday night, demanding fuel in front of a filling station in the Monohorpur area

Meanwhile, tanker workers in eight northern districts began an indefinite strike yesterday morning to protest the imprisonment and fines imposed on three of their co-workers in Nilphamari on Saturday, reports UNB.

Due to the strike, no diesel, petrol or octane was transported from the Railway Head Oil Depot in Parbatipur.

Leaders of the Rangpur Divisional Tanker Workers Union called the strike, demanding the release of the detained workers within 24 hours and the removal of Nilphamari Nezarat Deputy Collector (NDC) Niaz Bhuiyan.

It halted fuel supply across Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Gaibandha, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat.

According to sources, the incident occurred when a tanker carrying fuel from Parbatipur Railway Head Depot developed a mechanical fault near Nilphamari jail gate while on its way to a filling station.

A mobile court later arrested filling station manager Ekramul Haque, tanker driver Sri Krishna and his assistant Rifat, accusing them of stealing 13 litres of fuel. They were sentenced to six months in prison and fined Tk 1 lakh.

(Our respective district correspondents contributed to the report.)