FUEL CRISIS

Fuel Crisis : NBSTC suspends bus services

COOCH BEHAR, Jan. 9: Following acute crisis of fuel due to strike of officers of Indian Oil Corporation, the passenger bus services of the North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) is on the verge of collapse. Already plying of buses in several routes except priority ones has been suspended. If the strike goes on the situation will be worse from Monday because the NBSTC may not be able to run any bus from that day.

 

NBSTC sources said they bring fuel from the IOC following a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The NBSTC has its own Central Fuelling System in a few pumps in its twenty-one depots under four divisions in the state. There are five such pumps in Cooch Behar Division. The number of running buses of the NBSTC is about 500 and that number in Cooch Behar depot is about 100. Cooch Behar depot needs about 4,500-litre fuel per day to run the buses. The fuel comes from IOC's Hasimara depot.

 

When asked, the divisional manager of the NBSTC, Mr Subrata Biswas said they were not getting fuel from the Hasimara IOL depot from yesterday. Now the buses are plying with fuels from reserve stock but that stock is going to be finished at any moment. Violating the MOU they bought some fuels from outer pumps yesterday to maintain passenger bus service. But, that also stopped from today as stocks in those pumps are also running out of fuel.

 

Compelled by the situation the NBSTC authorities began suspending bus services in several routes from yesterday. It is expected that they may run buses in rest of the routes till Sunday and then they will have to stop all services if the strike goes on, Mr Biswas fears. []

 

PHOTO : A bus takes fuels at the NBSTC's Cooch Behar depot on Friday.