Why petrol costs Rs 300 per litre in Tripura

The incessant downpour in the North East has left Tripura isolated from supply of essential commodities including fuel. The Assam-Tripura highway which is the lifeline for the state has been damaged for the last two months and the rains are hampering repair works.

Several trucks loaded with essential items are stranded along the path which is now reduced to slush pits. The scarcity has driven the prices of perishable and non-perishable items in Tripura.

In Agartala, Tripura’s capital, fuel reserve is being rationed at INR 300 rupees per litre for petrol and INR 150 per litre for diesel. The government even enforced odd-even rule in filling fuel for vehicles.

Several people (including members of opposition party) took to streets in protest of the logistic failure. Several schools in the state have announced holidays due to lack of fuel to run their buses.

If the supplies continue to be delayed, the state would be facing a deteriorated quality of life. Bhanu Lal Saha, Tripura’s civil supplies minister told Times Of India that 180 vehicles carrying essential items have entered Tripura since Thursday of which 20 carried petrol and 15 carried diesel. He also added that the government has asked Indian Oil Corporation to dispatch 100 fuel tankers to the state on a daily basis to eliminate the acute shortage.

This article first appeared on Rushlane.com