Queues, confusion and travel woes: Petrol panic grips Hyderabad

Hyderabad’s traffic has found a new choke point over the past couple of days: petrol pumps. Despite officials insisting that Telangana has plenty of fuel, stations are overflowing with anxious motorists reacting to ‘No stock’ signs. Caught between official reassurances and on-the-ground uncertainty, residents aren’t waiting to find out who is right; they are just topping up.What happened: The sudden rush appears to be a mix of perception and policy. A shift in how fuel is supplied, with state-run oil companies moving from credit-based systems to advance payments, has meant that some dealers have had to quickly arrange funds, leading to minor, temporary disruptions at certain pumps. Add to that a wave of rumours around fuel availability, and the result has been a classic domino effect: more people heading to stations at once, faster depletion of available stock, and queues that only seem to grow longer. In several parts of the city, from everyday neighbourhoods to busy office districts, motorists found themselves waiting it out, watching traffic build up around petrol bunks. While authorities maintain that supply chains remain fully functional and stock is adequate, the sight of crowded pumps has been enough to keep the anxiety — and the queues — alive. Reactions: “The bunk near my house at Malkajgiri had already put up a ‘no stock’ board by late last night, which is unusual. I had to drive to another area this morning, but even here the queues are long. The staff said fuel is depleting much faster than usual because everyone is filling full tanks at once”— Priyanka Sharma, school teacher “While my usual cab fare from Kondapur to Hitech City is around ₹180, today it shot up to ₹480 for the same 7 km. Not just that, rides which I used to get within 1–2 minutes now take 1.5–2 hours to arrive. Traffic came to a near standstill around many petrol pumps as vehicles queued up, causing major delays for commuters. The shortage of cabs and surge in fares are making daily commuting extremely difficult ”— Uddipona Goswami, a media manager “In just a couple of days, ride fares have increased drastically. With no change in fuel prices, it’s confusing for commuters to understand the reason behind this. There’s a sense of uncertainty, and it feels like we’re paying more without any clarity” — Siddhant Baruah, finance professional- Biswajit Talukdar