Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, October 30 2010:
Normal mobile phone service is likely to be hit in the state which is reeling under a diesel scarcity for months and fuel suppliers have decided to stop supply with immediate effect from today.
An emergency meeting of fuel suppliers adopted a resolution to stop supply of diesel to all the generator sets for operating mobile towers with effect from today, president of the All Manipur Telecom Diesel Fillers Committee, N Nilakumar said in a briefing to media at Hotel Nirmala today.
The state has been reeling under a scarcity of petroleum products since the last six months after the prolonged economic blockade on the national highways coupled with the bad condition of the Imphal-Dimapur section of NH-39 .
Petrol pumps have remained closed for most times and customers are buying petrol and diesel from the black market at higher rates.
But due to frequent drives by the police, black marketers have shied away from the streets.
Even though Chief Minister Ibobi Singh had assured a week back of making available petroleum products in oil pumps, so far no improvement has been seen.
The president said since the authorities have failed to issue adequate quantity of diesel to the general public and since police are conducting frequent raids to the houses of diesel suppliers and since they have been alleging that they are storing the item illegally, the supplier are not in a position to continue their supply to mobile tower operators.
He also charged the police of taking bribes from the vehicles sent to fill diesel to the mobile towers and said that they have decided to suspend the supply till diesel fuel is readily available to the general public.
The decision of the mobile fuel suppliers came a day after three suppliers were arrested by Imphal east police yesterday with 4000 litre of diesel.
Police booked three fuel suppliers for illegal hoarding of the item.
A total of 13 mobile fuel suppliers are supplying diesel to around 700 mobile tower operators across the state being run by private mobile phone operators.
In Manipur, Aircel, Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Indicom etc.
are providing mobile phone services.
BSNL is not affected since it is a government run mobile phone service.
The decision of the mobile fuel suppliers came up even as state Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution announced that sub-allocation of MS/HSD will be made at the rate of 12KL each to all depots, three times a week at the minimum, within and around the Imphal and greater Imphal area.
Allocated fuels will be made available to the people under strict observation by the department.
In case of depots at remote places sub-allocation in quantities and number of allocation will be made subject to demand and deposal.
Around 14 depots are operating in Imphal area.