Assam petrol pumps to stay shut for 24 hours from 6 am on November 12

Motorists across Assam should fill up early this week. Petrol pumps in the state plan to stop buying and selling fuel for a full day from 6 am on Thursday, November 12, until 6 am on November 13, in a protest against oil marketing companies (OMCs), according to reports by India Today NE and Pratidin Time.

The "no purchase, no sale" protest has been called by the North East India Petroleum Dealers' Association (NEIPDA), which first announced it in a statement dated October 28. The association's Greater Guwahati unit has gone further, warning that outlets in and around the city could close indefinitely from November 23 if the companies do not address the dealers' complaints.

What the dealers are unhappy about

NEIPDA says oil companies, including Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), have taken arbitrary decisions that hurt dealers' business. Its main complaints, as listed in the reports, are:

• threats to stop petrol and diesel supplies to an outlet over a suspected violation without first hearing the dealer;
• cancellation of tank-truck transport consortium arrangements without prior notice;
• pressure to buy extra products such as lubricants even when customers do not want them;
• fuel loading being blocked at some outlets, and dealers being asked to install point-of-sale machines while their own payments are pending;
• deductions from dealers' SAP accounts and delays in reimbursing approved subsidies and costs incurred to meet Legal Metrology Department rules.

General secretary Arup Goswami said dealers were being penalised without a proper chance to explain themselves. He argued that forcing outlets to stock products that do not sell ties up money and space and could even create safety risks.

The association wants cancelled agreements restored, the disputed deductions reversed, pending reimbursements cleared and an end to what it calls the forced sale of lubricants.

What it means for the public

If the protest goes ahead, private vehicles, taxis, goods carriers and buses that depend on retail pumps could struggle to find fuel for 24 hours. Queues are likely on November 11 as people top up in advance. Emergency arrangements, if any, have not been announced.

No response from IOC or the other oil marketing companies had been reported by Sunday night. NEInsider will update this story if the protest is called off or talks are scheduled.