Amidst statewide crisis of fuel products, the movement of passengers and transport of goods, including essentials, has been affected in for the past two weeks, due to the restricted movement of trains in the region heavy landslides and damage to railway tracks after heavy rains in Assam’s mountainous Dima Hasao district, the Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha requested the intervention of the Union Railway Ministry to assist in transporting fuel to the State.

Chief Minister Dr Saha wrote a letter to the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to assist in transporting fuel in the state and in his letter to Railway Minister, Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha has asked for necessary steps to be taken as the state is currently facing a severe shortage of petrol and diesel.

Dr Saha is personally monitoring the situation, and they hope the crisis will be resolved within the next few days.

One week after the crisis emerged, the Tripura government requested the intervention of the Union Railway Ministry to assist in transporting fuel to the State.

The Tripura government had earlier imposed restrictions on the sale of fuel in order to address the crisis. Private transportation has been greatly affected, with long queues forming at filling stations for all types of vehicles and crisis on Wednesday worsen as major fuel outlets across Agartala are running dry and long queues of motorbike riders have been seen in front of few fuel outlets since Wednesday morning.

State government officials have stated that the crisis was caused by damage to a rail route in a hilly area of Assam due to landslides. Despite some repairs done, the train service has not been fully restored.

The restrictions on the distribution of petrol and diesel will continue for a few more days until normal supply can be resumed along the railway, said an official of the Food and Civil Supply department of Tripura government on Wednesday. Currently, two-wheelers are limited to a maximum of Rs 200 worth of petrol and four-wheelers are limited to Rs 500 per day at filling stations.

In the meantime, CNG distribution has returned to normal after a brief shortage. Officials have reported that filling stations operated by the Tripura Natural Gas Company Limited (TNGCL)  have now sufficient stock.

According to the officials, the stock of fuel -- petrol and diesel – and other essential goods in Tripura are not adequate in view of restrictions on goods train movement.

After the damages to railway tracks and landslides in the hill section of southern Assam, the Tripura and Mizoram governments, on May 2, ordered rationing of the purchase of petrol and diesel for different types of vehicles.

Tripura’s Food and Civil Supplies Department Director Nirmal Adhikari held a meeting with the representatives of the Tripura Merchants' Association (TMA) and Tripura Wholesale Grocery Merchants' Association (TWGMA) to review the situation. An official said that there is no need to panic as the state has food stock for around a month, but the state government would take up the issue at the highest level.