CHENNAI: The fuel shortage in Chennai has seen many motorists in long queues lose their temper. But days of pent up rage against the prevailing situation spilled over into the virtual world, with many sharing information on petrol availability and venting their frustration.A spate of messages and photographs making a caricature out of the oil firms and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have been making their way around the social networking sites. But it was not all glum, with many posting useful information on which petrol pumps fuel was available.“The bunk on RK Salai has less crowd. Quickly go,” screamed the post by Abdullah on Facebook.Even as the virtual world buzzed with posts like these, the conditions continued to be torrid for those on the ground.“I cannot believe that the Oil Corporations are not even apologising for creating such a scenario. How can they let the situation decay to such a level? I am standing here in this hot sun for more than an hour and there is no sign of the queue moving,” said a motorist at a petrol bunk in Vepery.Some found neither fuel nor luck, running out of petrol even as they went around looking for pumps with stock. “I started at 7am looking for diesel in Anna Nagar. I have not got a drop. My pick-up truck stopped on the Nungambakkam High Road and I had to beg people to get it off the middle of the road,” rued Vinayagam, a dosa batter supplier.Many such incidents had traffic policemen scurrying around to prevent a descent into chaos. “Thank goodness we do not allow lorry traffic during the day. Otherwise there would be chaos,” remarked a police officer near the Central Railway station.If this was bad enough, even those trying to use public transport to tide over the crisis of fuel were not in for any easier an experience. Call taxi services were severely hit on Tuesday, with most of such service providers failing to take orders. A popular call taxi service provider told Express that its fleet had shrunk by 70 percent due to fuel shortage.The fuel shortage was a cause of concern for many fishermen, many of whom are preparing to go to sea after the end of the 45-day fishing ban period. “We have stock for two days. But we wonder if that would be enough. That they allowed the situation to reach this state is atrocious,” said Venkatesh, a fisherman in Ayodhya Nagar in Triplicane. However, by evening, a number of petrol bunks in the city were seen getting supply with tankers stationed outside the bunks. Oil industry representatives have said the supply situation is set to look up. A release from State Level Coordinator for Oil Industry, Tamil Nadu & Puducherry & Executive Director, IndianOil, VK Jaychandran, said a Coastal Tanker carrying 26,000 KL of HSD was berthed at Chennai Port and discharging the product. “A second Coastal Tanker carrying Motor Spirit - 7800KL (Petrol) and HSD -18,000 KL has also anchored and is awaiting berthing at Chennai Port. The third Tanker carrying HSD - 6000 KL has also arrived at Chennai Port and will be taken up for discharge as soon as berth space is allotted for it . One more Coastal Tanker with 7000 KL of MS & 17000 KL of HSD”, the statement said said.
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