KOLKATA: The West Bengal BJP government led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday relaxed restrictions on the sale of diesel in containers and barrels for several essential sectors, including healthcare services, agriculture and the tea industry across the state, expressing concerns that the curbs were affecting daily operations and emergency services.
With the relaxation, individuals, organisations and consumers associated with these essential sectors will now be able to purchase diesel in containers or barrels and transport it without difficulty, the CM said.
The Bengal government withdrew the restrictions on the sale of diesel in containers and barrels for these essential sectors.
In a post on X on Sunday, Suvendu said his government was committed to ensuring that the daily lives of people and the state's economy function smoothly without disruption.
Referring to the recent restrictions on supplying diesel in containers, Suvendu said the measure had created severe difficulties for farmers, hospitals and agencies engaged in providing emergency services.
"Our hardworking farmer brothers, various hospitals and emergency service providers were facing extreme difficulties in carrying out their work. To protect public interest, the West Bengal government intervened immediately," the CM wrote.
The state government has also relaxed the daily limit on diesel supply for eligible customers. To purchase diesel at fuel stations, beneficiaries will only be required to present basic identification documents.
Suvendu said the state government had directed major oil companies to exempt critical sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, food supply, public utility services and tea gardens from the diesel restrictions.
The chief minister also said the daily ceiling on fuel supply for such consumers had been relaxed.
"For uninterrupted access to diesel, customers will only have to produce basic identity documents at fuel stations," he said, adding that the decision was aimed at preventing disruptions in essential services and economic activities.
Sources in the state secretariat at Nabanna said the food supplies department had already contacted IOCL, HPCL and BPCL, asking them to exempt the essential sectors from the restrictions.
Following the West Asia conflict, the Central government led by the BJP had imposed several restrictions to keep the fuel supply situation normal across the country.
The restrictions categorically stated that diesel could not be sold in containers. The maximum limit of fuel purchased from oil-supplying agencies was also to be recorded every day.
With the restrictions on the sale of diesel in containers and barrels, small-scale industrial units such as agriculture and poultry farming were badly affected because farmers and poultry owners were not allowed to buy fuel in containers for their businesses.
In Bengal, the use of diesel in healthcare services and the agriculture sector is widespread because of generators required for emergency and uninterrupted power supply in hospitals and for small irrigation pumps in the districts.