GANGTOK, Sept 18: About 30,000 taxi vehicles in Sikkim are running short of fuel for the last few days due to the restriction on heavy vehicles to drive on the NH, 31A road from Gangtok to Sevoke. However, 50 per cent of Gangtok taxis have reportedly stopped plying on the road due to the crisis, which has caused chaos in the state. All the heavy vehicles, including petrol tankers, are stranded on either side at the 27th Mile, Lepcha Jhora near Chittrey and Tarkhola, which were not allowed to enter Sikkim due to the overload as several cracks appeared on the NH, 31A road made by incessant rain. Approximately ten petrol pumps from Gangtok to Ranipool, within 13 km, have a petrol shortage and some of them have emergency use. “We have 2,000 litres of petrol and 2,000 litres of diesel in our stock for government use on emergency as it is given to all the pumps” Mr Jigmee Namgyal, an owner of a petrol pump, said. “Of course we have a running shortage of petrol but we are not crippled as we are giving three to five litres to all the vehicles everyday,” he added. “Earlier, we were getting only five litres of petrol from the petrol pump at a time to run the vehicles but now it had been reduced to three litres, which is not adequate for commercial vehicles,” said Mr Amar Pradhan, Gangtok taxi driver. “Most of the taxis have stopped driving their vehicles and most of the petrol pumps have been closed due to the crisis." But BRO claimed they are not responsible for the crisis since this has been done for the welfare of people. “Overloaded vehicles above eight to ten tons are not allowed to ply on this hilly road as the incessant rain has damaged the various parts of the road and the road can't resist the weight of those vehicles,” Mr AK Dikshit, a commanding officer from Border Road Task Force (BRTF), said. “We are not responsible for the traffic movement as it is supposed to be done by the state government. No overloaded vehicles are allowed to ply all over India, especially on hilly roads, but here there is no any such provision of restriction the overloaded vehicles which is so surprising,” Mr Dikshit said. Meanwhile, only one petrol tanker entered Sikkim during the entire day. “One tanker containing 12,000 litres of petrol has arrived in the state” Mr Navin Karki, additional district collector (ADC) east, said. “The vehicles are preparing challan at Bageykhola so very soon it'll arrive in town to meet the crisis.”
