Dhaka Fuel Stations Show Stabilisation

A visit to five filling stations across Dhaka city has revealed a markedly different situation in fuel distribution compared with recent days. At several locations, no long queues were observed, and customers were able to refuel after only brief waiting periods. While minor shortages in fuel supply were still reported by station operators, overall conditions were described as close to normal by users.

In recent days following the outbreak of the Iran conflict, petrol stations in the capital had experienced extended queues, with vehicles waiting from night until morning to obtain fuel. However, on Tuesday a noticeable improvement was observed across multiple sites, including Shahidbagh, Arambagh, Mothshyobhabon, Motijheel and Ramna.

At approximately 10:50 a.m. in Shahidbagh, the Rajarbagh Filling Station showed only two motorcycles being serviced. No additional motorcycles were waiting in queue, a significant contrast to previous days when long lines of motorcycles and private cars had formed during similar hours. At the time of observation, only three to four private cars were waiting to be refuelled.

By 11:30 a.m. in Arambagh at M/s HK Filling Station, around 10 to 15 private cars were seen in a queue, while the motorcycle queue remained empty. Customers reported waiting briefly for fuel deliveries to arrive. A private car driver, Md Shahjahan, stated that he had recently joined the queue and was informed that fuel would arrive shortly, after which servicing would proceed quickly. A staff member, Md Raju, indicated that fuel had not yet arrived but that the queue would clear within minutes once deliveries were made.

At 12:00 p.m. in Motijheel at Karim & Sons Filling Station, conditions appeared notably different from the previous week. According to station records and staff accounts, over a thousand motorcycles and private vehicles had previously been waiting for fuel. On Tuesday, however, no queue was present, with only occasional vehicles arriving to refuel and leaving shortly afterwards.

The station owner, Abdus Salam, confirmed that long queues were no longer present and that the situation had largely stabilised. He noted, however, that diesel supply was slightly lower than before, although there were no significant issues with octane availability.

By 1:00 p.m. near Mothshyobhabon and Ramna Filling Station at Mothshyobhabon Road, no queue was observed. Motorcycles and private cars were arriving intermittently and receiving fuel without waiting in line. A motorcycle ride-sharing operator, Md Swapon, commented that although waiting time had reduced, fuel prices remained relatively high, adding that a price reduction would benefit users as fares had not increased proportionately.

Summary of observations

Overall, the observations across these five stations indicate a general return towards normal operational conditions, although minor inconsistencies in fuel supply were still reported by station operators.