The local administration of Rangamati district re-fixed the fare of octane-run auto-rickshaw by 52% considering the fuel price hike of the government. Deputy Commissioner Mizanur Rahman took the decision after a meeting with the auto-rickshaw workers union leaders on Sunday. The octane-run auto-rickshaw is the only internal vehicle carrying passengers from one place to another in Rangamati. The local administration took the decision as the drivers of the auto-rickshaw enforced a strike demanding to raise the fare of the vehicle. According to the new fare, passengers have to pay Tk 10 instead of Tk 8, Tk 15 instead of Tk 12, Tk 25 instead of Tk 20 and Tk 30 instead of Tk 24. Read: BCSIR starts making low cost Covid testing kits Any kind of chaos over the fare of autorickshaw won’t be tolerated, said deputy commissioner Mizanur. Earlier, the autorickshaw workers union enforced a strike from Saturday following a hot argument between a passenger and auto-rickshaw driver over fare. The movement of octane-run auto-rickshaw resumed on Sunday afternoon after the fruitful meeting with the local administration. The government hiked the price of fuel oil by a big margin on Friday. Diesel price has been increased by Tk 34 to Tk 114 per litre while octane price hiked by Tk 46 to Tk 135 and petrol by Tk 44 to Tk 130. The new price came into effect from Friday midnight.

There is no chance of a fuel crisis in Bangladesh as the country has enough petroleum in reserve, the Energy and Mineral Resource Division said Monday. The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation has been ensuring an uninterrupted supply of petroleum oil across the country through its subsidiary oil marketing companies, the EMRD said in a statement. The statement came against the backdrop of the recent media reports about a fuel crisis in the country's northern districts. Petroleum is supplied from Daulatpur in Khulna to Parbatipur and from Chattogram to Rangpur by rail wagon. Despite having adequate stock in the country, the supply of octane and petrol to the depots in some of the northern districts was delayed due to a shortage of railway engines as the railway gave priority to passenger transport during Eid-ul-Fitr, the energy division said. "The supply of octane and petrol is now stable across the country. Stocks and supply of other fuel oil also remain normal," the energy division said, adding that legal action will be taken against anyone who will sell octane and petrol at an inflated price falsely citing the energy crisis. The division urged people not to buy octane and petrol at excess price. To meet the demand for fuel oil in the country, the import schedule of octane has been finalised as per the monthly requirement for May and June. Fuel tankers are plying the Chattogram Port every week. Production of octane and petrol has continued at the state-owned Eastern Refinery and private plants. The average monthly demand for octane and petrol in the country is around 36,000 metric tonnes and 39,000 metric tonnes respectively. This demand can be met with existing stock, import, and domestic production, said the energy division. Also read: BPC incurs Tk 63 crore loss a day in petroleum sale, but experts suggest cut on import duty

The government will import an additional 30,000 metric tonnes of octane to meet the growing demand of fuel, mainly consumed by vehicles such as cars, jeeps and motorcycles for November and December this year.