The LPG crisis in the city continues to snowball, with more private LPG auto gas bunks witnessing long lines of autorickshaws, some waiting beyond six hours.
While oil majors are advising autorickshaw drivers to switch to petrol, the latter say that not many of their vehicles are compatible with both LPG and petrol. Poor mileage and harm to the engine are drivers' other concerns.
Govindraju K, an auto driver waiting at an Indian Oil station, told DH, "Petrol is expensive, and it gives us very little mileage compared to LPG. It impacts the engine of the vehicle. Hence, we are hesitant to switch to petrol."
Satya Kumar, another autorickshaw driver, said, "I am told that my engine is designed for LPG. If something happens to my auto while using petrol, who will bear that cost?."
D Rudramurthy, general secretary, Auto Rickshaw Drivers' Union, told DH that switching to petrol is not an option. "The engine bore gets damaged, and the mileage will come down to around 10 km per litre."
Auto drivers in Bengaluru struggle as LPG costs surge, supply dipsThe management of a gas station on Mysuru Road said that they were expecting a supply on Monday night, but were unsure about the price.
Prakash Kumar, the owner of the station, said, "We are expecting about four tonnes of LPG supply to arrive tonight. We are yet to determine the price, but it will be for sure priced above Rs 140. We haven't received a single load in almost a week."
The owner of another bunk near Uttarahalli, wishing to remain anonymous, said, "Auto LPG is not available even in the black market. We are worried about keeping the bunk running. If we do not have business, how do we pay our workers and sustain ourselves?"
Krishna K, an autorickshaw driver from Kumbalgodu, said, "In search of LPG, I had to drive for 30 km from my house. I parked my auto in the line to not lose my spot. I went home at 10 pm by bus and came back at 5 am, leaving my auto in the queue."
Many auto drivers in the snaking queues at auto LPG bunks across the city said they were resorting to selling jewellery to pay rent to their owners for the autos.
Autorickshaw driver Praveen Gowda, said, "If we don't pay rent even for a day, the owners harass us. If we don't have fuel, we are stuck. Our situation is getting worse, just like the Covid time".