Risky twist to fuel crisis

SHARJAH — The fuel shortage in Sharjah has taken a dangerous twist with motorists rushing to stock up petrol in plastic containers at home.

Residents also expressed dissatisfaction over the closure of Enoc and Eppco petrol stations and said that it resolves nothing but only brings more difficulties. Shalie Alegarme, a resident of Sharjah, expressed concerns over motorists who store petrol in plastic containers. This would pose danger considering that the containers were fragile. “I was curious to find out why it took so much time for the motorist ahead of me to pull out from the queue. I later saw that there were many passengers inside the vehicle, and each carried big plastic containers to store petrol,” said Alegarme.

She said the closure of Enoc and Eppco stations in Sharjah has made it very difficult for residents. “Today, I have to drive all the way to Shaikh Zayed Road to get petrol. The queue at petrol stations there is a bit shorter than those in the vicinity of Sharjah,” she added.

Mohammad Khan, who works in Jebel Ali, said that closure is not the answer as it only drives people to panic and store petrol, which is even more hazardous as this is the hot season and fire incidents normally occur in this period. “How much more dangerous can it be than to keep petrol in plastic containers at home?”

Many families residing in Sharjah work in Jebel Ali and their mobility is dependent on company cars. They have to source petrol further from the area after working hours to be able to report to work the following day on time, he added.

Oliver Ramos, another resident of the emirate, told Khaleej Times that most motorists, including himself, were still hoping for an end to the petrol crisis. But with the closure it meant that their difficulties in obtaining petrol would be dependent either on the long queues at Emarat petrol stations within Sharjah or a long drive to Dubai where the queue would be shorter. “This is really very inconvenient for us since we have kids to be dropped off at school on my way to office.”

He said even trucks are queuing up along with cars and vans at petrol stations.

According to Ahmed Salahuddin, also a resident of Sharjah, there is a new trend now to shift to small cars, which require less petrol. “I am buying a new small car. I have to stop using my Hummer to conserve petrol.”

lily@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE