Petroleum Ministry mitigates Tripura’s fuel crises with RoRo service

The Ministry of Petroleum in deliberations with the Ministry of Railways has organised the transportation of Petroleum, Oil and Lubrications (POL) products to Tripura through Roll On Roll Off (RoRo), wherein the trucks carrying bulk products and LPG cylinders are loaded on open railway wagons for fuel movement.

The supply of petroleum products to Tripura has been severely affected due to heavy rains and washing away of the NH44, leading to the state. Reaching fuel to the rain-ravaged state has become a herculean task after a large portion of the road had been washed away. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, after a thorough review on the availability of POL products in the state, has paved the way for movement of petroleum products by rail to mitigate the impending crisis. 

Image Credit: Indian Oil

The rake carrying Indian oil trucks was flagged off from Bhanga, Assam to reach Chraibari, Tripura on August 11. This is the first such initiative of such kind in the North East. Simultaneously, Indian oil trucks are also being re-routed through the alternate circuitous route, reserved exclusively for POL and LPG movement. 

Traditionally, Indian Oil supplies POL products to Tripura from its depot at Dharmanagar, Tripura. Since October 2014, the products are received at Dharmanagar depot from Guwahati depot by road, due to the suspension of rail movement caused by track conversion from Metre gauge to Broad gauge. Though the railways restored the section for passenger traffic, the POL movement has not yet been restored.