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Several petrol pumps in the capital witnessed on Saturday long lines of motorcycles and private cars for refuelling.
From morning until noon, long lines of motorcycles and private cars were seen at several petrol pumps across the capital.
Visiting different petrol pumps in the capital on the day, many were found to complain that even after waiting for hours, the fuel they received was far below their needs.
Customers in the queues expressed their frustrations with dissatisfaction for not getting the amount of fuel people need.
Bikers said that they could run their bikes all day after refuelling once or twice. Now they have to stand in line for nearly six hours to refill four or five times.
They said that they need to spend six hours riding and six hours waiting for fuel.
"If half the day passes just waiting to buy fuel, how can we make enough from the remaining time,?" biker Md Suman said with utter frustration.
He said that he had to wait for 45 minutes to buy octane at the Motijheel Filling Station.
He works as a ride-share driver. Previously, filling up twice was enough for him to transport passengers throughout the day.
But after the government set a limit of two litres per purchase, he now has to refill four to five times daily.
"This rule has caused the greatest hardship for us," he said.
Earlier on 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran, which responded with counterattacks. As a result, war has spread across the oil-rich Middle East.
Iran has blocked fuel shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, and attacks have also disrupted Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production in Qatar. Consequently, global fuel prices have been rising.
In this situation, panic buying led to crowds at filling stations in Bangladesh. In response, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) imposed limits on fuel supply on Friday.
According to the directive, a motorcycle can purchase up to 2 litres of petrol or octane per day. Private cars can receive 10 litres, while microbuses can receive 20 to 25 litres daily.
Md Anwar Hossain was standing in line there for more than an hour.
He said that has been working as a ride-share motorcyclist in Dhaka for over ten years. The Uber driver expressed frustration for waiting more than an hour just to buy two litres of fuel.
Meanwhile, fuel sales were halted at several filling stations. At Purbachal Traders in Paribagh, a notice board displayed the message "Petrol/Octane Unavailable" around 2:00pm.
"Because Friday and Saturday are holidays, fuel does not arrive from the depot. The fuel we had ran out yesterday due to excessive demand. We have no fuel left now. We will resume sales once the depot supplies fuel tomorrow," Jafar Ahmed, the fuel station's accountant said.
The massive crowds of vehicles in front of filling stations also created traffic congestion on various roads, adding to the sufferings of city residents during the fasting month of Ramadan.
Meanwhile, the government is now forced to purchase fuel at higher prices as the war in the Middle East has unsettled the global fuel market.
Daily limits have been imposed on how much fuel can be purchased each day to conserve supply.
Employees at different petrol pumps were seen maintaining order in the lines of motorcycles and private cars by holding bamboo poles.
"We are selling fuel according to the rules set by the government. Until Thursday we received fuel from the depot based on demand. Friday and Saturday are weekend, so we didn't receive supply. We cannot yet say whether we will receive enough fuel from tomorrow according to demand. However, we hope there will not be a crisis," said Md Osman, manager of Meghna Model Servicing Centre in Paribagh.
The largest crowd for fuel was seen at the petrol pump (Meghna Model Servicing Centre in Paribagh). At this station, the line of motorcycles and private cars stretched more than 200 to 300 metres in the morning and remained the same until noon. Even after 10:00pm on Friday night, similarly long queues were observed.
"I don't know when this suffering will end. Half the day goes by just getting fuel. Even last Thursday I couldn't drive because of the fuel situation. Earlier I could earn Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,200 a day, but now it's difficult even to earn Tk 500 to Tk 600," Uber driver Md Babul Mia said who had waited more than an hour and a half there before getting fuel.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com