UP petrol pump queues continued for the second day, but authorities said there is no fuel shortage. (Representative image)Long queues were seen outside petrol pumps for the second consecutive day across parts of Uttar Pradesh, even as authorities and oil companies reiterated that there is no shortage of fuel and urged people not to resort to panic buying.Sudhir Bora, Vice President of the UP Petrol Pump Association, said panic buying peaked late Thursday night and early Friday but subsided later in the day. Sources said that teams were deployed by the district administration in cities like Lucknow to monitor petrol pumps and prevent disruption.Indian Oil Corporation’s Executive Director and State Level Coordinator for oil companies in UP, Sanjay Bhandari, while speaking to the media, provided a detailed breakdown of fuel and LPG availability, stressing that supplies are stable.He said petrol pumps across the state — numbering around 13,000 — currently hold 4–5 days of stock, while depots have a combined petrol and diesel stock of nearly 18 days. “There is regular inflow of crude oil. There is no shortage whatsoever,” he said.On LPG, Bhandari said that UP has around 4.85 crore domestic consumers, with daily supply of about 7 lakh cylinders like in the past against average bookings which has reached 11 lakh per day. He said that there is a backlog of about 3.7 days across Uttar Pradesh for all oil companies, claiming that even for the commercial users, the supply has increased.Bhandari said that while initially for hospitals, industries, and educational institutions, supply was limited to 20% of their average consumption in early March, a provision allowing an additional 10% allocation was ordered once the state fulfilled certain conditions.The state government met these conditions and requested implementation, officials said, adding that the Petroleum Ministry allowed a further 20% additional allocation for commercial consumers willing to shift from LPG to PNG, effectively raising supply flexibility to up to 50% for such cases.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Petrol, diesel excise duty slashed by Rs 10: How it impacts consumers, explainedThereafter, a fresh order extended another 20% allocation for labour-intensive sectors like steel, pharmaceuticals, and textiles, recognising their economic importance.With cumulative relaxations and revised policy, commercial LPG allocation has now been increased to 70% of average consumption, a significant jump from the initial 20% cap, officials said.This phased increase shows that supply constraints are being actively managed and eased,” Bhandari said.Officials said that panic buying began in eastern UP districts like Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, and Siddharthnagar, before spreading to central districts including Lucknow and Sitapur.Story continues below this adReassuring the public, Bhandari said, “There is sufficient stock of petrol, diesel, and LPG in the state. There is no reason to worry. Panic buying should be avoided as it creates artificial shortages.”Meanwhile, fuel prices remained unchanged in the state capital, with petrol at Rs 94.69 per litre and diesel at Rs 87.81 per litre.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd