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Three-wheeler drivers fuelling fuel black market?

18 Jul 2022

  • Petrol litre at Rs. 2,500 on black market
  • Three-Wheeler Drivers’ Union claims all vehicle owners hoarding fuel
By Buddhika Samaraweera A large number of three-wheeler drivers are pumping fuel into their three-wheelers from several filling stations at less than Rs. 500 per litre, which is the market price, before selling it at prices as high as Rs. 2,500 per litre to desperate vehicle owners, The Morning learnt. Speaking to The Morning, many people complained that these three-wheeler drivers pump fuel into their three-wheelers, after which they bottle the fuel to sell at exorbitant prices on the black market. This is also one of the reasons there are extremely long queues of three-wheelers near most filling stations at any given time. Speaking to The Morning, a resident of the Kadawatha area said that he had witnessed an incident where a three-wheeler driver approached a person waiting in a queue at a filling station and sold five litres of petrol for a sum of Rs. 12,500. He also said that many such incidents have been reported in the area in the past few days. When contacted by The Morning to inquire into this matter, All-Ceylon Three Wheeler Drivers’ Union (ACTWDU) President Lalith Dharmasekara said that reports of three-wheeler drivers selling fuel at higher prices are part of a narrative created by owners of other vehicles. He said that with the imposition of fuel pumping limits for certain vehicles, it is not only three-wheeler drivers but other vehicle owners too who pump fuel and collect it into bottles and keep a supply of fuel at home due to fears of a severe shortage. “Not only three-wheeler drivers, various people stand in queues for many days to get fuel and some of them sell fuel at higher prices. There are others who are unwilling and unable to wait in queues for many days. In those situations, such people are ready to pay any amount to buy fuel. This is why incidents of selling fuel at such high prices are being reported,” he added. The country is currently experiencing a severe shortage of fuel due to the prevailing shortage of foreign exchange reserves in the country, particularly US dollars. As a result, people have had to wait in miles-long queues for days to obtain fuel, while operations of many services, including private bus and taxi services, have been hampered.


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