Oil companies have reported plummeting sales of diesel in Goa — to the extent of 15 per cent in general and 90 per cent in the iron-ore rich belt of the State due to ban on the mining industry.

A senior Indian Oil Company (IOC) official told PTI that total retail sales of IOC, Bharat Petroleum (BP) and Hindustan Petroleum (HP) have been down by almost 15 per cent since September last year when mining operations stopped.

These figures are against the 12 per cent year-on-year growth reported by all the companies combined in Goa, he claimed, adding that the petrol stations located in the mining belt are worst affected.

“The sale of diesel has gone down by almost 90 per cent compared to last year in these outlets which were basically dependent on the mining activity,” the official stated.

The combined figures available from IOC, BP and HPL indicate that the retail diesel sale went down by 17.25 per cent, 17.93 per cent and 17.48 per cent in October, November and December last year, respectively.

This year till January, the retail sale of diesel plummeted by 12.54 per cent. All oil companies together have 106 diesel outlets in Goa, of which almost 30 per cent are in the mining belt, largely dependent on the mining activity.

“The sale for the mining activity is zero since September . The total diesel sales are down by 90 per cent at the pumps which are located in the mining belt,” said Sandesh Prabhu, who runs Chaitanya Petrol Pump at Dharbandora, a mining heartland.

Prabhu said that he is spared from major loses as his station is located on the highway and hence has reported only 60 per cent reduction in diesel sales.

“There are many petrol stations that are exclusively dependent on mining activity. Their situation is terrible,” he said, adding that besides retail sale, there are direct sales to companies for running generators, screening plants and other mining equipments, which has also stopped completely.

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