Aizawl, Jun 6 (PTI) Efforts are underway to set up an oil depot in Mizoram and work is expected to begin in the next three months, state minister K Lalrinliana said on Monday.
Emphasising the need for self-sufficiency in essential commodities, the state food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister said that there are no oil depots in the state at present because of which it frequently faces shortages.
“We are the only state in the country which has no oil depot. We have no storage facility except those in filling stations, which can stock fuel that can last for only five days,” the minister said while addressing a political session at the Mizo National Front (MNF) office here.
The construction of an oil depot is expected to commence in the next three months, he said.
The minister said the state government is also making massive efforts to set up more gas bottling plants that can store LPG for at least three months of consumption.
He said the state now has sufficient rice stocks for seven months.
Mizoram was recently hit by an acute shortage of petrol due to landslides and floods in neighbouring Assam and Meghalaya.
As per an official of the supply department, the situation has now improved.
Mizoram imports oil and LPG mainly from Assam.