Sikka regency short of gasoline

MAUMERA, East Nusa Tenggara: After East Java, Bali and Jakarta, the Sikka regency is now short of gasoline.

The shortage of gasoline since Wednesday has forced drivers to line up more than 10 hours to get vehicles fueled at two gasoline pump stations in East and West Maumere.

Kornelis Dulla, a 45-year-old driver, said on Friday he had been limited to only 10 liters of gasoline.

"How can I operate the truck if I get only 10 liters of gasoline?" Martinus Mirtak, a truck driver complained, adding that he had been waited from 11:00 a.m to 10:00 p.m.

"The lineup of vehicles reached about one kilometer in length," he said.

An official at the Sikka Regency, Guido Areso, said that the regency had only 10 tons of premium fuel or half than the usual stock.

Quoting an official from the state oil and gas company Pertamina, Guido said that a ship carrying gasoline was on its way to Sikka.(yac/sur)