Abishek Sapra, who lives in the southern part of Taveuni, says many communities in the area are rural, and some do not have access to electricity.
Sapra says the fuel shortage has affected businesses and workers, claiming one of the island’s largest estates has stopped work for about two weeks because it does not have enough fuel to operate its vehicles.
He says people who still have fuel are now carefully managing when they use their vehicles and are only making essential trips.
Sapra says while he has seen reports that fuel supplies have arrived in Taveuni, he is unclear about where the fuel is being distributed.
Insert:Sapra on fuel
He claims a person who arrived from Labasa this morning tried to refuel at a service station but was told there was no fuel available.
Sapra says travelling from the south to the north of the island to search for fuel can take more than an hour, while long queues at service stations are also creating difficulties.
He says his family has three vehicles but is limiting travel to essential trips, including grocery shopping, which requires a drive of about 45 minutes to town.
Sapra says they now buy enough groceries for the entire week to avoid unnecessary travel.
He says the shortage has also affected his business, which supplies soaps and other products to resorts, as deliveries have been put on hold.
Sapra says his property has a 3,000-litre reserve fuel tank, but supplies are now running low after the tank has gone almost three weeks without a refill.
He says friends and other residents have approached him asking for fuel, but with supplies already running low, he has been unable to assist them.
Sapra says his property mainly runs on solar power, but cloudy weather has reduced solar generation, forcing them to occasionally use generators to support their battery system.
He says this has placed further pressure on their remaining fuel supplies.
Sapra says the last time his family was able to refuel a vehicle at a service station in town was about a month ago, and they are currently relying on what remains in their reserve tank.
