The Emarat filling stations in the Dubai and across all the northern emirates have witnessed heavy rush and a drastic increase in sales of fuel over the last two weeks, an apparent fallout of non-availability of fuel in other filling stations.

Emarat, a subsidiary of Emirates General Petroleum Corporation, registered a 50 per cent rise in sales over the past two weeks, straining its facilities at many places, Arabic daily Al Ittihad reported.

The rush was particularly heavy in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain, while Emarat filling stations in Ras Al Khaima and Fujairah also witnessed a relative increase in demand.

This rise in demand comes following temporary closure of services at many filling stations run by Enoc and Eppco.

According to sources in Emarat, the company has pressed its services on overdrive and continuously stocks its stations with 50 per cent additional fuel.

Since the people are aware of the situation, motorists fill their vehicle tanks daily even if they have enough, in anticipation of more shortage.

Eppco and Enoc filling stations in Dubai, which are operating normally, have also witnessed heavy rush as vehicles from neighbouring emirates make beeline to the stations.

It is understood that all 82 stations run by Eppco-Enoc in Sharjah have been closed down for maintenance reasons, however, no dates of reopening have been announced as yet.