Filling Stations’ Owners Create Fuel Shortage In Punjab

(@fidahassanain)

Filling stations’ owners create fuel shortage in Punjab

Public miseries continue due to shortage of fuel in urban and rural areas while the local government authorities failed to implement the PM’s orders.

OKARA: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-June 10th, 2020) In a bid to create fuel crisis in the country after recent fall in prices of the petroleum products, the owners of filing stations in Urban and Rural areas refused to sell oil to the public.

Despite clear warnings from the local authorities and notice of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the owners of small filling stations were creating shortage of fuel in the country merely by refusing the people. The sources said that they were doing so just because of very thin margin of profit on the POL products.

The local governments failed to ensure sale of POL products on the approved rates of the government as some of the filing stations were selling the POL products against the approved products.

“I went to a filling station located at the other corner of the city but they refused me the petrol,” Asim Ali, adding that it was very tough him to go to such a far place in this hot weather.

“Then I went to another filling station which was on the opposite corner of the city and they also said “Sorry”,”

He said that he went to small shop located nearby the filling station on Haveli road and they promised him to provide him petrol only if wanted to buy litre petrol against Rs. 100. The official price of per litre petrol is Rs. 74. 520.

Bilal, another motorcyclist, was of the view that he bought only two litre petrol but it was more than the fixed rates.

“They asked me to pay Rs. 110 against per litre petrol,” said Bilal, a resident of Hujra Shah Muqeem who was looking upset and tired due to hot weather.

“We suffering for last two weeks as the filling stations here either are not refusing citizens or charging more than the fixed rates,” he further said. Bilal said that they did not receive any relief since the government slashed the prices of POL products.

On other hand, the government officials claimed that there were shortage of fuel but because of the large oil buying companies which failed to supply the POL products to filling stations. However, the ground realities are different as the oil was available at the filling stations but the owners were reluctant to sell the same.

Fida Hussnain

Fida Hussnain is a lahore based journalist. He writes on politics, religion, social issues and climate change. He is also a research fellow at University of Gujrat.