LAHORE
CNG filling stations across the provincial capital remained closed on Wednesday due to unannounced gas suspension, causing inconvenience to the citizens.
CNG remained unavailable at all gas stations in Mughalpura, Dharampura, Cantonment, Upper Mall, Islampura, Gulshan Ravi, Allama Iqbal Town, Multan Road, Thokar Niaz Baig, Johar Town, Model Town, Garden Town, Faisal Town, Township, Gulberg, Defence, Cavalry Ground and other areas.
The All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) protested against the unannounced gas suspension, with APCNGA Chairman Junaid Mukda warning that the CNG stations will stay closed for three days in protest if the government did not withdraw its decision of suspending gas twice a week.
He said that the CNG sector was paying the highest gas tariff for the whole year which automatically exempted them from gas load shedding but the government was not caring about the gas sector. Nadeem Hassan Ali, the manager of a local fuel station owned by a multinational organisation, told Pakistan Today that the frequent fluctuations in CNG prices and ‘fruitless’ load shedding had made it evident that the government was not sure of the policies it made.
He showed the notice issued on behalf of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) General Manager Sohail M Gulzar, which explained the revised load shedding schedule. He said that gas was cut off unexpectedly after 9pm making it hard for them to face the consumers.
He said that the authorities concerned must act rapidly to solve this issue before it gets out of hand. The commuters faced problems because of the CNG suspension as they had to resort to petrol.
“I’ve been trying to find CNG for the past 45 minutes. Most of the cars now run on CNG and the government should address this problem,” said Irshad Hussain, a father of two.
“This is hilarious… the government is indifferent as if this was not even an issue,” said Ali Naseem, a student of LUMS.
