LAHORE: Commuters continue to suffer and complain as with the two-day scheduled CNG closure, an extra one-day closure will be observed this week on account of a protest by the All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) against the two-day closure.
The gas will remain suspended on Tuesday and Wednesday as scheduled, and on Thursday APCA will shut down the stations in protest. “The government has closed the CNG stations for two days a week and we are closing one day in protest.
If the government continues the two-day closure then this one-day closure will be observed every week. People should get ready for three day closure every week. We don’t want to bother consumers and only want to show the government importance of CNG,” said APCA Supreme Council Chairman Ghayas Abdullah Paracha. He said the member stations had stronglybacked the one-day extra closure as a protest.
COMPLAINTS: Commuters complained that they were already burdened by inflation and now CNG suspension would force them to run the vehicles on petrol. “Eid is approaching and the budget is already burdened with expenses and now this suspension would make things worst,” said a businessman Habib Ahmed.
He said every week a one-day closure costs him Rs 150-200 and a three-day-closure means Rs 500-600 extra only on fuel. People should fuel their vehicles in advance on Monday so that they could run them on Tuesday, said a CNG station owner Muhammad Sadiq of College Road Township. He said, however the consumers will inevitably have to run their vehicles on petrol on Wednesday.
A rickshaw driver, Munir Ahmed said his customers quarrelled if he charged extra. “I used to transport children from schools and running my rickshaw on petrol will burden my budget. If I charge extra, the parents get angry with me” he added.
Another rickshaw driver, Nazim Hussain said, “Every customer would quarrel that he will not pay extra than what he paid last week.”
