CNG closure enters 4th day

CNG customers across the country continued suffering as the strike called by the All Pakistan CNG Association entered its fourth day on Saturday.
Following the unavailability of CNG, petrol and diesel have also become a rare commodity in several parts of the country, including Islamabad and Lahore.
And the situation is yet to turn worse, as petroleum dealers and filling station owners on Saturday threatened to join the strike if the government failed to meet their demands by tomorrow (Monday). The Oil Tankers Association has also decided to join the strike and announced suspending oil supply from Monday.
All Pakistan Oil Tanker Association Punjab Chairman Nadeem Abbas said the association would stop oil supply to all institutions from tomorrow (Monday). He said the association strongly supported the APCNGA strike call that was only for the sake of the people of the country. Abbas said oil supply to all national entities, including airports and other departments, would be suspended for an indefinite period from Monday.
The APCNGA had called an indefinite strike last week against the government’s plan to impose an additional cess on the CNG sector that will drive the commodity’s price to between Rs 95 and Rs 98 per kilogramme. The strike is being carried out in all provinces except Sindh.
A majority of public transport remained off roads, while those continuing service, including rickshaw and taxis owners, did not mind charging extra from the desperate commuters.
In Lahore, roads presented an unusual calm even at rush hours and the only crowds seen were that at the few filling stations having supply of POL products. It was the sixth day without CNG in the provincial metropolis, as the CNG stations had stopped sales on Monday morning per weekly schedule.
The APCNGA had on Friday involved petrol station owners in the protest, asking them to close down stations as the government was not taking any notice of their strike and was apparently unwilling to solve the issue.
In Peshawar, CNG stations remained closed for the third day and commuters faced severe problems. However, a few stations remained functioning in Civil Quarters, on Ring Road and Kohat Road. The situation was not much different in Quetta where a partial strike was observed and long queues of vehicles were witnessed around the few stations that were selling CNG.