Continued CNG closure irks motorists, commuters

Motorists and commuters using public transport faced great difficulties on Tuesday as gas stations across the country, except a few, remained shut for the second consecutive day in protest against reduced tariffs on orders of the Supreme Court. The owners are up in protest against “highly unreasonable” retail price of CNG that is causing them “massive financial losses”.
The gas stations remained shut even though the CNG Association dissociated itself from the strike. To make matters worse, the “unofficial strike” has apparently been called for an indefinite period.
A majority of CNG stations in Karachi, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Sukkur, Nawabshah, Larkana, Mirpur Khas, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Multan, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Haripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Quetta and other cities across the country remained shut, causing great difficulties to the consumers. Citizens in various cities held protest demonstrations against the unofficial strike called by CNG station owners.
The CNG closure has also badly affected rickshaw and taxi drivers, who expressed their frustration and blocked roads by parking their vehicles midway, resulting in massive traffic jams in several cities. In Karachi, drivers of privately-owned transport vehicles blocked the MA Jinnah Road on Tuesday.
“Around 98 percent of 298 CNG stations in Karachi remained shut to protest the unrealistic price of CNG,” a senior office-bearer of the central CNG association said.
“The majority of over 600 CNG stations in other parts of Sindh also remained closed.”
Massive queues of vehicles were seen at a few company-operated gas stations in the city that remained open for service. They included a gas station near Askari-IV; two along Sharah Faisal, one near Drigh Road, another close to PAF Base Faisal and one in Malir Cantonment.
A few public transport vehicles were seen plying the roads.
The commuters, especially office and school goers, faced extreme difficulties in reaching their destinations.
Senior office-bearers of the CNG association refused to give a specific date for ending the strike.
Drivers at the few open CNG stations said they had been waiting for hours, but low gas pressure and massive crowding meant they might have to wait for hours more.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has been moved by Zulfiqar Bhutta Advocate against the unannounced strike by the CNG stations, saying the decision to go on strike was contempt of court.