Stations selling low quantities of petrol to conserve stock; others overcharging
LAHORE: Consumers suffered a lot on the roads while searching for petrol, as more than half of the filling stations in Lahore were closed on Wednesday due to fuel shortage. Long queues of vehicles were seen on the filling stations where petrol supply was available. It was also observed that some petrol pumps were involved in overcharging, as the petrol was being sold at the exorbitant price of 100 per litre by some private dealers and hoarders.
According to the details, Lahore has been facing shortage of petrol after the Eid-ul-Azha and the situation has worsened during the last two or three days, as the oil depots also cut short the oil supply because of an increase in the price of crude oil in the international markets. The price of crude oil increased from 45 to 50 dollars per barrel in the international market; therefore some private companies could not import the oil timely because of a fear of fewer profit margins which caused the fuel shortage in the country including Lahore. Moreover, Pakistan Today has learnt that more than 700 low-quality oil tankers have stopped functioning after strict directions from Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) in response to the incident of Ahmad Pur Sharqia in which 150 people were burnt alive after an oil tanker caught fire.
On Wednesday, long queues of vehicles were seen at some filling stations where commuters were getting petrol in different parts of Lahore including Garhi Shahu, Davis Road, Barkat Market, Gulberg, Mall Road and Temple Road. “We did not get any supply for the last three to four days and we are left with stock for only two days,” Muhammad Amir, an employee at Power Petroleum located at Temple Road said. He further added that they are managing the supply very carefully to continue their stock for some days as they are not filling petrol of more than 500 Rs in the cars while petrol of only 100 Rs is being sold to bikers. Moreover, he said that they are not providing the petrol for a whole day as their stock might be over after continuous supply. A citizen named Adeel, who was in the queue at Wazir Filling Station near the Mall Road, told this scribe that he has been standing here for half an hour due to the extreme rush of the long queues. “The city is engulfed with fuel shortage for the last two days and I am trying to get my fuel tank filled, as there are rumors that this shortage will continue for the next couple of days as well,” he said, while adding that the long queues at this filling station depict that he might not be able to get his tank filled.
“The government must intervene immediately, otherwise this shortage would become worse in next two days if the situation remains unchanged,” General Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association secretary said. According to an estimate, more than 3,000,000 litres petrol is consumed in Lahore on a daily basis while the city is facing a shortage of 1,200,000 litres these days.
