Motorists had to face severe difficulties to commute to their destinations due to the acute shortage of fuel on Friday, as many petrol station owners opted to close down their pumps to gain extra profits from the anticipated rise in prices of petroleum products.
The fuel pumps started shutting down as soon as the news of a huge hike in petroleum prices was reported.
Irritated by the closure of petrol stations, the citizens demanded ensuring a security mechanism to keep the pumps open on the days of political strikes and protests. They asked for the profiteers in the petroleum business to also be punished.
Despite tall claims of the authorities concerned to have sealed such petroleum stations, the pump owners in many parts remained closed from Thursday.
The dealers, however, claimed that the closure of fuel stations in some areas of the city was because of the short supply by almost 30 percent from the refineries.
“The owner of any pumping station, if found closed despite having enough stock of fuel, should be punished without any discrimination,” they proclaimed. “But the pumps in violence-hit areas also have serious security issues.”
The supply to various pumping stations was disrupted due to the fresh wave of violence in the city, which kept the fuel stations closed for a few days especially in the areas affected by riots and arson.
Meanwhile, Karachi Commissioner Roshan Shaikh directed the authorities concerned to take serious action against all petrol pump owners who closed down their filling stations to gain profits from the expected rise in petrol prices.
The five deputy commissioners of the city were ordered to seal all the pumps closed and arrest their owners.
