Petrol crisis persists in Punjab

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LAHORE: Fuel shortage continued on Monday in different cities of Punjab, including Muzzaffabad, Geo News reported.

People in different cities including Multan, Sargodha, Jhang and Faisalabad are facing severe difficulty in obtaining petrol for day-to-day commuting and are bound to buy fuel at high prices of Rs115-120 per litre. Some fuel stations in Multan are also reported to be selling petrol at Rs150 per litre.

Several filling stations in various cities of the Punjab remained closed as oil companies could not arrange fuel supplies for them. Traffic on the roads of Lodhran, Khaewal, Vehari, Muzzaffargarh and other major cities of Southern Punjab remained thin whereas the election campaign in Azad Kashmir is also affected by the shortage and no fervor is seen in the area. Public servants and students had to face hardships to reach their destinations as private transporters wrapped up their services due to shortage of fuel.

At some filling stations where supplies were delivered, long queues of vehicles and motorcycles were seen waiting for hours and even then were supplied at much lower scale in order to cater to the needs of maximum motorists.

Earlier, a representative of the Petrol Dealers Association Abdul Sami Khan told the media the crisis had resulted due to stoppage of supply of fuel from an oil refinery, which was closed for annual maintenance. He said government and concerned authorities were informed in advance that Attock Oil Refinery would remain closed from June 01, but no alternate arrangements were made.

Citizens have expressed grave concern over the shortage of petrol and said that despite notice and directives of President Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, the Oil Marketing Companies could not fully meet the demand of petrol pumps. Many motorists wanted a thorough probe into the artificial shortage and said the sole purpose was to black market the commodity.