PESHAWAR: Complaints about provision of less fuel to motorists than what they are charged for by filling stations and overcharging have been on the rise in Peshawar and motorists have demanded of the government to carry out a survey of all fuel stations and take immediate action against the alleged stealers.

The complainants told Dawn on Saturday that though the government had announced decrease in the rates of petroleum products, it did not ensure implementation of its decision in the real sense and left the consumers at the mercy of the owners of filling stations.

A reliable source said that decrease in the rates of petroleum products was good news for the motorists, but the owners of fuel stations were exploiting the consumers by supplying less oil for the same official price.

He revealed that a filling station of Shell Company located on Bara Road at Peshawar Saddar and owned by a foreign company was found guilty of stealing diesel and petrol and thus its owner was fined by the auditors.

Oil shortage in Swabi after prices cut

During a visit to the filling station, the operators dispelled the impression of overcharging consumers or stealing petrol by keeping the gauge low, saying that they had not stopped the oil supply despite decrease in the rates.

“We have suffered a loss of about Rs150,000 as a result of the recent government decision to decrease rates of the petroleum products, but this is just part of the business,” an operator said.

Several motorcyclists said that petrol stealing was very common in Peshawar, but they could not do anything.

When contacted, Petrol Pump Dealers Association’s former president Mansoor Sharif said that the government itself was forcing the people to indulge in theft of oil because the commission for owners was next to nil.

“During the government of Pervez Musharraf we would get 4 per cent commission which was later reduced to Rs1.8 per cent and after many protests the incumbent government increased it to Rs2.14 per cent on the sale of diesel and Rs2.57 per cent on petrol and in the prevailing situation the owners of filling stations are in total loss,” he complained.

He said that when the Musharraf government had increased the commission some 32 companies had come to Pakistan for investment, but now the investors were leaving.

About the shortage of petroleum products and theft of oil at the filling stations, he said it was good luck of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that they could easily get CNG otherwise they would have to queue up in long lines for petrol like that of Islamabad and Punjab.

Similarly, deputy commissioner, Peshawar, Zaheerul Islam said that following the government’s decision to revise prices of the petroleum products he had asked the magistrates to check supply and prices of the petrol and diesel.

“We have not received any complaint about stealing or shortage of petrol and diesel,” he claimed.

SWABI: Petrol has disappeared from the local filling stations after the government announced major cut of up to 11 per cent in prices of petroleum products.

Transporters and private vehicle owners said that it had become a routine that whenever the oil prices were brought down the filling stations stopped supply for the following one or two days taking the plea of short supply.

The filling station owners say that they had not yet received the order about the revised prices.

However, in case of increase in the prices these were immediately displayed at the filling stations and there is no interruption in the supply.

The consumers have demanded of the government to take action against the filling station owners who had been creating artificial shortage of oil and not charging prices as announced by the government.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd , 2014