RAWALPINDI: The closure of petrol filling stations in the garrison city created problems for residents on Thursday.

Only Pakistan State Oil (PSO)-run filling stations opened in the garrison city while private filling stations were closed due to shortage of the fuel.

After closure of the filling stations, the district administration started inspections and imposed fines on three petrol pumps at Marrir Chowk, Punj Saraki Square on Sir Syed Road and Airport Road.

A senior official of the district administration told Dawn that private filling stations did not supply fuel to their stations which created a gap between demand and supply. He said petrol filling stations had been asked to improve their supply chain.

Motorists faced problems to get petrolfor their vehicles as most of theprivate stations remained closed.As a result, rush was seen in the PSO filling stations.

“Taxi cabs also increased fares while termingthe shortageofpetrol. I hired a taxi from Saddar to Chaklala Scheme III and the driver demanded Rs300. There is no check and balance in the city and the administration has failed to take any notice of the situation,” said Sajid Hassan, a resident of Chaklala Scheme-III.

Mohammad Nauman, a resident of Westridge, said after the decrease in petroleum prices, a shortage was created and people had to face problems. He said the government reduced the prices of petroleum products but failed to decrease its byproducts like engine oil.

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner Anwarul Haq said the district administration had formed teams to check the shortage of petrol under the supervision of assistant commissioners.

“Petrol supply will be restored Friday and there will no shortage in the district,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2020