TAXILA: The owners and employees of CNG stations and transporters on Sunday took out a protest rally in Hassanabdal and staged a sit-in at the main bus stand of the town against the prolonged closure of the filling stations.

The protest was organised by Tehreek Bahali-i-CNG. The chief organiser of the Tehreek, Raja Jahangir Akhtar, told the protesters that the CNG sector had been kept closed intentionally for the last six months, leading to the bankruptcy of hundreds of CNG dealers.

He said the CNG industry in Pakistan was facing conspiracies while the CNG sectors in India and Bangladesh were enjoying patronage of the government. He said the development of the CNG industry and one per cent gas losses in the neighbouring countries clearly indicated that there was something wrong with the policymakers in Pakistan. He said the machinery of CNG stations were rusting while the operators were unable to meet the expenses of the sector. “We will go to any extent, including holding protest demonstrations outside the Prime Minister House and the Punjab Chief Minister Secretariat for our rights,” he added.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2015

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