RAHIM YAR KHAN: Filling stations of the city have created an artificial shortage of petrol on Saturday while some of them are selling petrol at Rs2 more than the official rates.

The queues of vehicles were seen at the filling stations where the commodity was available.

A woman who visited a filling station near Town Hall told this correspondent that the workers told her petrol was not available due to a shortage of the commodity. She went to another filling station bear DC Office Chowk where she was told that petrol would be available at Rs158 per litre.

A farmer of the Sheikh Wahin area, who identified himself as Sharif, said cotton sowing season had started and the petrol pumps were selling diesel at higher rates. The poor farmers had no option but to buy diesel at higher rates, he bemoaned.

A petrol pump owner, Raashid Khan, said petrol would be available after a few hours when the oil tanker would arrive. He said there was no shortage of petrol in the city and claimed that the rate of regular petrol was Rs83.80 per litre.

RYK Petroleum Association President Sardar Zafar Khan Mazari was contacted to get his version about petrol shortage and to ask why Rs83 per litre were being charged against the rates of 81.58 but he did not reply to the repeated calls of thiscorrespondent.

The Deputy Director Public Relations (DDPR) office, quoting the district administration stance, said there was no petrol shortage in the city as the assistant commissioner checked different filling stations after receiving complaints. However, the overcharging of Rs2 per litre was being checked by the deputy commissioner, the DDPR office claimed.

KILLED: Two persons were killed in a collision of two motorcycles near Zikriya Garden on the Manthar Road in tehsil Sadiqabad, some 37km from here, on Saturday.

According to Rescue 1122, Muhammad Yaqoob (51), a resident of Chak 154-P Sadiqabad, was travelling on his motorcycle when Ahsan (15), a resident of Chak 145-P, suddenly appeared on a speeding motorcycle from the opposite direction. Both the motorcycles collided with each other and caught fire. Both the riders died on the spot due to head injuries.

Rescuers shifted the bodies of the deceased to Sadiqabad Tehsil Headquarters Hospital.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2020