CHINIOT: Non-availability of petrol continued on the second day on Tuesday after the prices were slashed by the government on May 31.

Soon after the government announced cut in the rates of POL products, the gasoline ‘shortage’ started at more than 100 filling stations across the district. A number of people were seen moving from one petrol pump to the other for getting fuel.

However, a number of petrol pumps were found selling the gasoline in black market at the rate up to Rs120 per litre instead of the government fixed price of Rs76. The administration could not make the petrol pumps owners resume their sales as not a single first information report was registered against any of the filling stations.

The bikers were the most affected by the [artificial] shortage.

Muhammad Usman, a mason, said: “I daily buy one litre petrol for my bike and go to workplace as I can’t get the tank filled due to my low income. On June 1, I skipped work and today (June 2) I hitchhiked by a tractor-trolley.”

Several rickshaw drivers were also hit by the shortage.

Arshad, a rickshaw driver and a father of four from Thatta Mochian, a slum area of Chiniot city, told this correspondent that he could not earn for two days because of unavailability of petrol.

Chiniot DC Muhammad Riaz said the assistant commissioner and other officials were raiding the petrol pumps and imposing fines on those filling stations having stock and were not selling or selling at inflated prices. Those who had no stock were facilitated to get supplies from depots at Faisalabad, he added.

SARGODHA: Citizens were annoyed at the decrease in prices of petroleum products as majority of the filling stations displayed boards showing ‘petrol is not available’.

On the other hand, uanuthorised oil dealers were found selling petrol at the rate of Rs100 to 110 per litre while some filling stations were selling the gasoline at old rate on the pretext of no fresh supplies.

An oil dealer said he received supply in the morning on May 31 in view of the order placed a week ago, He claimed that he was selling petrol at purchase price. Neither the oil company nor the government gave any price differential.

The district administration has claimed that there is no shortage of petroleum products and in the next 24 hours the filling stations facing dearth will get fresh supplies.

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2020