PESHAWAR: Owners of petrol pumps started overcharging consumers as fuel shortages worsened in Peshawar and other districts on the third consecutive day on Wednesday.

In Peshawar, the consumers said that Rs150 to Rs175 per litre was being charged from them in different areas against the actual price of Rs75 per litre petrol.

The Pakistan State Oil (PSO) filling stations, however, continued supplying petrol to the consumers, but only in small quantities of one or two litres due to short supply of the commodity.

The district administration claimed to have conducted raids on 71 filling stations across the district and arrested managers of 16 petrol pumps for violation of the code of conduct.

The raiding parties headed by deputy commissioner Mohammad Ali Asghar and other officials visited different mega marts, eateries and shopping plazas and took action against the people for violating the standard operating procedures.

AC Sara Rahman told mediapersons that oil supply from main depots had been started and the crisis would end soon. She said that tankers had reached many of the filling stations and started decanting the fuel to meet the customers’ demand.

In Swabi, the residents told Dawn on Wednesday that the filling stations were open, but the staff there had been telling consumers that due to coronavirus pandemic the supply chain had been disturbed which caused shortage of the commodity.

The filling station owners said that they had not been receiving sufficient supplies, as complaints about unavailable of oil for ordinary people increased.

Dr Jamal, a resident, said that after the government’s decision to reduce prices of petroleum products the filling station owners had been refusing to give fuel to the people.

In Kohat, the petrol supply has been suspended since June 1 while petrol pumps across Kohat division have exhausted the stocks, virtually bringing transportation to a halt.

The petrol pump owners complained that the administrations of Kohat, Karak, Hangu, Orakzai, Kurram and Darra Adamkhel were blaming them for the shortage whereas the commodity was not being supplied by the companies.

The owner of Al Multazim petrol pump, Mr. Shehzad, said that except PSO and Total no other company was supplying petrol since June 1. He said the government had slapped a ban on import of petrol and they had earlier survived diesel shortage in May.

In Mansehra city, only five of the city’s 20 petrol stations were open on Wednesday.

“There is an acute shortage of petroleum products in the city as only Pakistan State Oil company’s stations have been supplying petrol and diesel to vehicles,” Taimur Khan Swati, president of Petroleum Association, told mediapersons on Wednesday.

The petrol stations located on Abbottabad road, Kashmir road and Shinkiari road were not giving diesel and petrol to transporters and motorists. In Timergara, the Lower Dir administration on Wednesday sealed two filling stations for stopping sale of petrol in the district.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2020