UPPER DIR/KHAR: Acute shortage of petroleum products and overcharging by fuel stations continue in various districts without any check.

In Upper Dir, transporters said they were being given petrol in small quantity only at some filling stations.

Talking to this correspondent on Tuesday, drivers, transporters and people from various areas of Upper Dir complained about severe shortage of petroleum products, especially petrol, and said they had to wait for hours to get the commodity, which too was given only in small quantities of four to six litres.

In some areas of Kohistan valley, petrol was being sold at a price higher than the official rate.

The transporters and people said that the government had failed to stop the mafia from creating artificial shortage of petrol.

Officials of the district administration claimed that they had regularly been checking petrol stock and issuing directives to owners of the filling stations to provide the same to consumers.

In Khar, the district administration sealed a filling station the other day for overcharging consumers and arrested one of its workers.

Assistant commissioner, Khar subdivision, Fazal Raheem told this scribe here that the filling station was sealed in Lovisam area.

He said the fuel station was indulging in overcharging the consumers.

He claimed that several official teams had been formed to visit the filling stations to check availability of petroleum products and their prices on regular basis.

Meanwhile, the district administration banned sale of petroleum products in bottles and tins at filling stations across the region.

According to a statement issued by the DC office here, the administration has imposed the restriction in larger public interest, as petrol in bottles could cause fire and pose threat to life and property.

Meanwhile, shortage of petroleum products still persisted in Bajaur tribal district.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2020