SHANGLA: Bisham assistant commissioner Mohammad Jawad Asif on Friday sealed a liquefied petroleum gas plant and several retail shops for overcharging consumers.

Mr Asif along with police visited the Bisham Bazaar and other areas of the town and found LPG retailers selling the commodity at Rs330 per kilogramme instead of Rs264 per kg fixed by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority. He sealed the outlets. He also sealed an LPG plant in Shang area.

Talking to reporters on the occasion, he said he had asked the LPG dealers several times to follow the Ogra rates, but to no avail.

He also directed the fuel stations to follow the Ogra-determined rates, or face action.

Meanwhile, Hamad Umarkhel, the general secretary of Bisham traders’ association, and also an LPG retailer, told Dawn they bought the commodity from the plant at higher prices, and were forced to pass on the additional cost to consumers. He said retailers could not sell LPG at Ogra-fixed rates.

He said the assistant commissioner should have issued a prior notice to retailers before sealing their shops. He said the officer should devise a mechanism to determine the LPG price in accordance with the increasing transportation charges.

BISP SURVEY: The residents of Chakesar tehsil have demanded of the authorities to set separate days for residents of different village councils for registering afresh or updating their information with the Benazir Income Support Programme office in the tehsil headquarters to save them the hassle of waiting in long queues.

Talking to reporters on Friday, they said residents of mountainous and remote areas were troubled visiting the BISP office located miles away from their villages, and sometimes they had to return without having to meet the BISP officials.

Mohammad Zada, a local, said people from far-off areas, including women, sometimes had to wait the whole day in queues before their turn came. He said women were particularly troubled. He said particular days should be fixed for residents of each village council.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2023