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KARACHI Around 30 per cent of petrol pumps remained closed in Karachi and Hyderabad on Monday as the rain water had entered into the underground fuel storage tanks at these outlets.
Many vehicle owners faced problem when they failed to move forward after filling their fuel tanks with water-mixed petrol, said Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) Chairman Abdul Sami Khan.
He said till the evening of Sunday about 50 per cent of the pumps in two cities had suspended sales.
Due to the fact that water is heavier than petrol it settles down on the ground of under ground tanks where it is being removed, he claimed.
'Every pump owner keeps a distance between the ground level and the pipe from where the petrol arrives in the dispenser as soon as the pump dealer pushes the dispenser lever to fill the vehicle tank,' he explained.
He said this distance was maintained as negligible quantity of water remains in the tank daily either due to evaporation or some other reasons.
Sami said that many pump owners had put big plastic covers on the iron cover of tanks but due to accumulation of huge quantity of water for several hours after heavy rains, the water had made its way to the tanks.
As the pump owners are clearing the water from their fuel storage tanks, the full supply is likely to be restored by Tuesday, he added.
POULTRY Two different poultry associations offered different views regarding the real numbers of mortality of birds at the farms after Saturday's night heavy rains.
Abdul Maroof Siddiqui, the chairman Press and Publication committee of Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA), claimed that 400,000-450,000 birds of different ages (both broiler and layer) washed away in heavy rains at farms located at Hub, Gujjo, Super Highway, Kathore, Gadab, Angara Goth, Pipri, Dhabeji, etc.
He said the transportation of birds had been suspended to Karachi due bad conditions of roads. There was no power and water at these farms. He said that the rates of poultry birds remained same but the impact of production losses would be evident in few days.
General Secretary Karachi Wholesalers Poultry Association (KWPA) Kamal Akhtar Siddiqui said that around 100,000-125,000 live birds died in due to heavy rains.
He added that supply from affected areas had been suspended. Mr Kamal claimed that the poultry rate fixed by the association remained the same from Friday to Monday despite short supply.
He said the retail rate issued by KWPA was Rs118 per kg for live bird and Rs200 per kg for its meat. Around 300,000-350,000 live birds were being slaughtered daily in the city.
In the meantime, retailers fully cashed the situation by charging Rs210-230 per kg for chicken meat depending on the areas.
Many consumers were seen complaining about some kind of injury or wound at the chest of the chicken after its slaughtering. Even many retailers had been seen issuing warning to consumers to refrain from eating chicken meat.
But Kamal Akhtar and Abdul Maroof ruled out the possibility of any kind of disease in the chicken during summer season. Birds usually get wounded during transportation from farm to the retail shops or in the iron cage due to overcrowding.
