LAHORE: Transporters and common citizens suffering due to drastic slash in the supply of petrol in the provincial capital of Punjab. Out of 300 gasoline stations in Lahore, only 25 to 30 were open on Friday where long queue of vehicles was seen.
A representative of petroleum dealer association told to Customs Today that the remaining pumps, which are open, would also be shut down if the supply of petrol is not restored. Over the last two days, the administration has failed to sort out the problem resulting in petrol cut-off.
According to sources, the problem got worse due to the reduced oil imports; Government is importing petrol from Saudi Arabia at rate of 40 Dollars per barrel on deferral, late import of petroleum has increased the problem. Whereas fog has also increased the fuel crisis, as vehicles carrying fuel have to face difficulty in petrol transportation to pumps at night.
Almost Rs 48 billion of Pakistan State Oil have gone default in markets as no new payment is made to open new LCs for import of oil. Government corporations like PIA, PEPCO, WAPDA and HUBCO are debtor of 214 Billion Rupees of PSO which is basic reason of PSO default. Lahore’s daily consumption of petrol is 2.5 million liters, whereas the current supply to the city stands at 400,000 liters. There are a total of 300 filling stations operating in Lahore out of which 119 are owned by PSO, while the rest are privately owned. Private stations are also facing drastic shortage of petrol since last five days.
Accoring to Imran Maqbool represetative Lahore city Government supply of petrol will be restored soon as Government has decided to supply petrol in Punjab from Attok oil refinery and 300000 litters of petrol has reached Lahore last night.
Transporters and commuters were the worst to suffer, as long lines were seen at the filling stations which managed to remain open. Commuters complained that due to fuel shortage the transporters had tripled the fare, causing hardships to them.
