LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Ijaz A Mumtaz has urged the government to take immediate measures to restore supply of petroleum product as the shortage was not only causing undue damage to the trade and economic activities but also hitting the general public hard.
The LCCI president said fuel shortage had brought the vehicular traffic to a grinding halt in the province of Punjab. He said Punjab was hub of trade and economic activities and biggest contributor in GDP but Punjab was being hit worse by fuel shortage that would ultimately hit the national economy.
He said business doing people were facing loss of billions of rupees daily as movement of their finished goods and raw material was almost suspended due to non-availability of fuel but concerned departments were playing role of silent spectators and advising people to stay calm and wait for POL supply.
LCCI President said main reason of POL shortage was circular debt of Pakistan State Oil that had been increased to over Rs200 billion reportedly and PSO did not have enough funds to buy POL products from refineries. Ijaz A Mumtaz said POL shortage had badly affected the daily wagers besides hitting the agriculture sector hard as high speed diesel was being used in the agriculture machinery and tubwells. He said the process of cultivation and irrigation through diesel-operated tubewells was about to be stopped.
