Wednesday where a large number of vehicles were seen in long queues.
Talking to ‘The News,’ people said that the government has totally failed to provide even basic necessities of life to them. "We are braving severe winter season without gas. We are facing 12 to 16 hours of power loadshedding in severe winter and now we have to suffer from artificial shortage of petrol," they denounced.
“It seems the government is playing into the hands of blackmailing mafia; these fuel companies have no right to cut short the supply of fuel after reduction in petrol and diesel prices citing their losses during past two to three months. Can anybody question these fuel companies, depots and petrol pumps whether they provided fuel to the consumers on old rates whenever there was increase in POL prices in the past. I am hundred percent sure they did not waste a minute in increasing their rates as soon as fuel prices were increased. So now, how could they want an increase of Rs10 per litre on petrol when fuel prices are going down in the international market? Government should take serious notice of this highhandedness and check this malpractice,” said a motorcyclist, Ali Humayun.
Rashid Mehmood, a motorist, told ‘The News’ that he wanted to get filled the tank of his car after hearing news about shortage of fuel. He said that his parents were sick, and in case of an emergency, he would have to take them to the hospital. “If I have no petrol in my car, I cannot move in case of an emergency,” he said.
Zubair Ahmed, another motorist, said that he has been waiting at the petrol pump for over an hour to get fuel, but so far he has not been successful. “Our government should take serious notice of this artificial shortage,” he denounced.
“An interesting situation developed at a petrol pump along Tulsa Road, when we were waiting to get fuel in a queue. The filling station ran out of fuel,” said Kanwal Bashir, a working woman.
Ashraf Ahmed, a motorist, said that people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad are already facing problems due to zero gas pressure, non-availability of electricity and now non-availability of petrol. The government has stopped petrol supply to create more and more difficulties for public, he bemoaned.
A large number of commuters, including women and schoolchildren, were seen waiting for buses and vans at the Waris Khan, Committee Chowk, Kutchery Chowk, Faizabad, Markaz G-9, Peshawar Morr, Markaz F-8, 7-Up Chowk, Double Road, Pirwadhai, PIMS Chowk and several other areas of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.