LAHORE
AS the petroleum crisis continues, the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) has completely failed to check black marketing of petrol from across the city on Wednesday.
As the long queues outside the petrol pumps remained the same, people continued to manage delivery of petrol in cans and bottles which the District Coordination Officer (DCO) Lahore claimed to have been banned and controlled.
Majority of the petrol pumps remained closed during the day as their supplies drained out within the next few hours of their late night deliveries. Many pumps fixed tents around their premises while many placed boards of ‘No Petrol’ outside their pumps. However, staffers of many such closed pumps were seen selling petrol in bottles at Rs 300 per liter. Similarly, the people selling petrol in black have increased their rate from Rs 200 per liter to Rs 300 per liter. Rickshaw drivers also continued to charge exorbitant fares and the CDGL did nothing to control this unjustified hike in fares.
On the other hand, a press statement issued by the DCO Lahore’s PRO claimed that the District Administration had been monitoring the supply and sale of petrol in all the pumps of the metropolitan city through established control room at the DCO office. The situation of petrol crisis and empty reservoirs of oil at petrol pumps is normalising with every passing moment.
It said that if any citizen faced the problem of overcharging at any petrol pump of the city, he can complain it in the control room number 042-99214191 which is operational around the clock. The spokesman said that officials deployed at pumps were ensuring that the same supply was sold completely.
He claimed the district administration assigned four squads to trace out the people dealing in the business of loose petrol sale which remained in the field. The squads patrolled in Shadbagh, Ferozpur road, Baghbanpura, Gujjar Pura and their surrounding localities. He maintained that
the CDGL had also identified 11 petrol pumps to provide regular supply of petrol to emergency vehicles on priority basis.