Govt not showing seriousness in ending petrol crisis: LHC

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday observed that the government was not showing seriousness in ending the petrol crisis which hit the Punjab a week ago.
The LHC directed the secretary petroleum and responsible officials of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to submit a detailed report about the difference in supply and demand of petrol by today (Thursday).
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah was hearing two petitions challenging the shortage of petrol in the province. A counsel, on behalf of the Ministry of Petroleum, submitted that till December, the demand for petrol in the province was 12,290 metric tonnes per day which miraculously increased to more than 40,000 metric tonnes with the advent of the New Year due to its cheaper rates. He said this sudden increase in demand caused a shortage of petrol. He said now petrol was available in the province and anyone could get it without any hassle.
At this, the judge remarked where that petrol was as the people were still in queues in search of petrol. He asked where that petrol was kept. The judge asked him if the government was in the know that a decrease in petrol prices would increase its demand and why it did not have a sufficient stock.
The judge said it was important to know how this crisis arose. The judge directed the respondents to also inform the court about the mechanism of fixing the prices of petroleum products.Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah was hearing petitions of Advocate Safdar Shaheen Pirzada and Advocate Gohar Nawaz Sindhu.
The lawyers said the government had created an artificial shortage of petrol and defrauded the nation of billions of rupees. They said the shortage of petrol would soon cause an overall crisis-like situation in the country. The petitioners stated that a judicial inquiry should be ordered to fix responsibility for the petrol crisis.