Govt, PPDA join hands to eliminate ‘dabba stations’

ISLAMABAD: Department of Explosives and Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) will work together to eradicate menace of illegal dabba stations and nozzles across in the country.

These dabba stations sell smuggled fuel without any safety precautions and fear of law, posing threat to lives and property of people.

These nozzles are now operating in all the towns and major cities across Pakistan, a 25-member Reforms Committee of PPDA informed Abdul Ali Khan, DG Explosives Department. During the meeting, PPDA leaders said the masses face hazards due to illegal fuel shops with huge tanks buried under shops in residential and commercial areas.

Dozens of such nozzle shops and dabba stations catch fire frequently. The fire have killed many in recent years, said Hassan Shah, an executive member of PPDA.

He said the nozzles installed in shops and roadside cabins have endangered their legal business, which pays billions in taxes and provides employment to hundreds of thousands of people.

Hassan Shah revealed daily smuggling of nearly 14 million litres of fuel into Pakistan costs the country billions of rupees.

DG Explosives Abdul Ali Khan expressed concern over mounting threat and conveyed his resolve to eradicate the dabba stations from every nook and cranny of the country.

He said district presidents of PPDA would identify and furnish a list of such illegal fuel sale points and the estimated quantity of fuel held at these points.

Abdul Ali Khan said the designated focal person would receive these lists. “We will verify them, and then target the offenders district by district”, he said.

He said deputy commissioners, additional deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners and district police officers will have legal authority to take action. He said non-compliant officers will have to face the consequences. He directed PPDA to supervise these departments’ performance and send weekly feedback through Hassan Shah, PPDA’s focal person, with a monthly meeting to review the progress.

DG Explosives announced a nationwide campaign to stop selling smuggled fuel after finalising lists of wrongdoers.

Later, Nadeem Aziz Khan, Chairman Gujranwala Division, Amjad Shinwari, Chairman Kohat Division, and others called on Chairman Ogra and DG Petroleum, who assured them cooperation in eliminating the menace.