Motorists face difficulties due to shortage of petrol

Rawalpindi
Motorists faced difficulties on Monday due to shortage of petrol as majority of private petrol pumps in the city stopped supplying fuel, while only government run petrol pumps were supplying fuel.
The motorists were seen searching for petrol, as it was not available in majority of petrol pumps in different areas, included Tipu Road, Jhanda Chichi, Kutchery Chowk, Adiala Road, Rawal Road and some other areas. The long queues of vehicles at petrol pumps also caused traffic jams across the city.
Talking to ‘The News,’ managers of different petrol pumps, on condition of anonymity, said that fuel supply has been stopped. Some managers said that supply did not reach due to foggy weather while some cited other reasons.
They warned that if supply did not reach, motorists could face worst kind of shortage of petrol in coming days.
Talking to ‘The News,’ motorists belonging to different walks of life said that the situation is worst particularly for taxi drivers who earn on daily basis to run their kitchen. They criticised the government for not providing basic facilities to the public.
Muhammad Younas, a poor taxi driver standing in a long queue outside a petrol pump at Khanna Road, said that he was standing in queue for the last one-hour but could not get petrol. “I don’t know why several petrol pumps are not supplying fuel today,” he said.
Muhammad Naeem, a motorist, said that his car’s fuel tank was empty and he visited three pumps to get petrol in a bottle to even start his vehicle. “Unfortunately, petrol was not available anywhere,” he said. He demanded of president, prime minister and petroleum minister to provide petrol according to the demand. He said after closure of CNG stations all burden falls on petrol pumps and it has become difficult for them to meet the demand.
Suzuki and Taxi Union President Raja Riaz criticising the government said it should provide petrol according to the demand. He said that drivers have stopped dozens of public transport vehicles because petrol was not available at most of the pumps on Monday.