People buying petrol from illegal agencies to run their vehicles

Rawalpindi
Like other parts of Punjab, helpless residents of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad are facing petrol shortage for six days. Motorcyclists and motorists have now turned to illegal outlets (agencies) to buy low quality water mixed fuel on higher prices of Rs120 or Rs150 per liter.
Majority of welfare ambulances of different organisations particularly hospitals stopped their operations due to absence of fuel for six days putting lives of hundreds of people needing help in emergency in danger.
On the other hand, government has given another lollypop to public by announcing to open all CNG stations in Punjab including Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Saturday. Government has claimed CNG stations would resolve the issue. But, not a single CNG station opened in Rawalpindi and Islamabad till the filing of this report.
All Pakistan CNG Association (APCA) Supreme Council Chairman Ghayas Abdullah Piracha has strongly welcomed government decision to open CNG stations to resolve petrol issue. He said that CNG stations have started opening on Saturday.
All Pakistan Oil Tankers Association (APOTA) Chairman Nawaz Ahmed Khan said that petrol crisis would not be resolve soon. He said that Hico company has given 1000,000 tones oil but other companies refused. While, PSO has provided only 30 tankers of oil rather 100 tankers to Punjab from Karachi, which was not enough, he said. He said that only 10 vehicles of oil have reached Rawalpindi.
As per routine, helpless passengers particularly ladies are facing worst kind of humiliation at every stop as there was no public service vehicle on Saturday. The passengers are wandering here and there in search of wagon, bus or Suzuki but failed to catch one. Cabbies and rickshaws are demanding four time high fares even for a short distance.
It is worth mentioning here that the illegal outlets (agencies) purchased petrol from oil tankers and filling stations at higher rates mixing water in fuel.
“I can’t wait for two hours in queue at filling station so I decided to get two liters petrol for my motorbike from an illegal outlet,” said Muhammad Bashir, a resident of Waris Khan. Why government is not resolving even the basic issues of public while public had voted them, he said. “The petrol filling stations and oil marketing companies have created artificial shortage to get the petrol prices increased,” he said.
Nazish Baloch, a working woman said that the fuel shortage also created problems for patients as ambulances suspended their service due to the fuel shortage. But, our government is seeing the whole drama with closed eyes for six days, she denounced.