CNG price row piles miseries on people

KARACHI: Most of the CNG stations in the mega-metropolis city here remained closed even today, as the travelers, commuters and motorists are seen trapped in long queues on roads
adjacent to the few open filling stations, while the fortunate few, who had patience to wait for hours to get their tanks filled, complained of being cheated by the mysteriously low pressure thereby filling of the tanks with less gas and more air.

Following Supreme Court’s order and OGRA notification relating to the substantial reduction in CNG prices, public transport went off the roads as vehicles could not be re-fueled. Many CNG stations went on observing unannounced strike in protest against the revised CNG prices, as either they are kept closed or turn away customers on the pretext of having developed some technical fault. This has further compounded the miseries of the vehicle owners and the commuters alike. Office-goers, students continue facing problems due to lack of transport in the city as well as at inter-city routes.

Transporters overcharge commuters in the name of closure of CNG stations. On the other hand, commuters complained that transporters are already charging excess amount as they are using CNG at cheaper rates. The new price of CNG in Sindh and Balochistan provinces has been fixed at Rs54.16 per kilo.

Meanwhile, CNG Dealers Association chairman Abdul Sami Khan said that CNG stations are being re-opened for three/four days in view of the difficulties of the people and cautioned that if the government didn’t concede to their demand of fixing the right price, the CNG station could go for the closure again. He further said that they would ask for the compensation from the government for selling CNG at a loss during this period.