Punjab Petrol Crisis: OGRA asks chief secretary to take action against those illegally hoarding petrol

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) asks the chief secretary of Punjab to take action against those illegally hoarding petrol!

Most petrol pumps in several cities of Punjab remained closed on Tuesday as reports emerged of fuel shortages in several cities of the province.

The closer of petrol pumps has posed serious troubles for commuters who kept looking for fuel.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) is reported to have written a letter to the provincial chief secretary asking him to take action against those illegally hoarding petrol and diesel stocks.

OGRA’s Senior Executive Director – Enforcement Sohail Ahmed Tariq in the said letter wrote that the authority had identified, through market intelligence, locations in Punjab that “might be in use to dump/store [petroleum] products for inventory gains”.

“These 19 locations were contributing to the existing shortage of petroleum products in different cities of Punjab, thereby committing illegal acts,” he added.

OGRA officer has requested the Punjab chief secretary to take immediate action against the culprits to prevent inconvenience for the public.

On the other hand, State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik has dismissed reports that there was a shortage of fuel in the country.

The state minister for petroleum also warned against hoarding as the fuel supply is already on edge.

Musadik Malik said that hoarders should remain prepared for the cancellation of their licenses.

“There is 20 days worth of petrol and 25 days worth of diesel in the country,” Musadik Malik said while talking to  Geo News. 

He also called upon people to identify the pumps providing limited petrol for the sake of profit.

Punjab Petrol Crisis

According to Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association’s secretary information Khawaja Atif, around 70 of the total 450 pumps are dry in Lahore. The areas where the pumps are reported to be closed due to a shortage of petrol include Shahdra, Wagah, Litton Road and Jain Mandar.

A similar situation is reported in Gujranwala, where around 70 per cent of stations had no petrol due to short supplies from the OMCs.

Furthermore, many pumps are also without petrol for several days in Faisal­abad, Okara, Sahiwal and other districts.