CNG filling station owners decide to take to streets

Lahore:The All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) on Thursday said it has decided to launch protests against planned exploitation of the CNG sector on the directions of LPG and petroleum mafia and an influential industrial sector.

Owners of vehicles converted on CNG will rally side-by-side with the CNG operators during the demonstrations and sit-ins, it said.
Authorities are bent upon sinking investments of CNG operators and owners of 3.7 million amounting to Rs 400 billion which will be resisted through full force, said Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha, Chairman Supreme Council APCNGA.

In a statement issued here today, he said that CNG sector has been deprived of gas which has been diverted to an influential industrial sector which has other options available for generating energy.
CNG stations owners have been deprived of their legitimate production cost which was conspiracy hatched to wipe off this sector providing economical fuel to masses, he added.

Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha said that democratic government has always kept interests of landed elite and industrialists in mind which taking critical decision while masses, business community and middleclass have been left to pay taxes, offer sacrifices and brave the outcome of their controversial decisions.He said that masses have been forced to wait for fuel for hours and even for whole nights in this biting weather which has resulted in great pains and disturbed daily life.

Paracha said that CNG filling stations have been closed since last ten days in Punjab and Balochistan, Sindh if facing four-day load shedding while three hundred stations have been closed due to low gas pressure in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa province.

Moreover, connections of four hundred CNG stations have been disconnected on the pretext of load which is unacceptable.The leader of the CNG sector warned that over one thousand filling stations would be closed soon if the conspiracies continued.He said that those who matter remained indifferent to the problems of the masses; they aren’t interested in resolving the dispute knowing that current prices are unsustainable unless government cut hefty taxes imposed on this sector.

Paracha said that CNG crisis has provided an opportunity to influential to get policies approved which will benefit them while hurting the interests of masses.