Govt to be responsible for lost jobs, bankruptcy of CNG owners: Ghiyas Paracha

Lahore: Leader of the CNG sector said Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha on Monday said CNG stations in Punjab are without gas supply since six months which must be reopened immediately.

He said that the world number one CNG industry should not be blackmailed.

In a statement issued here today, he said that closure of CNG filling stations has left hundreds of thousands jobless, deprived masses of economical and clean fuel and pushed many CNG owners to bankruptcy.

CNG owners continue to pay rents, salaries and fixed bills of gas and electricity while the machinery is rusting due to suspended operations, he added.

Ghiyas Paracha said that government would be responsible for all loses if CNG stations were not reopened without any delay. He said that gas utilities are harassing CNG operators unnecessarily while government has failed to keep promise of reopening CNG stations in Punjab by March 15^th.

Demanding action by Petroleum Minister against elements hurting CNG industry, he said that all natural gas consuming sectors should be dealt with justice and CNG consumers should be informed about reason behind excesses.

He said that CNG sector initiated serious efforts on LNG for CNG project on the direction of the government and over eight hundred CNG stations in Punjab accepted LNG as fuel while remaining remained indecisive due to lack of trust over government.

He said that CNG sector has the ability to import CNG in line with the LNG policy but some elements are hindering it. These elements are not doing any service to the country and nation, he added.

The leader of the CNG sector said that CNG stations should be reopened instantly so that we could play role in the national economy.