The petrol shortage in Punjab intensified as only four hundred thousand litres petrol was provided to the customers on January 14 whereas the demand of Lahore is at least 25 lac litres per day. Around 70 percent petrol pumps are closed due to the shortage out of a total of at least 208. Even more petrol pumps are likely to be closed tomorrow.
According to the details, the customers are not getting petrol in Rawalpindi and Islamabad as well for the last two days. The petrol pumps which are providing petrol have long queues of vehicles awaiting their turn. People are strongly criticising the government as going to their offices and dropping children at schools has become a major problem for them.
People are facing the a severe shortage of petrol in the cities of Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahaudin and Narowal for as many as three days. As many as 400 petrol pumps in the region are closed out of a total of at least 500. Motorcyclists are not getting petrol worth more than Rs 100 while other vehicles are getting petrol worth Rs 500.
The circular debt of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has reached more than Rs 200 billion due to which the company is out of money to pay the oil refineries. PSO has cancelled all tenders of oil in January.
However, according to reports a tanker carrying at least 50,000 ton oil has reached the Karachi seaport from where country-wide delivery of petrol would be started soon.
Photo: Dilshad Rao
