Convenient fuel: Crackdown on sale points much ado about nothing

Assistant commissioner laments lack of support for such crackdowns from public

FAISALABAD/BAHAWALPUR: “There’s no petrol station on the route I take from home to work, so I buy loose fuel…there are several barrel sale points on the way,” Muhammad Jamil, a customer at a barrel sale point on Narawala Road, Faisalabad, says. The nondescript set-up is marked with bottles carrying the orange-red fuel hanging at the entrance.

A spokesperson of the Faisalabad district administration says a crackdown is underway on sale of loose fuel in the district. He says the business is illegal. It is punishable under Sections 285 and 286 of the Pakistan Penal Code (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter; negligent conduct with respect to an explosive substance). The offence carries a punishment of up to Rs10,000 fine, he says.

“I have never had trouble finding loose petrol,” Jamil says. “Looking for a filling station is a hassle even if the fuel sold there is cheaper.”

Other customers at barrel selling points say loose fuel can be 20 per cent more expensive than the fuel sold at filling stations.

For those selling loose fuel, it is simply a means of making a living. “We purchase petrol and sell it to people,” says a teenager selling loose fuel at a roadside set up.

Another owner of a barrel sale point explains that filling stations have a high sales turnover than them. “They can afford a smaller profit margin, we can’t.”

Most of the customer base comprises motorcycle rickshaw drivers and motorcyclists, he says. “Standing and waiting in long queues for petrol at filling stations can be tedious…we provide a convenient alternative.”

Several motorcycle rickshaw drivers said that was the main reason why they ended up at barrel sale points. “Most petrol stations have long queues and we have passengers on a commute. This saves time,” one such driver said.

The district administration spokesperson said that they did not have the authority to tell oil companies to set up petrol stations along certain routes. “They, too, run a business.” He said that the district administration was taking stringent measures to end barrel sale points in the district. “This is a dangerous business and you need a licence to sell gasoline…otherwise you face the music.”

Bahawalpur

The district administration led several raids on Sunday and sealed some gas decanting points in the city. Assistant Commissioner Abbas Raza Nasir said they had also impounded two vehicles carrying gas cylinders. He said gas decanting was dangerous and illegal. “So is transporting gas cylinders.”

Nasir and his team raided a gas decanting shop near Bypass Road on Sunday. They sealed it and filed a complaint with the police against the owner. During a spot check in the area, two cars were found to have stashed gas cylinders under the seats of the vehicles, Nasir said. The vehicles were impounded at the nearest police station and cases were registered against the owners.

The assistant commissioner said they had launched a crackdown against gas decanting shops after several horrific incidents of cylinder explosions had occurred at these shops. “We have been trying our best to end the dangerous business but it does not appear as if we have been entirely successful. The reason for this is a high demand for gas decanting stations from people.” Nasir lamented the lack of citizens’ support and urged people to inform the administration or police about any gas decanting shops in their areas. “Timely action can prevent a deadly accident,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2016.