WAH CANTT: People all over the country reeling from the sky-high prices of CNG heaved a sigh of relief after the considerable reduction in CNG price. It was hoped that the benefit of this decrease in rates would also reach the common man in terms of low transport fares. However, the transport mafia has arrogantly ignored the very idea behind the Supreme Court’s order providing relief to the poor of the country.
Commuters travelling from Wah Cantt to Rawalpindi have not received any benefit from the cut in CNG price in terms of lower transport fares despite transporters benefiting fully from this development. The Punjab government and the Regional Transport Authority must take action against the obstinate transport mafia and force it to reduce transport fares in proportion with the low-cost CNG that is now available. Moreover, regional transport authorities and the traffic police should be given clear directives to enforce the new fares so that the common man can also benefit.
Here, I would like to highlight the importance of the CNG sector to Pakistan. Several countries are doing away with expensive liquefied petroleum gas but in Pakistan, the CNG sector is being closed to boost the import of costly fuels. Countries, including India and Bangladesh, do not have any indigenous substitute for gasoline; they lack proper gas infrastructure but they still sell CNG at a lower price when compared with Pakistan. Gas is an indigenous resource of ours, which is economical and clean compared with imported fuels, which are costly and unfriendly to the environment.
The CNG sector needs the immediate attention of the authorities concerned as billions have been invested in it and 3.5 million vehicles make use of it while millions are directly and indirectly employed by it.
Muhammad Arshad Nadeem
Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2012.
