Fuel hoarders under the radar

Sources say admin delaying action to avoid another crisis

RAWALPINDI: The district administration has decided to take action against illegal petroleum agencies after a report revealed that the main cause of the recent crisis in the district was hoarding.

The administration, however, has desisted from taking immediate action against these agencies to avoid another fuel crisis, sources said adding that they were waiting for supply situation to improve to launch the crackdown.

Citing a report from sources, the district officials told The Express Tribune that it has been found that there were around 370 illegal petroleum agencies in the Rawalpindi district.

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Of these, 120 operate in Rawalpindi city and 250 of them operate in other parts of the district. The small scale agencies can store 1,000 litres while the bigger players have space to stock up to 3,000 litres, found the report, officials said. The report said that the commodity was purchased at cheaper rates and hoarded. The hoarders have planned to sell it once the fuel prices go up in July, they added.

The district administration will take action in coming days and all points, where the commodity has been illegally stocked, have already been marked. The officials added that some licenced petrol pumps located on the outskirts of the city are also part of the illicit practice, adding that their licenses would be suspended.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2020.