CNG Dealers Association (CNGDA) on Monday rejected the two-day weekly closure of gas for CNG stations. Talking at a press conference held at Karachi Press Club, Chairman CNGDA Abdul Sami Khan, has demanded to the authorities to withdraw the said decision, especially from CNG stations as the officials from Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) have also admitted at a meeting that there is no saving of gas from the closure of CNG stations.
He said the authorities would get more gas-saving by conducting load shedding at industrial areas and added that the decision of SSGC to shutdown CNG stations for two-day in a week would not only hit the CNG sector badly but also create adverse impact on the workers.
He said the decision would create the transport problems for public. Therefore, the association has disagreed with the government policy and demanded to withdraw the same immediately, he maintained. He said the SNGPL and SSGC are spearheading this destruction path under the excuse of gas shortage and carrying out load shedding to CNG stations.
Sami said the Sindh produces 73 percent share of total gas production in Pakistan and uses only about 35 percent while the CNG uses only 7 to 8 percent of the said total production. But the SSGC is bent upon load shedding of CNG in Sindh for two days in a week, raising disenchantment among stakeholders.
He urged the authorities concerned to stop granting licences to new stations under political pressure besides maintaining full pressure on the days other than load shedding.
He further said the ban imposed on CNG cylinder should also be lifted. Sami proposed to the government to arrange certification for buses and mini-buses conversion through HDIP to avert unpleasant incidents in future. He further said that the government should direct the transporters to paste stickers of CNG or diesel on windscreens of the buses or mini buses to provide maximum financial relief to the commuters.