The CNG crisis worsened as owners of CNG stations have threatened to surrender their licences in case of an inconclusive public hearing which would be held on November 28 (today) in Karachi. Talking to Business Recorder, Regional chairman, All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) Sameer Gulzar said that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had convened a public hearing for CNG price fixation on November 28 (today) and if the CNG price was not rationalised as per association''s demand, the owners of CNG stations had no option but to surrender their licences.
Moreover, Sameer alleged that the commissioner Karachi Hashim Raza Zaidi was using his power to pressurise the owners of CNG stations to continue the resumption of CNG supply. "We have received several complaints especially from the East Zone where law enforcers are pressurising the owners of CNG stations to resume the supply of the environmental friendly fuel," he said.
"Following the said complaints, the association has approached the commissioner Karachi Hashim Raza Zaidi and asked him to communicate his directives in writing to the pumps'' owners. But no order so far, has been imparted from the commissioner''s office," he maintained. Replying to a question, he termed the said action as illegal under Articles 4 and 18 of the Constitution, saying that if any order was given for resuming the supply of CNG, the association would approach the Supreme Court against the order.
Meanwhile, motorists while protesting on M.A Jinnah road and other parts of the city expressed their agitation against the suspension of CNG supply. They said that the owners of the CNG stations, who always pretended to be upholders of the consumer-friendly sector, would fleece motorists through different means and make huge profits for years, and were now making themselves to be stronger than the state.
The row over the CNG tariff has created immense difficulties for them in refuelling their CNG cylinders across the country. Although the association has dispelled the impression that they had given a strike call against the CNG price reduction, almost every private CNG station is offering the excuse of low gas pressure and inadequate electricity voltage for suspending the supply of CNG.
The mushrooming growth of CNG pumps, presently there are around 3000 stations across the country, clearly indicates the profit margin of the station owners. Unprecedented liberty given to these CNG station owners during the Musharraf regime is the chief cause for the present CNG crisis that should be tackled with an iron hand, they added.