Motorists caught in pump owners, oil firms tussle

Motorists in the state, and Mumbai in particular, could be in for some bother as fuel dealers in Maharashtra have decided to not buy petrol or diesel from oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Thursday and Friday. In a letter sent to the Food and Civil Supplies department of the state government, the Petrol Dealers Association (PDA) of Mumbai said that from Saturday, petrol pumps will only operate between 9am to 6pm only, and would shut operations on Sundays, bank holidays and the second and fourth Saturdays of every month.

Public transport like taxis and autorickshaws, and even BEST buses, will be affected since this agitation would cover fuel pumps which have Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) dispensers. The city’s 35,000 taxis, 1 lakh-odd rickshaws and over some 3,000 BEST buses run on CNG apart from a large number of private vehicles.

PDA President Ravi Shinde informed DNA that the action was part of the national agitation called by the Consortium of Indian Petrol Dealers for implementation of Apoorva Chandra Committee report. The report, among other things, talks about lesser working hours and increased holidays for fuel pumps so as to make their working viable for the owners and the fuel trade as a whole. “We wish to highlight that this is not a strike but an attempt to cut our losses and make petrol pump workings viable,” said Shinde.

However for the moment, the state government is not blinking.