CNG Associations strike disrupts routine life in Karachi

KARACHI: Commuters on Wednesday faced hardships in reaching their destinations and overall routine life was disturbed in the city due to thin public transport at roads, following the ‘indefinite’ strike called by CNG Associations across the country against government decision to increase tax on CNG Sector.

Supporting the CNG Dealers Associations in their strike, transporters in Karachi kept their vehicles, run on CNG, off the roads in protest against likely imposition of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC), thus affecting the routine life of commuters.

“All our CNG-converted vehicles, that account to 60% of all public transport buses in Karachi, are off the roads today against the likely imposition of huge cess on CNG sector,” said Chairman Karachi Transport Ittehaad Irshad Hussain.

He told PPI that they will continue to support the CNG Associations. Even if they decide to ply vehicles, how they can operate if there is no CNG.

Chairman CNG Dealers Association Abdul Sami Khan, when contacted, said the strike would continue until government withdraws its 12% cess it is going to impose on CNG. ‘After imposition of the cess, price of CNG will jump to Rs.91 per kg, from Rs.79/KG currently.”

If the rates of CNG are kept at par to petrol the business of the compressed natural gas would completely be ruined, that’s what the government intends, he added.

He said government wanted to throw CNG dealers’ investment of Rs.500 billion into a loss.

He told that transporters had also extended their support to CNG associations in the indefinite strike. When asked about the split in CNG Associations as an interior Sindh-based group announced operating of CNG stations in Hyderabad and other interior parts, he responded that those dealers were under immense pressure and closure of CNG Stations in far-off areas of Interior Sindh was not easy due to intervention of some influential figures in those areas.

Another CNG Associations representative, on condition of anonymity, told that government intended to abolish CNG sector and paving ways to introduce Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) due to their own vested interests. He vowed CNG Associations would strongly oppose any such move and will resort to strong protest.