Beginning May 14, around 23,000 petrol pumps across eight states will remain closed on Sundays. During the remaining six days of the week, petrol pumps will only be open from 9 am to 6 pm, said Ravi Shinde, President of Petrol Dealers’ Association.
The states where this order is being enforced are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana.
The decision to keep fuel stations closed on Sundays has been taken to register a protest against the government and oil marketing companies (OMC) for having ignored their long-pending demand to increase dealer margins. The other reason is to cut down on a dealer’s petrol pump operating costs.
At present, dealers get Rs 2,540 per kilo litre of petrol as against the approved margin of Rs 3,342 per kilo litre. For diesel, the approved margin is Rs 2,450 per kilo litre, but dealers only get Rs 1,620 per kilo litre.
The protest began on Wednesday, with dealers not buying petrol and diesel from OMCs for a day. The decision was taken by the Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers along with the Petrol Dealers’ Association.
Starting Sunday, motorists are likely be affected due to the limited working hours at fuel stations. “The waiting line at petrol pumps will increase due to limited working hours. On Saturdays, there will be extra rush, considering pumps will remain closed on Sunday,” said Roy Jacob, a Malad resident.
Only company owned-company operated fuel stations will continue to remain open as per the usual working hours during the week. In Mumbai, there are 16-18 company owned-company operated petrol pumps.
“Due to the law and order situation, even CNG outlets that co-exist with petrol-diesel stations will remain shut. We have asked security establishments to provide police protection when the shift ends at 6 pm,” Shinde added.
