report presented to pm holds ogra responsible for fuel crisi

ISLAMABAD: A two member committee tasked to probe the prevailing petrol shortage on Tuesday said that the situation was a serious failure on the part of OGRA (Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority) as a regulator. The committee presented its initial findings to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a meeting held here under his chairmanship to review the petroleum situation in the country.The PM directed to make structural changes to ensure that such a situation never arises again. The meeting endorsed the earlier decision of suspending four senior officials responsible for the crisis.The meeting also decided that Deputy Managing Director Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Sohail Butt was also equally responsible and ordered for his suspension as well.Meanwhile, Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that he was never satisfied with the performance of OGRA and the authority’s performance as a regulator was not just dismal for petrol but was also same for gas.Petrol crisis: Day 8 The petrol crisis has entered its eight day in Punjab as commuters continue their search for fuel. Long queues are seen at stations which are open with people complaining of waiting for several hours for just a litre of petrol. The All Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association said that 5.7 mn liters of petrol has been disbursed to fuel stations across Punjab during the last three days and another 1.8 mn liters will be dispersed by tonight.However, according to the Petroleum Dealers Association, the state of affairs is improving and the chaos at stations was only due to mismanagement of the pumps and had nothing to do with the supply.The association further said that all fuel stations have been directed to meet the demands of the commuters with the provided supply of petrol, as well as all stations should stop providing petrol to customers with bottles and canisters in order to avoid queues.