Oil companies body warns of fuel shortages as 800 tankers stranded in Sindh

KARACHI: The Oil Companies Advisory Council warned the government that delays in deliveries of fuel supplies by tank lorries stranded due to on-going road blockades in Sindh, particularly in the Sukkur-Larkana division, may potentially lead to fuel shortages across the country.

The sit-in to protest against the federal government’s move to take out canals from River Indus to water Cholistan entered its sixth day on Wednesday with goods transports stranded on both sides of the district Khairpur.

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In a letter to the Chief Secretary Sindh, the Oil Companies Advisory Council urgently requested government intervention to engage the local administration and issue necessary directives to ensure the security and safe passage of tank lorries throughout Sindh.

The Council in its letter stated that “approximately 800 tank lorries are currently stranded enroute, severely hampering the industry’s ability to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies to upcountry locations and retail outlets within Sindh.”

“We would like to emphasize that while sufficient fuel stocks are available, the prevailing blockades and the absence of safe alternative routes are causing delays in deliveries and may potentially lead to fuel shortages across the region/province,” the Council went on to add.

The protest has been organised by the Sindh Bar Association which has been joined by other civil society organisations the protest is being described as one of the largest in the province’s history.

On Tuesday, the Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah called on the protestors to carry on with the protest, but not to bother the common people.

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“It is requested that we carry on the protest, but don’t bother the lives of common people by blocking the roads, we are hurting our own people,” Murad Ali Shah said on Tuesday.

“I give assurance that canals will not be built,” he went on to add.