| Petrol, diesel being sold in black in curfew-hit Kashmir | | | Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Aug 20: As petrol pumps continue to remain closed due to strict curfew restrictions and protests in the valley, people are forced to buy petrol and diesel in black on very high rates.
As per reports, petrol was being sold at Rs 150-180 per lt and diesel at Rs 130-150 per lt.
"The black marketeers are looting the vehicle operators, but unfortunately no official is there to take legal action against them," said Habibullah, a resident of Rajbagh, Srinagar, over telephone.
He claimed that some youth aged between 10 to 15 years and some shopkeepers were openly selling petrol and diesel in bottles on higher rates in city as well as rural areas.
"It's not that the fuel stations don't receive oil. Tankers do come daily with petrol and diesel in the valley, but the black marketers, with the help ofpetrol pump employees, are taking advantage of the present unrest and selling oil on high rates," said a local.
The authorities said that they had issued a circular to pump owners and ordered them to make stock available all the time so that people 'do not suffer'.
On the morning of last Saturday, serpentine queues were seen outside petrol pumps in different areas of Srinagar, but no pump actually opened.
Petrol pump owners, however, claimed that they had opened their outlets last night. Meanwhile, streets of Srinagar remained devoid of human presence and activity. |
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