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Consumers being ‘forced’ to buy premium fuel

Chandigarh: Fuel consumers continue to be “compelled” by petrol outlets to buy premium petrol at several places in Punjab and Chandigarh in the absence of adequate supply of normal petrol.

Petroleum dealers blame the oil marketing companies for “forcing” them to sell fine quality fuel to consumers.

Although almost a month after the sharp fuel price hike was announced by the Central Government, consumers are still complaining of being forced by fuel station owners to buy premium quality of petrol which is costlier by nearly Rs. 5 per litre than normal petrol.

“It is not possible to buy premium petrol for people like us as it hits our monthly fuel budget very hard,” rued Sukhdarshan Singh who was forced by a petrol outlet in Ludhiana to buy premium petrol instead of normal fuel.

Expressing its “helplessness” over this issue, Punjab Petroleum Dealers’ Association blamed the oil marketing companies for asking them to procure certain quantity of petrol from them on a daily basis and sell them to consumers.

“We are being asked by the oil companies to lift 30 to 40 per cent of premium petrol from them which continues to increase our inventory cost as customers are not buying premium petrol,” said J.P. Khanna, president of the Punjab Petroleum Dealers’ Association. -- PTI

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