No check on illegal sale of POL products in Swabi

SWABI: The members of the civil society here on Tuesday asked the relevant authorities to take action against hundreds of illegal filling stations and shops selling petroleum products in various parts of the district as these posed threat to human lives and properties.

They maintained that the outlets selling petrol and diesel were operating illegally without acquiring the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the local administration and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Explosives Department.

A whirlwind survey conducted by this scribe showed that a number of illegal petrol shops and filling stations were being run at various locations at Swabi-Jehangira road, Swabi-Mardan road, Chota Lahor-Adina road, Swabi-Buner road, Swabi-Topi road and other link roads.

The villages and towns along the banks of Upper Swat Canal (Machai branch) have also become a hub of petrol and diesel shops, selling these commodities illegally.

“The sale of petrol and diesel along the banks of Upper Swat Canal is a lucrative business for the owners,” Arifullah, a trader in Gohati town, told The News.

“You can see petrol and diesel-filled bottles dangling in the front of shops,” he said, adding that there was no check from any quarter concerned over the unlawful practice.

The civil society members including Ziaur Rehman of Chota Lahor, Ashfaq Khan of Swabi city, Zarkhitab Khan of Gohati town and people residing close to these filling stations and shops expressed serious concern over the failure of relevant authorities to check the illegal sale of petroleum products.

They said that these unauthorised dealers and owners of filling stations even did not bother to take standard safety measures to ensure protection to human lives and structures in case of any untoward incident.

“The officials of district administration seem totally oblivious to their responsibilities. Our lives have no value for them,” lamented Gohar Ali, a schoolteacher in Zaida village.

According to the survey, such filling stations and shops have no NOC or licence from the district administration and KP Explosives Department.

They are like volcanos prone to ignite fire anytime and can take lives of hundreds of people the way they lost in the inferno erupted after an oil-tanker overturned in Bahawalpur recently, as all these stations and shops are operating in the densely populated localities.

“They have no safety standards as they have not even obtained construction licences from the Explosives Department, which is the ultimate authority for issuing tentative construction NOCs to petrol pumps. After completion of construction, it then allows these pumps to dispense out petrol and diesel,” a source in the oil industry revealed.

“Can you imagine the disaster if a storage having thousands of litres of petrol explodes,” he questioned, adding that there would be deaths and destruction in several metres radius area.

He said it was responsibility of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), KP Explosives Department and the district administration to take action and ban illegal sale of petroleum products.

It was found that illegal sale of petrol and diesel by unauthorised dealers, shopkeepers and filling stations has been continuing unabated in every nook and corner of the district despite the clear directives of Ogra that NOC should not be issued to the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) lacking sufficient storage arrangements.

The Ogra through official correspondence had informed the provincial government and other concerned authorities about the decision but the regulator’s instructions fell on deaf ear and the officials continued issuing NOCs to the OMCs.

It is worth mentioning here that most of these illegal filling stations have got NOCs for petrol pumps from the district administration despite clear ban by Ogra and have started fuel sales without obtaining the mandatory NOC from KP Explosives Department, which is the final authority to allow any fuel station to start dispensing fuel products.

When contacted, Gulyar Khan, deputy chief inspector of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Explosives Department, said that they had recently sent a letter to the deputy commissioner Swabi for taking action against such unlawful businesses.

“We have fulfilled our duty. Now, it is responsibility of district administration to take the violators to task,” the official said, adding that the Peshawar High Court and courts in Dera Ismail Khan, Swabi and Chota Lahor in their verdicts had also declared such business as illegal.

“Yes, the district administration will definitely take action against all unlawful businesses, including sale of petroleum products, manufacturing of counterfeit cigarettes and substandard foods and beverages,” Mutasimbillah, the deputy commissioner Swabi, said when reached by phone.

He said he had asked the chairmen of all the union councils in the district to bring such malpractices into the notice of administration in their respective areas to deal the violators with an iron hand.