CNG stations in Hazara resent gas supply suspension

ABBOTTABAD: The owners of the gas stations and members of the CNG association here on Sunday said the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) had committed contempt of court by stopping the supply of gas to the CNG stations in Hazara division for seven hours daily.

“This forced loadshedding has badly affected our business. We have to face suspension of gas for three hours in the morning and four hours in the evening. Besides, the SNGPL has been instructed by its head office to shut down all CNG stations of Hazara division for four days a week,” said Zahid Qadir, a representative of the CNG Stations Association while talking to reporters here. The owners of CNG stations and members of the association, including Tanveer Hussein, Shabbir Seth, Naveed Alam and Zahid Jadoon were also present on the occasion.

Providing copies of the judgments of Peshawar High Court dated December 7, 2010 and Circuit bench Abbottabad order issued on February 28, 2020, the executive body of CNG Stations Association said the Peshawar High Court bench in its order clearly stated that supply of gas shall remain uninterrupted in the areas producing gas.

According to the judgment, they said that the PHC had directed the SNGPL “to adhere to the decisions in letter and spirit in view of Article 158 of the constitution while dealing with the petitioners and all other stakeholders in the province”.

They said that Peshawar High Court circuit Abbottabad bench had accepted the writ petition of the CNG Stations Association on February 28, 2020 and upheld the order of Peshawar High Court. The writ petition was allowed in light of the earlier judgment of the court with direction to the respondents to adhere to the provision of Article 158 of the constitution while dealing with the petitioners in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Tanveer Hussain and Zahid Qadir said that SNGPL had committed contempt of court by suspending the supply of gas to the CNG stations for seven hours daily and asking them to close down the CNG stations for four days a week.

They argued that they were left with the only option to move the court again for seeking relief.

They said that district administration had already been informed about the situation through a letter and requested to take up this matter with regional manager SNGPL to ensure uninterrupted supply of the natural gas to the CNG gas stations.