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Sunday holiday for petrol pumps from May 14; no night shift either

Move in protest over Centre’s ’failure’ to increase dealers’ commission

Petrol pumps will be closed every Sunday starting May 14 and all the 3,000 filling stations in Karnataka will be open only for 12 hours during the daytime from May 15 onwards, the Karnataka Federation of Petroleum Traders announced on Thursday. 

But considering the convenience of motorists, the federation has allowed petrol pumps on highways to operate at night as well as on Sundays. The exception won’t apply to Bengaluru. 

The decision came after the federation decided to join the agitation launched by the Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers (CIPD) demanding an end to “anomalies” in dealers’ commission. 

Federation president B R Ravindranath said the Centre had failed to settle several long-pending issues pertaining to dealers’ commission. “The Apurva Chandra committee had recommended revision of dealers’ commission every six months. But even six years after it submitted the report, there has been no action while our operation costs have increased manifold,” he said. 

‘No Purchase Day’ 

As part of the protest, petroleum dealers across the country will observe ‘No Purchase Day’ on May 10 and will not buy fuel from oil marketing companies (OMCs) that day. 

“Since the last revision in dealers’ commission, there has been a huge increase in prices of all commodities and services. We estimate that about 25% of the operation will be saved by shutting down pumps once a week and with the single-shift operation,” he said. 

Ravindranath said the federation would consider 24/7 operations if the government implemented the committee’s recommendations. “It has been five years since the Centre received the report. There has been no progress since then. The government and OMCs point fingers at each other whenever we demand justice. We will continue the agitation until the government implements the report,” he said. 

Putting foot down

Dealers not to buy fuel from oil marketing companies on May 10. 

Single-shift operation (12 hours) from May 15. 

Move to cut operation cost in the wake of lower commission. 

Dealers may reconsider 24/7 operations if govt fulfills demands.