Petrol pump strike called off till 12 September

The strike called by Bangladesh Petroleum Dealers, Distributors, Agents and Petrol Pump Owners' Association has been postponed till 12 September.

The blockade will resume from 13 September if the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources fails to provide any solution to their demands by then, said the association's President Mohammad Nazmul Haque during a press briefing at the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation office at the capital's Karwanbazar on Monday.

Previously, the Bangladesh Petroleum Dealers, Distributors, Agents and Petrol Pump Owners' Association had called for increasing their commission to 7% on sales of fuel oils. They had also threatened to go on strike everyday from dawn to 11pm starting 31 August, if their demands are not met.

During the same press briefing, BPC Chairman ABM Azad said, fuel pump owners have questioned the validity of different mobile courts conducted by Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution and the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection. They complained that such inspections hamper their activities.

However, since the companies are licensed under the BPC they have jurisdiction to conduct the mobile courts but there is information gaps between the organisations, said the BPC chairman.

Only an inter-ministerial meeting can address these issues and find a solution, according to ABM Azad.

He also gave the same solution in the case of different agencies verifying documents of the fuel pumps.

Regarding the fuel pump owners' demand that there is no need for underground tank calibration ABM Azad said that the underground tanks must be calibrated every five years according to the BPC rules and the owners must comply.