Delhi: Around 400 petrol pumps in Delhi to remain shut till Tuesday early morning; here's why?
All the 400 petrol pumps in the national capital, along with the pumps linked with CNG dispensing units will remain shut on Monday. All the petrol pumps will remain shut till Tuesday morning at 5 am. in a protest against Delhi government's refusal to reduce VAT on fuels, the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA) said in a statement.
There are total about 400 petrol pumps in Delhi which are also linked to compressed natural gas (CNG) stations that will remain closed for around 24 hours from 6 am onwards on 22 to 5 am till October 23 in protest.
DPDA president Nischal Singhania said, "The central government had slashed the rate of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.50 per litre each on September 4. This was followed by a reduction of VAT (value added tax) by various states including neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, bringing relief to their residents.
"But, the Delhi government refused to reduce VAT on fuel both petrol and diesel resulting in fuel becoming more expensive than bordering Haryana and Uttar Pradesh."
The shutdown of the petrol pumps is being observed in protest of the AAP government's refusal to reduce value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel in the national capital.
The petrol pump dealers in Delhi are unhappy with AAP government's refusal to reduce value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel in Delhi. "This has caused losses ranging between 20 per cent and 30 per cent, as commuters prefer to get their vehicle-fuel tanks filled at a fuel station in the neighbouring cities [Noida, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad]," the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA) said on Sunday.
DPDA president said, "Almost 200 pumps out of 400 could be on the verge of shutting down, leading to retrenchment of thousands of workers and affecting lakhs of people in the city."
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged it was a “BJP sponsored strike”.
First published: 22 October 2018, 10:15 IST