Better regulation needed for consumer protection | Business | thenews.com.pk
September 4, 2018 Off By administratorComment
LAHORE: There are certain public issues that can be addressed through better regulation to save the consumers from rampant loot that are now considered routine.
It is a common practice for the CNG car owners to find that the gas filled in their cylinders is more than the rated capacity of its storage. When a consumer points out this fact, the standard answer is that the filling pressure was high that enabled more gas compressed in available space.
This is not only a lame excuse but also against the law. Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has fixed a standard pressure for filling the gas.
This is done for safety purpose and the cylinder capacity is based on officially approved filling pressure. Another point worth noting is that you drive the CNG car after filling the cylinder for four to five miles and again go to the CNG station for filling it up; the filling would at least be one kilogram or one litre that is absurd. The vehicles usually run for 20-25 kilometres on one kilogram. This practice would continue if heavy penalties are not imposed on the CNG stations for violating the filling pressure limits. This is cheating and ought to be stopped.
There are some patrols pumps that maintain both quality and quantity of petrol put in a car tank. These are usually operated by the companies that supply fuel to other petrol pumps.
At most of the other pumps, both the quality is tinkered with by adding cheaper products like kerosene oil and other substitutes. The quantity supplied is also suspect.
These petrol pumps do not give the fuel in calibrated bottles or cans because it would reveal their cheating. The state can devise a way to compel the petrol pumps to satisfy the consumers about the quantity of petrol through periodic checking or give the choice to the consumers to obtain petrol in cans or bottles.
Similar problems exist in LPG supplies. The OGRA is reluctant to allow LPG pumps, though almost all rickshaws and many vehicles are run on this fuel. This is particularly a preferred fuel in hilly areas.
The transfer of LPG in cars and rickshaws is done through decanting, which is dangerous and has resulted in hundreds of deaths when LPG cylinders caught fire during decanting. LPG pumps are allowed in developed economies of European Union and in some Far Eastern Asian countries; why can’t these be allowed in Pakistan.
Footpaths in most places of cities are encroached by shopkeepers, vendors or vehicles, forcing the pedestrians to walk on the road that is dangerous and creates traffic hurdles. This practice takes place either through connivance or influence.
The penalties, if ever slapped are mild which does not discourage the violators. It has often been observed that shopkeepers encroach on parking space in markets to display their goods.
They do not allow cars to park in front of their shops because that hides their displayed goods. Many anti-encroachment drives…
