KARACHI
Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), President Shamim Ahmed Firpo, while welcoming successful negations between the government and representatives of All Pakistan Oil Tankers Owners Association (APOTOA) resulting in ending the strike, urged the government to ensure that safety measures of international standards are adopted by owners of oil tankers at any cost in order to minimise the loss of precious lives in case of an accident.
“Regardless of what has been negotiated between the government and oil tankers owners during Wednesday’s meeting, the only thing they must keep in mind is that no compromise should be made over safety measures which have to adopted by oil tankers according to international standards,” Shamim Firpo stressed in a statement issued.
He was of the view that the two-day long strike by oil tankers association led to severe shortage of petroleum products in Karachi and elsewhere, causing serious problems for the public and also, troubles for the businessmen and industrialists.
Petroleum supplies to refuelling stations remained totally suspended for two consecutive days of the strike, creating problems for the commuters who were seen hunting for fuel at various refuelling stations all over Karachi, where petrol became rare and was hardly available at a limited number of refuelling stations until Tuesday’s evening.
He said that the Karachi Chamber never supports any strike calls by anyone and always favours negotiations but unfortunately it was the third time this year when such a strike took place and ended after a couple of days.
A similar strike was staged by All Pakistan Oil Tankers Owners Association in the month of April 2017, which was followed by a 10-day long strike by Goods Transporters Association in the month of May and now yet another strike by APOTOA was carried out; which is purely not a wise move.
“The government and all stakeholders must realise the consequences of such abrupt strikes and avoid taking such harsh steps. In fact, they should hold consultations with all stakeholders on regular basis in order to make sure that the wheels of the industry keep spinning without any hindrance whereas common man’s life stays normal”, he added.
Shamim Firpo advised the owners of oil tankers to act sensibly by ensuring all safety measures and strict compliance with OGRA rules while transporting the highly flammable fuel.
“We simply cannot afford to see innocent people dying on the roads due to any negligence particularly in a situation when an oil tanker overturns and causes petroleum spill which poses severe threat to the lives of the masses who usually start looting the free petrol because of poverty regardless of thinking about the consequences,” he said, adding that the failure to ensure safety measures might once again result in a tragic incident similar to the recent Ahmedpur Sharqia tragedy in Punjab – where hundreds of people were burned alive when an oil tanker overturned and started spilling.
