Petrol pumps not to buy fuel today, here is why

Petrol Pumps across the nation may face a 'dry day' as petrol pump dealers' association will resort to 'no purchase of petrol and diesel' in protest against no increase in their commission by the oil marketing companies. Petrol Pump Dealers Association said its members in 22 states will join the protest.

"Though there was an agreement between oil companies and dealer associations that the dealer margins will be revised every six months, it has not been revised since 2017. The prices of fuel have almost doubled since 2017, hence the working capital in business has doubled leading to additional loans and bank interests thereupon," the association said in a statement.

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The protest is unlikely to disrupt supplies as industry officials said that petrol pumps don't need daily refills and their storage tanks store enough supplies to last couple of days.

"Evaporation losses have increased proportionately. Also, the overhead expenses like bank charges, electricity bills, salaries etc. have increased manifold during the last five years. Our constant demand to revise dealer commission has been overlooked by the OMCs (Oil Marketing Companies). By doing so, OMCs are making their own network financially unviable," the statement said.

The 22 states where the dealers will be on protest are Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim and North Bengal.