Around 3,100 petrol bunks of IOC, BPCL and HPCL across Tamil Nadu will not function on April 23 in protest against the delay in revising the commission of petroleum dealers as per the recommendations of a committee set up by the Ministry of Petroleum.
Announcing this here on Thursday, Tamilnadu Petroleum Dealers' Association president M. Kannan said the protest closure would be from the midnight of April 22 to midnight of April 23. The decision was in line with the decision taken by the Federation of All India Petroleum Traders earlier this week. The petrol bunks owned and operated by the companies, would, however, function as usual on April 23.
Apart from demanding a revision in commission, the dealers also want the government to implement other recommendations of the committee, including a review of the commission every six months. It had also recommended introduction of State-level dealer commission rates taking into account product prices of the State and permitting dealers to levy a charge for the facilities offered free of cost now.
The Federation, he added, had earlier decided to launch an indefinite strike from April 23. It was decided against that considering the interest of the consumers. But, if the demands were not met, “we will indefinitely close the petrol bunks from April 29,” he said, adding that the dealers also want the government to stop the mushrooming growth of new retail outlets.
They also want a discussion on various aspects of the Marketing Discipline Guidelines.
