Strike called off
The owners of CNG refuelling stations yesterday called off the strike scheduled for tomorrow as the closing time of the stations has been reduced by two hours from today.
The decision came after a meeting at the power and energy ministry in the afternoon.
Finance Secretary Al Mamun of CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners’ Association told The Daily Star that State Minister for Power and Energy Enamul Huq assured them the six-hour closing time of CNG stations would be brought down to four hours from today and from February 1, the period will be three hours.
He also said the owners withdrew the strike considering public suffering.
From today the CNG stations across the country will remain closed from 5:00pm to 9:00pm and from February 1 the closing time will be from 6:00pm to 9:00pm, he mentioned.
The earlier closing time was from 3:00pm to 9:00pm.
In the meeting, State Minister Enamul, the power and energy secretary, Petro Bangla chairman, Titash Gas managing director and owners and leaders of the CNG refuelling stations were present.
On Saturday, the owners called an indefinite strike from December 21 since the government did not meet their demands.
Their seven-point demand included withdrawal of the government order for six-hour closure of the stations and reduction of the Energy Regulatory Commission’s licence fee to Tk 5,000 from Tk 1 lakh.
Earlier, the association postponed their strike twice as the government sought time to consider their demands.
The government during last Ramadan requested the owners not to operate their stations for six hours to facilitate domestic use of gas, said Zakir Hossain Nayan, secretary general of the association.
The government is yet to withdraw its earlier decision causing loss to owners and suffering to consumers, he added.
