ISLAMABAD - The blockades of roads continued on the 12th consecutive day on Thursday bringing down the CNG and fuel sales to half.
"I went for shopping in a local market this morning, and when I came back I found myself besieged on Murree Road, I parked my car on the road and walked to my house," said Amanullah Khan, a resident of Malpur.
He said since August 9th the residents of Malpur have been confined to their houses as containers have been placed near his house and Barakahu. Malpur is a small but thickly populated area, at a five minutes drive from Kashmir Chowk. This area lies in the center of Lake View Park and Barakahu.
The containers were placed on the roads of the capital as a measure to stop people from going to Lahore in Tahir-ul-Qadri's Martyrs Day on August 10th.
Two days ago, the containers were removed for a while but were erected again, said Raja Akram, a resident.
He said due to the containers shops of the area have become short of materials, and they have literally been cut from all the sides.
From Malpur, the road towards Quaid-I-Azam University is open but it is again blocked by heavy containers near President Colony.
The fuel stations near Aabpara hardly opened during the last many days, while CNG stations witnessed low sales due to the road blockades.
The gas consumption has been considerably reduced in the twin cities; however, exact amount could be calculated only after the meter readings are collected from CNG stations, said a SNGPL official.
Due to the containers many of the CNG stations remain closed since August 9th when Islamabad administration had forcefully closed CNG stations. However, those, who opted to open their stations after August 14th, complained of low sale volumes.
The sales has been dropped to 20 percent, as due to road blockades customers can't reach stations, only nearby people come to get gas but it remains in their cylinders as they can't go anywhere, said Sajid Abbasi, cashier of Abbasi filling station.
According to CNG association official, Pervaiz Khattack, the overall sale of CNG stations has come down to fifty percent due to the ongoing political situation.
There is hardly any traffic on Lahore-Islamabad, and Peshawar-Islamabad routes due to the ongoing situation, the whole Islamabad is closed, and KPK officials are present in the sit-in, so people are avoiding travel, Khattak said.
There are around 2500 CNG stations on SNGPL strength alone. According to Khttak, due to the ongoing crisis some of them are incurring heavy financial losses.