Petroleum trade union and consumers say the fuel station owners are directly responsible for the shortage of fuel and requested the government to launch an investigation.
The National Movement for Protection of Consumer Rights says the fuel station owners fearing that the price of petrol and diesel will be reduced have not stored the required fuel stocks and have not requested fuel supplies from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.
Due to this situation the consumers have been subjected to enormous inconvenience, the Movement said.
The National Movement to Protect the Consumers urged the Minister of Petroleum Resources Development to identify those filling stations that do not operate properly and take legal action against them.
The organization also charges that some groups are staging the fuel shortage with the hope of getting the substandard fuel shipment imported by the Lanka OIC released.
Meanwhile, the Ceylon Petroleum General Workers’ Union in a letter to the Minister attributed the shortage due to the refusal of the stock of substandard petrol imported by the Indian Oil Company and sais the efforts to bring in a substitute ship with fuel were sabotaged.
The union also charged that some groups are attempting to unload the low-quality petrol shipment.
The Union said there is enough fuel in the country and there is a conspiracy to create false propaganda over a fuel shortage.
The Trade Union Collective of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation requested the government to launch an investigation over the island wide fuel shortage, despite sufficient fuel have been stored in reserves.