Drivers demand halt to below standard fuel import  

KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok): Drivers in southern Kandahar province have complained against the availability of below standard fuel in the market and said their vehicles spare parts had been damage and cause other financial losses.

They demanded halt to the import of below standard fuel because according to them this not only caused damaged their vehicles but also inflicted economic losses on drivers.

Khalid Ahmad, one of the drivers, said the use of below the standard fuel inflicted on him 5,000 afs loss.

“Low quality fuel damage the engine of car. Our profit is less than the expenses of vehicle,” he said.

Billal, another driver, said: “Every pump station claim that their product is original but the fuel I put in my car in many places were not of a high quality. We want ban on the import of below the standard fuel and individuals involved in its import should be fined.”

He said the import of low quality fuel should be stopped in Nimroz and Herat provinces so it never could reach Kandahar.

Masoud Rahat, head of the Fuel Traders Union, said that the import of below the standard fuel had declined now comparing to the past adding that efforts were underway to stop the import of low quality fuel.

“The ANSA most of the time rejected low quality fuel coming from Iran and their control had increased in Kandahar,” he said.

The Afghanistan Norm and Standard Authority (ANSA) said that three major fuel companies had been shut down over the import of low quality fuel.

ANSA Had Mawlavi Mohibullah Ezzam told Pajhwok Afghan News they first checked imported fuel in the laboratory if its quality is low the owner is advised to mix high quality fuel and then sell it.

He said in the past seven months since ANSA started its operation in Kandahar, 8,500 tankers importing fuel had been tested in the laboratory in which 580 had been found negative and of low quality.

He said low quality fuel mostly arrived in the country through illegal routes and they started to take action against it.

“We expanded our inspection in the city and recovered most of low quality fuel. If a company import low quality fuel for more than three times its license will be revoked,” he said.

According to ANSA, if the fuel is found of below the standard the importing company is charged $430 for the laboratory charges but if the company import quality fuel than the laboratory charges are free.

It is pertinent to mention that most fuel in the country are imported from Iran and most of the time tankers filled with low quality fuel are sent back.

nh