‘No purchase no sale’ protest begun by Petrol pumps in West Bengal

As a part of protest petrol pumps in West Bengal went ahead with ‘no-purchase’ from oil marketingCompanies (OMCs) against rising expenditure and declining profit margin.

There was no purchase from OMCs in around 3,000 petrol pumps in West Bengal, including 53,500 across the country as part of the All India Petroleum Dealers’ Association’s (AIPDA) continued agitation demanding change in dealers’ commission formula.

“Today, it was a 100 per cent successful protest in West Bengal. And what we have learnt from our colleagues is that most of the states have witnessed good response,” West Bengal Petroleum Dealers’ Association President Tushar Kanti Sen told PTI.

“The government must realise that the dealers are suffering because of the commission formula. This is  Not ethically correct... A dealer is earning a very low margin and it is difficult to manage expenses thesedays. Our business is at stake and the profit margin must be considered,” he said.

There was, however, no instance of any protest in front of any petrol pump in the city because of the agitation, a senior Kolkata Police official said.

AIPDA has also announced to go in for a strike—‘no purchase no sale’—on November 15.

Earlier, dealers throughout the country on October 19 and 26 undertook a token “blackout” protest for 15 minutes from 7 pm