WB petrol pumps remain closed

With no immediate solution in sight, over 2,500 petrol pumps in West Bengal remained closed on Tuesday following a three-day strike even as Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty invited the West Bengal Petroleum Dealers' Association for a meeting on Wednesday to resolve the impasse.

The association has demanded lowering of sales tax and cess by the state government.

"The minister has called us for a meeting to discuss the issue on Wednesday. Subsequently, we will have our executive meeting to review the whole situation," Tushar Kanti Sen, working president of the association, said.

To a question, he said that there was no possibility of the strike being withdrawn today (on Tuesday).

"A decision on calling off the strike can be taken only at the executive meeting. Till then the strike will continue," he said.

Apart from some pumps owned by the oil companies, only a few dealer-operated pumps were open which were inadequate to meet the daily requirement of fuel.

Long queues of vehicles were evident before petrol pumps last night to stock fuel.

A meeting between the transport minister and the association representatives to avert the 72-hour strike failed on Monday.

Though traffic was normal so far, public transport, especially long-distance bus services, were likely to be affected if the strike continued tomorrow, transport operators said.