Petrol pumps will be closed every Sunday from May 14

Bengaluru: Nearly 3000 fuel outlets across the state will remain closed every

Sunday starting May 14 apart from remaining open only for 12 hours during the daytime from May 15 onwards, the Karnataka Federation of Petroleum Traders announced on Thursday.

However, the federation has said that an exception has been given to those fuel outlets operating on highways and they will remain open on Sundays as well at night time for the convenience of motorists. The exception won't apply to Bengaluru.

The decision came after the federation decided to join the agitation launched by the Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers (CIPD) demanding an end to "anomalies" in dealers' commission.

A recommendation put forth by the Apurva Chandra committee to the Centre had called for a revision of dealers' commission every six months.

However even after six years of submission of the report the Centre has not initiated any action while our operating costs have increased substantially, informed federation president B R Ravindranath adding that they may be able to save about 25% of the operation costs by shutting down pumps once a week and with the single-shift operation

Further he added that if the government implemented the committee's recommendations, the federation would consider 24/7 operations of fuel outlets.