DOHA: The Central Municipal Council (CMC) yesterday raised the issue of shortage of petrol stations and urged the civic ministry to stop shutting down these stations, especially in densely populated areas.
The CMC said there was a need to conduct studies to assess the requirement of petrol stations in different localities and take measures to increase their number.
Elected representatives, at their routine weekly session yesterday, said that while the country’s population and the number of vehicles on the roads were multiplying, petrol stations were disappearing.
The result is immense crowding at the existing petrol stations most of the day, and sometimes there are congestions even at night, said some members.
CMC member, Saeed bin Mubarak Al Rashid, particularly talked of petrol stations in Al Gharafa and Al Shahaniya and said they were crowded 24 hours.
“Heavy vehicles such as trucks and trailers entering these petrol stations for a refill were worsening the situation. They were causing traffic snarls.”
Joining the issue, another Council member, Mohamed Dhafir Al Hajri, said that a reason for crowding at the petrol station in Al Shahaniya was that it offered various services in just a small place — services like carwash and tyre change.
Then, there were people who come to the petrol station to buy refreshments and transparent cooking gas cylinders.
Al Hajri suggested that the government come out with some solutions like moving the above services. “A petrol station should be reserved only for refuelling vehicles and that can solve the problem of crowding,” he added.
The chairman of the CMC, Saud Abdullah Al Hanzab, intervened and said one of the main reasons for over-crowding at petrol stations was that currently some 10 stations were shut down for different reasons.
He said if people coming to petrol stations for other needs such as servicing of cars or buying refreshments or gas cylinders contributed to crowding, then the stations can be asked to have separate entrances and exits for such motorists. When a member, raising the issue of safety at petrol stations, said motorists keep the ignition of their cars on and keep talking on their mobile phones while in, Al Hanzab said the CMC could write to the Ministry of Interior requesting it to enforce a law banning such practices.
Some members also discussed recent reports in sections of the local media suggesting that some people are critical of the role of the public representative body and think that it has not done a good job in its current fourth term.
Some councillors said their hands were tied since the CMC only had a consultative status and didn’t enjoy executive authority.
Councillor Dr Mohamed bin Jassim Al Muslemani said it was true that some recommendations of the CMC which would benefit society were ignored by authorities concerned. The Peninsula
