News
Fuel quota pledge: Tuk drivers fume over Govt. inaction
View(s):By Nadia Fazulhaq
Threewheel drivers charge that the Government is dragging its feet over appeals to increase their weekly fuel quota under the National Fuel Pass QR system.
Self-employed threewheelers transporting goods and those who depend on hires for income say they are the worst affected.
“With just five litres a week, most drivers stay at home after going on hires for a few hours a day,” said Asela Dilshan, a father of two from Avissawella. He is unable to go on hires after he transports his daughter to and from school in Colombo.
“Finding those willing to give their fuel pass is such a stress. Some pay about Rs. 500 to filling station workers to get an additional litre,” he said.
A threewheeler driver said he had obtained two car fuel passes and two more threewheel fuel passes from vehicle owners in his village.
“Villagers use their vehicles only for emergencies, so 20 litres a week are too much. They give their QR code to us. How are we to feed our families and pay lease instalments with a meagre five litres a week,” he asked.
Three Wheel Driver’s Union president Lalith Dharmasekare said that for the past two decades they had been callilng on the government to regulate threewheelers. If it had been done, increasing the quota for only professional drivers wouldn’t have been a difficult task, he said.
He urged the Government to increase the quota to 30 litres a week. Otherwise, they would resort to bribery and other illegal means to obtain extra fuel.
Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekare said the scheme of increasing the fuel quota to selected categories would be tested this week.
A senior ministry official said threewheel drivers earning income from hires will also fall into this category. The others would be taxi services and regional news correspondents.
The Ministry is in the process of identifying such three wheelers with the assistance of the Department of Motor Traffic (RMV) and police.
The amount of fuel to be increased is yet to be decided,” he said.
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