Vehicles damaged due to low quality petrol:

Compensation next week

Sandasen MARASINGHE and Disna MUDALIGE

Petroleum Industries Minister Susil Premajayantha said in Parliament yesterday compensation for vehicles damaged due to low quality petrol will commence next week as recommended by the inquiring committee. He said that those who have not obtained a bill for the petrol they purchased will be compensated if they submit an affidavit. Premajayantha said that 1,800 complaints about vehicles damaged due to low quality petrol have been received to date. He was responding to a question by UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekara.

The minister said that the CPC director board decided on September 5 to compensate owners of damaged vehicles. He said that a special committee has been appointed by the director board to supervise the compensation process.

The minister also observed that 17,500 metric tons of the 20,000 metric tons of the low quality petrol haul which was imported had been sold. “However only the first 513 metric tons had been problematic.”