Petroleum Ministry is planing to bring out a rule that would prohibit the Petrol Pumps to remain open after 8 PM in the evening, in a bid to reduce the Petrol and Diesel  across the country.
According to Petroleum Minister V. Moily, “There are various options that have been floated. Shutting petrol pumps during night is one of them. But we have not decided. It is just a proposal”.
However, Oil secretary told mediapersons that  there was no plan before the ministry to order petrol pumps in cities to remain shut from 8 pm to 8 am yet.
The proposal has started receiving protests from opposition. Â BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said: “What is petrol pump? Government will close the country… Won’t the people fill their car fuel tanks in the morning? This is a strange move by Moily”.
If the Manmohan Singh government has run out of ideas to tackle the economic mess, it can take suggestions from the BJP, he said.
Sources say that Ministry of Petroleum has plans to launch a fuel conservation drive from September 16 to cut fuel demand by 3 per cent and save an estimated Rs. 16,000 crore or USD 2.5 billion in forex outgo.
Update:Â The Prime Minister’s Office has firmly rejected a suggestion to close petrol pumps at 8 pm, a proposal that was under consideration according to Oil Minister Veerappa Moily.