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LPBOA denies SLTB Chair’s claim of pilfering fuel

08 Jul 2022

  • Denies allegation that fuel given to pvt buses from SLTB depots is resold
  • Asks SLTB to keep tabs on fuel quantity and number of buses running
  • Transport Minister Bandula orders probe 
BY Buddhika Samaraweera The Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) has refuted the allegation levelled by Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) Chairman Kingsley Ranawaka that fuel provided to private buses through the depots belonging to the SLTB is being pilfered and then sold to other parties. Speaking to The Morning, LPBOA President Gemunu Wijeratne said: “Ranawaka has claimed that there are cases where private bus owners sell the fuel provided for private buses to other people. I say with responsibility that no such pilfering is going on. There is no need for bus owners to keep the buses in their homes after selling the fuel to other people.”  He also requested the SLTB to calculate the number of private buses fuelled by the SLTB depots, the number of fuel litres provided, and the number of buses currently running. By doing so, he said, one can clearly know whether or not such pilfering is going on. “Due to the shortage of buses these days, people are waiting on the roads in large numbers, waiting for a bus. In such a situation, the bus owners can earn more income than usual by running buses. In such circumstances, why should the bus owners sell the fuel to other people and not run buses?” he queried. Speaking at a media briefing on Monday (4), Ranawaka claimed that the provision of fuel for private buses is done through almost every depot islandwide. However, he mentioned that there are doubts as to whether a programme of selling the fuel provided for the private buses to other parties is going on. He said that several such incidents have been reported in the last few days. Meanwhile, when contacted by The Morning, an official of the Ministry of Transport said that Minister of Transport Dr. Bandula Gunawardana has instructed the relevant officials to look into this matter.


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