1 December 2021 08:06 pm
Nearly 25 per cent of the private buses run on kerosene instead of diesel, and bus owners blame the government for importing low-quality diesel, Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila said.
While addressing an event organised for the launch of the Statement of Rights and Obligations of Petroleum Consumers in Sri Lanka, he said one litre of kerosene was sold in filling stations for Rs. 77 and one litre of diesel was sold for Rs. 111.
"Because of the price difference between kerosene and diesel, most of the private buses run on kerosene," he said.
"Somehow, one chairman of the private bus association has lodged a complaint at the CID claiming that the government is importing low-quality diesel and because of that, their bus engines have stopped on the way," the Minister said.
The government is importing diesel stocks that the country needs, he added. The same diesel is used by the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) buses, train services, and diesel electricity generators, he said.
Due to the use of diesel, there is no way of causing damage only to the private bus engines.
Diesel operating engines were designed to run with the use of diesel only. Using kerosene for diesel engines for a longer period will damage the engines, Minister Gammanpila added. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)