Another crisis in the energy sector was emerging as a large number of vehicles, including five locomotive engines and SLTB and private buses had been stalled due to pumping alleged substandard diesel, sources said.

However, the Chairman, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) D. Vidanagamachchi told Daily Mirror that they were receiving complaints for the last few days about engine troubles of buses and stalling of gantries at the Colombo Port.

“We checked the samples and found the diesel had been contaminated in the old pumping machines at the filling stations as these machines did not have filtering mechanism. Besides, the stalled new SLTB buses must be pumped with super diesel.

However, the Petroleum Industries Minister Susil Premjayantha has appointed a team to investigate the issue and report within two weeks,” Mr. Vidanagamachchi said.

SLTB Deputy General Manager (Technical) G.K.Ariyaratne said there was a break-down of 30 buses due to pumping of substandard diesel.
Meanwhile, private bus owners said that more than 25 buses plying in short-distance routes in Matugama and Ratnapura faced similar problems in their injectors.

Lanka Private Bus Owners Association (LPBOA) President Gemunu Wijeratne said the incidents were reported on Sunday.

By Sandun A. Jayasekera and Supun Dias
Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)