Law enforcers should mount vigil

While people are burnt either to death or suffer the consequences of hurled petrol bombs, petrol is being sold openly at roadside shops. We fail to see why the trade is allowed to take place under the very noses of the police even in the capital city. The primary ingredient in the Molotov cocktail that has become the weapon of choice of opposition activists can be picked up by the litre at any of the roadside shops in many places of the country. We are however informed that the authorities have taken steps to control the sale of petrol throughout the country. Yet the lead item in this paper yesterday shows a picture of dozens of bottles in all shapes and sizes proudly on display in Barguna.

This is a blatant sale of such an inflammable material. Investigative journalism has revealed that shopkeepers have gone on record to state that they simply fill up jerry cans of petrol at the nearest filling station and transfer the content into litre-sized bottles to be sold openly. Hence, if petrol pumps are the source, why are not authorities focusing their sights there? With 35 people dead so far and some 360 vehicles torched since the start of the opposition blockade, eradication of the menace from the source, i.e. petrol pumps, is quite feasible.