Bangalore: Petrol bunks in Bangalore and other districts of the state will remain closed on December 24 as petroleum traders join their counterparts in a nationwide protest. Traders have called for the day-long bandh of fuel bunks to push for their demand for an increase in the commission for selling diesel and petrol.

The closure comes into effect from December 23 midnight.

Bhushan Narang, chairman, Akhila Karnataka Federation of Petroleum Traders, said traders now get a commission of Rs 1.75 per litre of petrol and Rs 1.05 per litre of diesel. On December 22 and 23, traders will switch off all the lights in the driveway, yard and canopy at night in preparation for the December 24 bandh, he added.

Narang said 14 months ago, the Apoorva Chandra Committee, constituted by the Union government recommended a revision in the commission. The government hasn’t taken any measures to revise it though fuel prices have been hiked several times in the recent past. The commission is inadequate due to the steep increase in distribution costs such as electricity and increase in daily allowance for staff at bunks, he added.

There are around 400 petrol bunks in Bangalore and over 1,500 across the state.