Kochi: The Ernakulam District Road Safety Authority wants to further increase the pressure on motorbike riders to wear protective headgear, by not allowing petrol to be sold to those who drive without a helmet in Kochi.
But the petrol dealers have slammed the move. R. Sabarinath, the national joint secretary of the Kerala State Petroleum Traders’ Association, said the decision is not practical.
“They did not even call us for a meeting to discuss the move. The people who attended the meeting– transport officials and police– have no clue about the issues we face when delivering fuel.
There are people who come to the pumps wearing helmets and snatch money from our employees.
Our demand is actually to remove the helmet while entering a pump, so that we can see their face. So we would only agree to this move if the cops agree to deploy two civil police officers in each petrol pump in the district,” Sabarinath said.
The dealers say they are just service providers and cannot handle law and order, which the no-petrol-for-no-helmet rule suggests.
“What if the customer threatens us and demands fuel even if he is not wearing helmet? We would be forced to provide petrol as we don’t have manpower,” a representative of the dealers pointed out.
The dealers’ association says not enough thought has gone into this proposal. “This is like asking bar owners not to supply liquor to people who come to the bar on their vehicles. Will anyone agree to that?
The road safety authority should sit down with us and discuss the issue and receive our suggestions,” Sabarinath said.
