Motorists Face Trouble Due To Wrong Fuel Filling At Pumps
This practice is becoming rampant especially for cars and jeeps.
Vijayawada:Motorists are facing a problem of their vehicles’ fuel tanks being filled with petrol for diesel, and diesel for petrol, at fuel stations in several parts of AP.
This practice is becoming rampant especially for cars and jeeps. This damages the engine. There is no scope for interchange of fuels except for hybrid vehicles with CNG and petrol, but the workers do this due to lack of proper attention to what they do.
After realising the mistake of filling up vehicle tanks with wrong fuel, the fuel station authorities would summon mechanics to drain out the wrong fuel and again fill the vehicle tank with the right fuel.
With wrong fuel, the engine faces a major issue of getting seized at times. This would require an overhaul, costing a lot of money, time and stress to the motorist.
Moreover, if the motorist is in a hurry to go to work or elsewhere, he or she may get delayed by two to three hours to reach their destination.
Recently, in Rajamahendravaram, a motorist took his diesel car to the BPCL fuel station and asked the worker to fill the fuel tank with diesel and kept looking at the meter reading. However, the worker suddenly stopped dispensing fuel and admitted that he filled up the tank with 2.5 litres of petrol instead of diesel.
Following heated arguments, the BPCL dealer arranged a mechanic to drain out the petrol. Fortunately, as the engine was not ignited with wrong fuel, there was no damage.
Similar is the experience to several motorists across the state and irrespective of whether the fuel station belonged to BPCL, HPCL or OICL. Even at private fuel stations, motorists are facing such problems.
The petroleum traders say a lack of adequate trained manpower is causing this problem. They are paying Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per worker per per month, but they do not stick to the job. “We then look for fresh hands. Training them again takes time.”
Motorists are also facing the problem of losing fuel tank caps after the fuel-fill. The station staff often forgets to refix the cap. It may cost a minimum of `2,000to get a new cap.
AP Federation of Petroleum Traders general secretary P Ravi Kumar said, “We are receiving complaints of wrong fuel-filling to mainly cars and jeeps, and about loss of fuel tank caps. Shortage of trained workers is the main problem. We request the motorists to be on the alert while at fuel stations.”
Motorists seek the role of oil marketing companies and government agencies like legal metrology to ensure such situations do not recur.
Earlier, motorists faced the problems of getting the fuel tanks of their vehicles filled with fuels having water content. There have also been complaints of mal-functioning of the pumps’ metre-reading, which is suspected to be due to illegal practices. Random checks by government agencies are stipulated, but are not regular.
