Mumbai: This could sound strange, but citizens, who depend on kerosene to light up their kitchen stoves, these days prefer the cheaper fuel—diesel.
Petrol pump owners told TOI that there has been a long queue of slumdwellers arriving to fill their cans with one to two litres of diesel.
“These slumdwellers are fed up with the black-marketing of kerosene, which is available for as high as Rs 70 to Rs 80 per litre on the black market. There is an acute shortage in the fair price shops and they prefer switching to diesel to light their stoves,” said Ravi Shinde of Petrol Dealers’ Association, the apex body for petrol pumps in the Mumbai region.
Shinde pointed out that while petrol cannot be dispensed in cans and one needs to bring a scooter/bike/car at the pump, diesel can be given away in cans. “Diesel is a B-class petroleum product and the government allows us to dispense it in cans. There are people who need diesel for generators,” Shinde said.
He recalled that in the past one month, his petrol pump (near Amar Mahal) has had slum dwellers from Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar and Kamaraj Nagar slums queuing up. “They find diesel cheaper as it is available for around Rs 52,” he said.
A slum resident, who did not wish to be named, said that it was always better to have kerosene in the stoves instead of diesel. “But we are left with no option. When we go to fair price shops, we are informed that there is a shortage. Also, we do not want to spend as high as Rs 70-Rs 80 to purchase kerosene from the black market. So, we opt for diesel.”
The drawback of using diesel in stoves is that utensils get blackened and one has to bear the stench. “But as long as we are able to light the stove and cook food or boil water, we have no concerns,” said a resident. He complained that there were long queues for kerosene at ration shops and there was no guarantee that one would get it at fair price.
Shinde said, “Due to this, our diesel sales have also gone up. I have got the collection figures from most petrol pumps and the average sale of 300 kilolitres per month has increased to 400 kilolitres per month.”
Sources in the government said several people were unaware of their quotas and the days on which kerosene supply reaches the fair price shops. Several errant retailers were found keeping such information under wraps to divert the quota which is not picked up.
Sources allege that according to an estimate in 2012, as much as 40% of kerosene supplied was siphoned off to be used as furnace oil in industries or for adulteration of diesel and lubricants.
Courtesy:
Somit Sen TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/01/14&PageLabel=7&EntityId=Ar00702&ViewMode=HTML
Petrol pump owners told TOI that there has been a long queue of slumdwellers arriving to fill their cans with one to two litres of diesel.
“These slumdwellers are fed up with the black-marketing of kerosene, which is available for as high as Rs 70 to Rs 80 per litre on the black market. There is an acute shortage in the fair price shops and they prefer switching to diesel to light their stoves,” said Ravi Shinde of Petrol Dealers’ Association, the apex body for petrol pumps in the Mumbai region.
Shinde pointed out that while petrol cannot be dispensed in cans and one needs to bring a scooter/bike/car at the pump, diesel can be given away in cans. “Diesel is a B-class petroleum product and the government allows us to dispense it in cans. There are people who need diesel for generators,” Shinde said.
He recalled that in the past one month, his petrol pump (near Amar Mahal) has had slum dwellers from Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar and Kamaraj Nagar slums queuing up. “They find diesel cheaper as it is available for around Rs 52,” he said.
A slum resident, who did not wish to be named, said that it was always better to have kerosene in the stoves instead of diesel. “But we are left with no option. When we go to fair price shops, we are informed that there is a shortage. Also, we do not want to spend as high as Rs 70-Rs 80 to purchase kerosene from the black market. So, we opt for diesel.”
The drawback of using diesel in stoves is that utensils get blackened and one has to bear the stench. “But as long as we are able to light the stove and cook food or boil water, we have no concerns,” said a resident. He complained that there were long queues for kerosene at ration shops and there was no guarantee that one would get it at fair price.
Shinde said, “Due to this, our diesel sales have also gone up. I have got the collection figures from most petrol pumps and the average sale of 300 kilolitres per month has increased to 400 kilolitres per month.”
Sources in the government said several people were unaware of their quotas and the days on which kerosene supply reaches the fair price shops. Several errant retailers were found keeping such information under wraps to divert the quota which is not picked up.
Sources allege that according to an estimate in 2012, as much as 40% of kerosene supplied was siphoned off to be used as furnace oil in industries or for adulteration of diesel and lubricants.
Courtesy:
Somit Sen TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/01/14&PageLabel=7&EntityId=Ar00702&ViewMode=HTML
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