Noida gets mobile van to check petrol, diesel quality at fuel stations

Noida: The district magistrate of Gatam Budh Nagar has called for a mobile petrol and diesel testing van to ensure that no petrol pump is cheating customers by compromising

Noida: The district magistrate of Gatam Budh Nagar has called for a mobile petrol and diesel testing van to ensure that no petrol pump is cheating customers by compromising the quality of fuel dispensed. The Indian Oil Corporation has provided a mobile van to the district administration to conduct random tests of quality of petrol and diesel sold at fuel stations.

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There are around 105 petrol pumps in the district where this van will be sent for conducting random tests. Officials will also be conducting tests if they receive any complaint from consumers about the quality of fuel.

According to officials, the mobile van takes around two hours to complete a test at a petrol pump so it is expected that officials will be able to check at least five to six petrol pumps every day. The Uttar Pradesh Petroleum Traders Association has welcomed the move saying the time is past when pump owners used to mix other components in the fuel to earn an extra penny.

“In the past, people were able to mix kerosene in petrol or diesel to increase the density, but it is not possible anymore as various systems have been put in place to check this adulteration. When the petrol pump gets its fuel consignment, it also get an invoice from the fuel company which mentions the density of petrol and diesel. The same is mentioned at pumps and nobody can fool people,” Dharamveer Chaudhari, general secretary, Uttar Pradesh Petroleum Traders Association, said.

“The Indian Oil has provided the mobile van to the district administration with which we can conduct quality tests at various fuel stations. Nobody has an issue with the move because laboratories usually take a lot of time to give the results. One way to check if any component has been mixed in the fuel is to put a drop on a filter paper — if it leaves a yellow stain, then it shows that kerosene was mixed in it. But such incidents are almost nil now,” Chaudhari said.

The test drive started from a petrol pump in Greater Noida near Surajpur. “The van was called in to ensure that no consumer is fooled. We will be conducting random tests at fuel stations and anybody who is found at fault will face appropriate action as per law,” BN Singh, district magistrate, said.