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Viral video: Man buys fuel in a plastic water jar at crowded Tamil Nadu petrol pump
A video of a man filling up a 20-litre water jar with fuel has surfaced on social media.
A video of a man buying fuel in a big plastic water jar has surfaced on social media. Captured at a petrol pump in Tamil Nadu, the video has prompted social media users to ask if buying such a huge amount of fuel is even “legal” in India. The video was shared amid the rumours of fuel shortages linked to tensions in West Asia.
The video was initially shared on a YouTube channel dedicated to Villupuram, a city in Tamil Nadu, but was later reshared across several social media platforms.. The video shows a man sitting on a bike, holding a huge plastic water can. Another person, presumably an employee of the petrol pump, is filling the jar with fuel.
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As soon as his bottle is filled, another man approaches the man in uniform to get his 2-litre plastic bottle filled. The video captures people crowding the petrol pump.
The clip has sparked serious concerns among social media users about people giving in to panic and hoarding fuel.
What did social media say?
An individual asked, “Is this legal?” Another added, “How is the petrol pump allowing this?” A few more expressed the same notion.
A third commented, “This is actually an offence. Needs to be booked. This encourages hoarding. This is not the way to go.” A fourth wrote, “This is how artificial scarcity gets created. People begin hoarding oil out of fear of a future shortage, even when they don’t actually need it. Panic buying often worsens the situation, turning a manageable supply issue into a real shortage. Petrol bunk owners should be strict.”
According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, “Containers exceeding one litre in capacity for petroleum Class A and five litres in capacity for petroleum Class B or petroleum Class C, shall be of a type approved by the Chief Controller.” Petroleum classification is based on flash points.
While Petroleum Class ‘A’ means petroleum having a flash point below 23°C, Petroleum Class ‘B’ means petroleum having a flash point of 23°C and above but below 65°C. Petroleum Class ‘C’ - means petroleum having a flash point of 65°C and above but below 93°C.
(Disclaimer: This video is an user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the video.)
