Petrol worth Rs 20 lakh stolen from tankers every day: dealers body

“Tankers filled with petrol and diesel stop at the octroi post before heading to Pune’s pumps. Everyday,about 400 tankers enter the city. The petrol is pilfered either outside Loni terminal or at Shewalwadi octroi post. Each tanker carries approximately Rs 8 lakh worth petroleum. On an average,fuel worth Rs 8,000 is stolen from at least 250 of these tankers before they enter the city,” general secretary of the Association,K H More said.

On Friday,a panel of petrol dealers met the chief installation manager of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL),V K Goyal,and brought a number of issues,including the pilferage,to his notice.

PPDA spokesperson Ali Daruwala said,“Until about five years back,the civic body had octroi staff at Loni terminal and vehicles did not have to go to the octroi post. There is a need to bring back the same system to weed out malpractice like fuel pilferage.”

Goyal also said HPCL was trying to bring into effect a new locking system in tankers. “The drivers and transporters must be making master keys to open seals of tankers to steal petroleum. We are trying to create a different locking system over the next few months.”

Meanwhile,the Pune Petrol Dealers’ Association met District Collector Chandrakant Dalvi on Friday and brought to his notice a number of issues,including petrol pilferage at Shewalwadi. Their demands include making real-time gross settlement (RTGS) method of payment by petrol dealers to petroleum companies optional and not mandatory. The association has warned of on an indefinite strike from May 1 if no action is taken regarding these issues,PPDA spokesperson Ali Daruwala said.