Ramar Pillais of suburbs hawk spurious petrol substitute

Every morning, drivers buy their supply of fuel in cans and bottles from Neptune Adhesives and Chemicals, which sells a litre of fuel at Rs 20. They mix this fuel with engine oil from vendors selling spurious oil across the road. The rickshaw drivers don’t take their vehicles inside the compound of the factory so as not to attract attention.

“Saab kya karega, mehengai ke zamaane mein yehi petrol sasta padta hai (In this age of inflation, only this petrol’ is affordable),” confesses Ram Prasad, a rickshaw driver.

Vendors of engine oil can be seen parked opposite Neptune Adhesives and Chemicals, selling bucketfuls of oil without any fear of authority.

Every day, autorickshaws get their fill of oil from these unlicensed vendors. This is mainly because 300 milligrams of engine oil is available here for Rs 12 compared to the normal price of Rs 28 for the same quantity.

The oil vendors were far more aggressive when asked where they got the oil from. “No one can do anything to us, we pay regular haftas,” they replied.

On the other hand, an employee of Neptune which does not have a proper licence on being asked why they sold the fuel replied: “There is not much we can do to stop them. The drivers come here with cans and we sell the fuel.”

On August 20, Oshiwara police station was informed of the illegal activity at the site and promised to reach the spot soon. But despite waiting for over an hour, there was no sign of them.

Later, when police were contacted in the evening, senior inspector Purshottam Mule informed 20-25 persons had been brought to the police station. “Whenever we go to nab them, they run away,” he said.

“The vendors get their fuel from Neptune. We have informed the authorities several times to cancel their licence, but to no avail,” Mule revealed.

When contacted, Neptune Adhesives and Chemicals denied the charge. Interestingly, the vendors were charged only with obstruction of traffic and it was business as usual for them the next day.

According to Ravi Shinde, vice-president of the Petrol Dealers Association (PDA), Rexon results in engine knocking, a drop in fuel efficiency and engine life and more smoke. Most importantly, it causes greater environmental damage as the fuel is improperly burnt. It is the bargain-basement choice of auto drivers who are not always owners of the vehicles.

“Rexon normally looks like water but is adulterated with an amber dye to make it look like petrol,” says Shinde. Rexon has edged out other petroleum substitutes like patrex,’ a mixture of ethanol and naphtha costing around Rs 22.