Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam   

Devices to check adulteration of petroleum products

B. Madhu Gopal

Legal Metrology Department to introduce gadgets soon

VISAKHAPATNAM: Motorists need no longer be worried about the purity of petrol, which they purchase at filling stations. The Legal Metrology (Weights and Measures) Department will soon introduce software-based adulteration detection devices, for on-the-spot detection of adulterated petroleum products.

These devices facilitate easy and hassle-free checking of adulteration of petrol, diesel and other products, Commissioner for Legal Metrology K.V. Reddy told The Hindu on Thursday. Tenders would be called for the supply of these devices and the gadgets would be installed in a few months, he said.

Capt. Reddy, who is also a yoga practitioner and author of four books on yoga, was in the city to conduct combined consumer awareness-cum-programmes for students of Dr.V.S. Krishna Government College and B.V.K. Degree College on Wednesday and Thursday.

Mobile weighbridge

The Department also procured a mobile road weighbridge test kit for the first time in the country. The test kit to be based at the department's headquarters in Hyderabad would help in the detection of malpractices in weighbridges up to an accuracy of 50 grams. The kit would be moved to other centres, if necessary, for the present. There were plans to acquire a few more, he said.

Capt. Reddy said that all the 15 zonal offices and the seven regional offices of his department, besides the headquarters, had been computerised to provide better services to the people. As many as 35 mobile laboratories have been introduced during 2004-05 to detect the maximum number of cases of malpractices in weights and measures.

Awareness camps

``The department has conducted 4,000 awareness camps right from the mandal to the district levels all over the State in the last fiscal. Consumers have been educated on the methods of detection of various malpractices by traders and the various forums available for redressal of their grievances,'' he added.

The Commissioner said that the department had introduced yoga, stress management, self-healing and the art-of-living techniques, along with consumer awareness, to draw more people. These combined consumer awareness and yoga programmes had already been conducted for the general public and the police. The programme was now being extended to students of degree colleges.

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