Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Drive unearths LPG transfer station

Coimbatore: In a major drive, the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited officials with the help of the Coimbatore City and Food Cell CID police unearthed a crude LPG transfer station that was misusing subsidised domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as auto fuel.

Following a tip-off about crude LPG transfer stations diverting and misusing subsidised domestic LPG cylinders and transferring them on to automobile vehicles as fuel, the BPCL officials organised a crack down.

The team led by Territory Co-ordinator, Pradeep Nair and Executive (Sales), Sandhya Vidyasagar along with Food Cell CID sleuths and Peealmedu police personnel stormed into a water service station at Chinniampalayam.

Such a practice of crude transfer of LPG from cylinders was not only illegal but also unsafe, the officials pointed out.

Given the petrol cost and auto LPG cost, a number of workshops were said to be sourcing diverted domestic LPG cylinders and crudely transferring them to vehicles for use of LPG fuel in an unsafe manner.

The domestic LPG cylinders cost only around Rs 288.50 for 14.2 kg whereas the commercial LPG cylinders weighing 19 kg were priced at Rs 1,145.72 and the auto LPG per litre was sold at Rs 35.87 per litre.

The diversion and misuse of domestic LPG cylinders proved to be cost effective, hence the diversion, the officials said. The diversion and misuse was happening despite the presence of four auto LPG dispensing stations in Coimbatore on major arterial roads because of the intention to enjoy fuel at a lesser rate.

Such a practice had resulted in the subsidy for cooking LPG being misused at the cost of safety and also in scarcity for domestic LPG cylinders.

The BPCL has requested the Transport Department to cancel the registration, permit and licence of vehicles resorting to such misuse. The BPCL has planned to join hands with the other petroleum corporations and all enforcement agencies for launching a crackdown to wipe out this misuse.

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