Action demanded against cheating fuel pumps

ICTA states teams inspecting various petrol stations for irregularities

ISLAMABAD:

Citizens of the federal capital have demanded a stringent policy to curb the sale of petrol by short measuring at fuel stations. They have pointed out that repeated campaigns and inspections by the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) has failed to yield positive results and this unfair practice continues unabated.

Motorists in the federal capital who are being short-changed say that some petrol pumps are fleecing citizens by giving them lesser petrol than they pay for.

“My car's fuel tank has a 50-litre capacity according to the automobile’s manual but I am paying for 60 litres to get it filled,” a motorist at a fuel station near Golra Sharif said on Sunday.

Azhar, another motorist at a fuel station in Tiramri, a suburban area of Islamabad, said that short fuel measuring was the most common fraud. There are multiple tricks used by petrol pumps staff to cheat customers, he said, adding that a short-stop trick was very common which is used by unscrupulous fueling stations.

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“If you have asked for fuel worth Rs1,500, the petrol pump attendant will fill fuel in your vehicle for a lesser amount and stop at say Rs500. When one points out the mistake and ask for petrol worth Rs 1,000 more, he pretends to reset the machine but does not do it. “While your attention is diverted, the attendant will resume from Rs500 and again stop at Rs1,000. In the end, you got fuel worth Rs1000 and pay Rs1500,” he asserted.

Fawad Khan, a motorist using a fuel station in the Tarnol area, said certain petrol pumps were using dispensing tricks to fleece vehicle owners. This included tampering with dispensing nozzle and the machine. He lamented that pump owners do not allow customers to measure fuel in case of suspicion.

He urged the local administration to bind the fuel pumps owners to provide this facility for all customers on their request.

When contacted, an ICT administration official said that teams of its relevant department were inspecting various petrol pumps and taking action against those found involved in short selling. During recent raids, he said nine nozzles of a pump situated in a posh area of the federal capital and eight nozzles of a fuel station at Constitution Avenue were sealed for tampering with the measure.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2021.