Exposed! Here's how pumps drain your petrol

Sure, you insist on the zero before refuelling, and keep an eye on the service station throughout, but Mumbai petrol pumps have still managed to find a way to hoodwink you.

In a statewide raid by the legal metrology organisation, wherein 11,000 total units were inspected, it came to light that several petrol pumps still rig their system to ensure short delivery.

Two petrol pump units in Charkop that were seized by meteorology department for cheating customers. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Led by social media
The raid came in light of several complaints from customers on social media about being duped by petrol pump dealers. "Generally, it is impossible to provide the exact amount of petrol to customers so an error of 25ml for per 5 litre is generally accepted. But anything above that is a violation. In our inspection, we found that several units are saving over 30-50 ml of petrol per run. After receiving complaints on social media, action was taken on a suo moto basis. Now, several have been served notices, and until they provide clarifications, they will not be able to function," said Amitabh Gupta, additional general of police and controller of legal metrology, under whose jurisdiction the raids were conducted.

Breaking down the numbers
Breaking down the numbers in the city, of the 145 outlets and 1,734 units inspected, 41 dispensing units were served notices to stop services, whereas two units of Charkop Petrolium were seized altogether for erratic delivery of petrol. Shockingly, the scam is not limited to the suburbs and violations were found even in the posh south Mumbai area. Some of the centres that have been served notices are in Andheri, Bandra, Vile Parle, Khar, Bhandup and Chembur.

Meanwhile, in the Konkan region, 1,202 units were inspected, out which, 30 have been stopped with notices and one unit has been seized. Similarly, in Pune 2,511 centres were inspected with one unit seized and 17 units served notices.