Petrol and diesel retail outlets across the state on Wednesday threatened to shut down their establishments from August 1 if the government doesn’t withdraw its recent ‘no helmet, no fuel’ rule for two-wheelers.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Federation of All Maharashtra Petrol Dealers Association (FAMPEDA) to discuss the situation arising out of the state government’s new directive. The meeting was attended by 25 member associations.
FAMPEDA president Uday Lodh said, “If the new rule comes into effect from August 1, we will not pick up or stock petrol and diesel at 4,500 pumps in the state, including 500 in Mumbai, We also intend to move the Bombay High Court seeking annulment of the ‘no helmet, no fuel’ rule for two-wheelers.”
Mr. Lodh said the new directive was flawed because it expected petrol and diesel retailers to perform the duties of law-enforcing authorities. “We are not the police, so it is not our job to implement the laws. If we refuse to provide petrol and diesel to anybody, we can be beaten up, especially at nights when drunk or lumpen elements come for a refill,” he said.
On July 21, State Transport Minister Diwakar Raote had announced the new rule in the Legislative Assembly to promote road safety and save lives. Mumbai had topped the charts in road accidents among 50 cities with populations of over a million, with 23,468 accidents last year. Maharashtra was ranked second after Tamil Nadu in the country with 63,805 road accidents in 2015, according to a report released by the Road Transport ministry in June this year.
