Protest against order sealing petrol pump

Aurangabad: A day after a fuel station was sealed for failing to check vaccination certificates of customers and ensuring they wore masks before dispensing fuel, the Petrol Dealers’ Association (PDA) of Aurangabad on Monday demanded that the order be rescinded.
The association held a long meeting with its members on Monday and later said it would approach the high court if the order sealing the petrol pump is not withdrawn.
The district collector, Sunil Chavan, on Sunday night spotted the alleged violations of his orders – to sell fuel only to customers wearing masks and carrying vaccination certificates – at Baba Petrol Pump. He issued an order to the district supply office and got it sealed.
The action did not go down well with the PDA, which has been opposing Chavan’s order asking the petrol pumps to sell fuel only to those customers who are masked and carrying vaccination certificates.
PDA president Aqil Abbas told TOI, “We have been saying that all fuel stations have enough space to accommodate a team of health workers who can not only check vaccination certificates of the customers, but also vaccinate those who have not been vaccinated so far.”
He said the fuel station staffers, who have been trying to enforce such orders, have got into heated arguments with the customers.
In addition to this, the PDA, pointing out a “major loophole” in the collector’s order, said that when they insist that customers display vaccination certificates, they were found getting them from their family members and friends, and claiming they were theirs.
PDA’s Hiten Patel said that on Monday, after making it mandatory to display the vaccination certificate, barely anyone returned due to lack of certificate, as all the customers showed the certificates to staffers.
Another fuel station owner said, “Many customers are in a hurry and if our staffers ask them to show their vaccination certificates, people get upset and even abusive with staffers.”