Kaata tel raid spurs auto conversion

KOLKATA: One raid on a kaata tel hub, and auto drivers of the city are feeling the pinch.
That was the scenario within a day of Friday's raid at a kaata tel centre at Maheshtala, which yielded a haul of 12,000 litres of illegal fuel. With the supply lines cut off, kaata tel retailers in south Kolkata were unable to supply the lethal mix to auto drivers, who were forced to either buy petrol at a premium or apply immediately for LPG conversion.Many preferred the second option. As a result, the RTA officers at Beltala and Alipore saw 900 applications within a day of the raid.
"Petrol costs Rs 44.36 per litre, while auto-LPG costs Rs 26.30 per litre. So the price advantage can be a major push for the conversion. But availability of kaata tel was neutralizing the push factor to a large extent, though kaata tel is now costlier than LPG. One litre of kaata tel costs Rs 29. Once the supply lines of kaata tel are cut, operators will move to LPG, as they won't be able to afford petrol," said transport economist Tarun Sarkar.
A transport department officer saw the spurt in applications as "an encouraging trend". "This has something to do with Friday's raid," he said. The major raid has sent a strong signal to kaata tel racketeers. Even those who have stocks are not daring to sell openly, said a South 24-Parganas district police officer.
"We have been insisting that police take a strong stance against adulterated fuel. But the state administration turned a blind eye to this fact and lost revenue. But better late than never. In other cities, price advantage of cleaner fuel makes all the difference. Same should have been applicable for Kolkata, too," said auto-emission consultant S M Ghosh. Ghosh has a list of the spots where petrol is pilfered from fuel tankers in connivance with tanker drivers. "I gave police operational details of the racket," said Ghosh.
The operating cost of autos has gone down with LPG giving much better mileage, claimed Citu-affiliated auto union leader Kishore Ghosh. But auto operators are unhappy as it's taking a long time to get the replacement for scrapped autos. "We are daily-wage earners. Once our auto gets scrapped, we lose our livelihood. We can manage for a few days. But if it takes a month to get a replacement, it hurts badly. RTA authorities told us that the bank was taking a long time as they need to scrutinize applications thoroughly," said auto operator Pratik Das, who operates on the Park Circus-Gariahat route.