For once, they felt the pain of cheating

When the meter of the fuel dispenser at a filling station shows a figure more than the capacity of the vehicle, what should one do? This was the question facing an auto driver.  His colleagues, who were queuing at the facility, found the answer for him. They began a protest alleging malpractice.

On Thursday noon, Nagesh drove up to Advaitha petrol pump in Jayanagar T block to fill his cylinder. As the operator was filling his vehicle, Nagesh noticed that the meter of the fuel dispenser was showing 16 litres while the capacity of the cylinder was only 12 litres.

He got upset and angry.
“When I pointed out the anomaly to the fuel station authorities, they said the meter was not faulty. They explained that it showed 16 litres as the operator, after attending to the vehicle before his, continued filling fuel without zeroing the meter. But I myself saw that the meter read zero before he tanked my rickshaw,” Nagesh said.

Many auto drivers, who were impatiently waiting in the queue, came to his support and demanded an explanation from the fuel station staffers. Not convinced by the explanation, the drivers began to protest. As things seemed to be going out of control, the authorities informed the Tilaknagar police.

“The police were of little help. They just kept saying Nagesh would get his money back. They didn’t encourage us to file a complaint. Until 5pm, no complaint was lodged,” said Ashok Kumar, an auto driver.

When DNA contacted Tilaknagar police, they said it was a trivial issue and there was no need to file a complaint.
Officials of the fuel station did not respond to our calls.