Dhaba fuel
Down To Earth reporters have investigated adulteration. A reporter visited Meerut, 90 kilometres from Delhi, in the second week of October this year. He pretended he had run out of petrol for his two-wheeler. A local directed him to a cycle shop on Rohta road. The shopkeeper filled a jerrican from a loosely covered drum. He explained the strange colour of petrol as a mix of petrol and 'oil'. He also explained that if the vehicle had been a tractor, he would have given pure kerosene; for three wheelers, diesel laced with kerosene. Such shops flourish on Rohta road and other parts of Meerut.
Visit Yamuna Pushta, a dense locality on the bank of Yamuna in Delhi. The same reporter bought loose petrol from a tea stall! Local three-wheeler operators explained that the petrol locally sold through shops is a mixture of white petrol (hexane) and kerosene oil, especially concocted for two-stroke engines.
Ad hoc sale of fuel has become easier