Are the petrol bunks in the City well-equipped to deal with a possible blast or an explosion? Is there a good enough distance between the petrol bunks and the buildings located around it? In addition to the usual safety measures, has any bunk in the City gone an extra mile to beef up security measures?

Well, a big NO is the answer that binds all these queries. Besides regular fire safety measures, no city bunk has armed itself for calamitous contingencies.  Most of them have no security personnel on their premises. There's no surveillance system in place to monitor the premises either. There are 250 petrol bunks in the City.

Most residential areas and busy stretches in the City have petrol bunks located right beside high-rise buildings or apartment complexes as in Jayanagar IV block, J P Nagar, Lalbagh West gate, Koramangala near the Forum Mall.

In the heart of the city,  there's the Trinity Circle where a gas station surrounds  Vijaya Bank, Taj Residency, the Oberoi and the Trinity Church itself. There's another just in front of Raheja Towers. Another one is close to Utility Building and Kaveri Handicrafts Emporium. On Kasturba Road, there are two giving company to Cubbon Park Police station and the Museum.

Not less than three months ago, the City police had issued a notice asking all petrol bunks in the City to install CCTV cameras. Sources in the police department say that this precaution was taken following a major tragedy in Kerala recently. In this particular case, an attempt of violent rioters to torch the Corporation's petrol station in the heart of the City was foiled by turning off the main valve. The rioters held the city to ransom for nearly three hours. They turned violent, damaging dozens of vehicles, several shops and offices, besides causing injury to a number of policemen by throwing stones.

The City police feared the same might happen in the City and hence the order for CCTVs at petrol bunks. The sources feel that ideally petrol stations should not be located near high-rise buildings, and that these should be away from thickly populated and congested areas and that they should not be situated close to big shopping complexes but with the City expanding at a deadly pace, petrol bunks springing up within the City is inevitable.

"Heavy stock of cash at petrol bunks is the only provocation for robberies and breakins. Bunk managers must clear out the cash kitty as soon as it gets full. Petro and credit cards must replace cash. We also issue specific instructions to, petrol bunks, during festivals to not to sell loose petrol fearing communal tension. The number of security personnel at each petrol bunk in the City must be stepped up. CCTVs too help trace the culprits in case of an emergency," Additional Commissioner of Police and Commissioner of traffic and safety K C Ramamurthy observed.

Most City petrol bunks stock fire extinguishers, buckets of soil, water and sand. All stipulations laid down by the Department of Explosives have been met.

The petrol bunk on Kasturba Road beside the Prestige building has one security personnel to man the ATM. The men working in the bunk double up as security and keep a watch on suspicious characters entering and leaving the bunk.

"If there is any spillage it's immediately wiped in case of a two-wheeler and for spillage in four wheelers, water is poured on the ground to prevent fire,” says Sqr Ldr G V Bhushan Narang (retd), President Petroleum Dealers Association and president Akhil Karnataka Federation of Petroleum Traders adds that when we pour petrol we ensure that the vehicle is switched off.

Bhushan says precautions have also been taken to enure that LPG and auto gas tanks are spaced well since they ignite easily.

Nagpals Garage, another petrol bunk, on Brigade Road has CCTV monitoring the movement of people who troop in and out of the bunk. This bunk has fire extinguisher weighing 10 kg and 75 kg each. "We make sure that we close the bunk by 11:30 at night to prevent any undue incident," says Sunil H Nagpal, Managing partner of the bunk.

There are certain specifications that all petrol bunks need to adhere to such as the distance between pedestals must be a minimum six metres, the distance between sales building to pedestals should be six metres. The distance between LPG uploading to any object must not be less than nine metres, the distance from tank to compound wall must be three metres.

"A blast in petrol bunks is ruled out because the structures are blast proof and the dealers in the bunk must keep all tanks locked to prevent any leakage," says an official with BPCL. But increasing the number of security personnel at the bunks and clearing out cash on time are just some of the additional security measures petrol bunks in the City could incorporate.