'Bunking' in the night

DIRE STRAITS

The petrol bunks in the City are few and far between and the ones that are open for 24 hours are even rarer to find. And this seems to be the worry of many Bangaloreans who drive at night and don’t find a petrol bunk in times of dire need.

Says Manoj, “This is a major problem. And not just this, even the general petrol bunks are very few in the City. For instance, Jayanagar, JP Nagar and surrounding areas just have a handful of them. And not many of these are open at nights. In such a case, how are we supposed to get fuel if our vehicles run out of petrol?”

Sandesh, a resident of Rajarajeshwarinagar says, “The drivers face a lot of problems. While travelling on the highways like Mysore Road, you do find bunks that are open but they are miles apart. And this is a place where you don’t even find that many shops.”

If you are travelling alone or for that matter, even in a group and your vehicle breaks down, there isn’t a single bunk in sight which will come to your rescue. Anusha agrees, “Most of these bunks are  not open 24 hours. They close at around ten after which only a few petrol bunks are open. And for this, you will have to travel for about five to six kilometres.”

Keeping them open is the need of the hour as they serve other purpose too. Anusha adds, “Most of the bunks have mechanics who can fix the bike or car in case of a breakdown. So keeping in mind these worst-case scenarios, they should be open as it would do the commuters a whole lot of good.” But even the ones that are open at night are not sufficiently manned causing inconvenience to many.

Says Ashwin, “Once I had a very bad experience where I had to wait for over an hour to get my car refuelled by a  person who was fast asleep. This is the sad state of affairs as not many would like to work in the night.” In this regard, proper planning is required. But owners of petrol bunks have a different take on the issue. 

Chinnaiah, who has petrol bunks on Anekal Road, says, “We don’t get good business in the night when compared to the day. So remaining open in the night will be a loss for us. Moreover, there are other problems too because of which, most petrol companies prefer to close the stations early. Sometimes people just get drunk and come to the petrol stations and pick up fights. Sometimes, they even run away without paying
money.”