JOIN USBangaloreans will have to get into the habit of tanking up their cars and bikes as starting this week, a majority of the petrol bunks in the City have started enforcing the ‘single-shift’ policy.
According to this new policy, fuel stations inside City limits will be open for business between 9 am and 6 pm and those located outside the City limits will be open between 6 pm to 6 am.
The move has caused a lot of inconvenience to vehicle owners. Fearing chaos during the week, many petrol bunks saw several vehicle owners filling in more than their usual
quota of fuel on Sunday evening.
Some of them don’t see how a policy like this will help in any way. “It is nothing but an inconvenience for the commuter,” says Prakash, a professional who rides a two-wheeler and has to refill his tank every alternate day.
“One is already battling it out in heavy traffic on a daily basis and now, one also has to wait for a long time at petrol bunks,” he adds.
For those, who travel to places like Electronic City and Whitefield on a regular basis, it is nearly impossible to find the time to reach a bunk before 6 pm. Teena, a professional,
says, “I travel from R T Nagar to ITPL everyday.
And I generally finish work only by 6.30 or 7 pm. Besides, I have to be at work by 9 am. So most of the time, I used to fill petrol after I returned from work. But now, it’s going to be very difficult.”
Kamana, who works in a BPO company, agrees with this view. “Before making such policies, they should consider the common man’s schedules. Now, we are forced to change our schedule just to fill petrol,” she adds.
R Janardhan, the senior executive vice president
at Dayananda Sagar Institutions, says that he was used to filling up petrol at night. “I generally fill up petrol once a week but at night when there is less crowd on the roads and at the bunks.
But now, one has to reschedule everything. I hope the government will sort this out soon, otherwise the chaos is going to continue,” he states. Girish, who travels regularly outside of Bangalore, agrees, “This is so inconvenient. People have no choice but to plan better and reschedule their timings to adjust to this.”