Environment takes a beating as transporters mix diesel with kerosene

Shimla, Oct 9 (UNI) Transporters in Himachal Pradesh are increasing mixing diesel with kerosene oil to lower their fuel costs and maximize profits, inflicting permanent damage to the environment, experts and official sources today said.

The huge difference in the prices of kerosene and diesel was luring transporters across the state to add kerosene to diesel, a senior state government official, requesting anonymity, told UNI here.

He said while diesel costs about Rs 30 per litre, kerosene was available through public distribution shops (PDS) for Rs 10 per litre due to the subsidy being provided by the government.

The huge differences in their prices have egged transporters to mix diesel with kerosene to add to their profits, he said, while warning this act for personal gains was inflicting permanent damage to the environment.

He said the demand for kerosene from almost every part of the state has been growing over the years despite majority of the people in rural areas switching over to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking.

The addition of kerosene to diesel is known to increase the carcinogenic properties in emission, causing cancer to humans, besides damaging the ozone layer and increasing the greenhouse effect, he said.

Observing that the government was aware of the increasing phenomena, state Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Singhi Ram told UNI that two committees have been constituted to check the growing trend of kerosene misuse.

Mr Ram said one committee has been constituted for south zone and another for the north zone to check adulteration of diesel.

State government officials were now conducting day and night patrolling and are taking samples from various buses and trucks operating in the state after detecting the trend.

Tourism and Transport Principal Secretary Abhay Shukla also expressed concern over the increasing trend to adulterate fuel.

''Since environment is our major resource, we need to act quickly to check this trend of adulteration which is very harmful for ourselves,'' he told UNI here.

Towards this end, the state government was planning to open a laboratory, near here, in the state to check any adulteration in the fuel, he said.

Mr Shukla said under the scheme, mobile units would collect fuel samples from various vehicles and carry out tests to detect any adulteration and warned of strict action against the guilty.

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