Kashmir Valley Petroleum Dealers Association (KVPDA) on Thursday said they should not be held responsible for breakdown of vehicles by use of ‘Ethanol-blend petrol’ as people were not aware about the precautions to be taken while using it.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, last month made it mandatory to blend petrol fuel with 10 percent Ethanol for use in vehicles.
The association demanded authorities to create awareness at mass-level among the consumers regarding use of Ethanol-blend Petrol and precautions that are needed to be taken as its use is new to consumers here.
“We have written to Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar in this regard but we have not received any response to date,” said Bilal Ahmad, spokesperson of the KVPDA.
“Here in Kashmir we have a different weather and appropriate precaution needs to be taken to prevent water entering into the fuel tank as it can lead to damage in the vehicle,” Ahmad said.
He further said: “We have taken all measures to ensure proper supply of the ethanol blend petrol and we should not be blamed for anything untoward as awareness has not been disseminated by the concerned authorities among consumers.”
The Government of India intends to raise ethanol blending in petrol to 20% by 2030 from the current 10%. The country, in 2016 produced nearly 0.876 million metric tons of fuel ethanol against the world’s top producer USA’s 44.755 million as per US energy information administration.
Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic chemical compound with high in oxygen content, and can help reduce vehicular emissions.
The process of blending ethanol has been started across the country.
The Association, meanwhile, had earlier published a notice in different newspapers of the region and asked consumers to take preventive measures and said they should not be held responsible for any kind of loss to the vehicles.
The notice had urged consumers to check the “fuel tank of the car/two wheelers for any water content present in the fuel tank and clean the fuel tank by a qualified mechanic”.
“While washing/servicing of the vehicles/2/3/wheeler appropriate precaution needs to be taken to prevent water entering into the fuel tank /engine,” it said.
It also warned against sprinkling of water with high pressure on the cap of the fuel tank.
“Keep your vehicles/2/3 wheelers covered while standing idle for long intervals especially during rainy and snowy seasons,” the advisory had said.
