Delhi Taxi and Tourist Transport Operators Association has announced a Parliament march on August 4 against the ethanol-blended petrol policy. The association says that this policy will damage the vehicles and turn them into scrap.
New Delhi [भारत]July 28 (ANI): After the CJP ended its protests over the NEET paper leak controversy, the Delhi Taxi and Tourist Transport and Tour Operators Association on Tuesday called for a protest march to Parliament against the ethanol-blending policy on August 4 in the national capital.
Speaking to ANI, Sanjay Samrat, president of the association, stressed that ethanol petrol will cause damage to vehicles in the country. With lakhs of bikes, private cars and taxis running on both CNG and petrol in various constituencies, Samrat warned that the advent of ethanol petrol risks turning these vehicles into scrap overnight.
‘Giving sugarcane juice in the name of petrol’
Expressing disappointment over rising prices, Samrat said motorists get 20 per cent ethanol-blended “sugarcane juice” for every ₹100 spent at petrol pumps, leaving citizens feeling cheated by the policy. Samrat said, “Ever since our Honorable Nitin Gadkari Sahab became the Transport Minister, we have been facing difficulties; we have been suffering for more than 10 years. Our concerns are being continuously ignored. And he has added a chapter to this that earlier we were facing financial and mental losses, and now he has also found a way to play with our minds. This sugarcane juice that is being given to us in the name of ethanol. Our vehicles will get spoiled later, but when we go to the petrol pump, we are given 20% ethanol. Then we feel that we are not in independent India, or our government is not ruling our country. Rather, a foreign government is ruling.”
Samrat further said, “In every constituency of theirs, there are lakhs of bikes, lakhs of private cars, and there could be lakhs of taxis which run on both CNG and petrol. So, there is a possibility of them being junked; there is a conspiracy to junk them, and they are not hesitating at all. Otherwise, out of the 543, barring Mr Gadkari, the remaining 542 should oppose it in Parliament…”
Strongly protesting against this order, Delhi Taxi and Tourist Transport and Tour Operators Association has demanded complete removal of the ethanol policy from the country.
Government’s response on E20 fuel compatibility
Meanwhile, the government informed Parliament on Monday that no assessment has been made on the percentage of vehicles in the country that are currently fully compatible with E20 fuel.
Responding to a question to know whether the government has assessed the percentage of vehicles in the country that are fully compatible with E20 fuel, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi said no such assessment has been done.
However, the minister said the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) program has been implemented through a phased, scientifically validated and consultative process involving NITI Aayog, automobile manufacturers, oil marketing companies (OMCs), Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) and other technical institutions. (ANI)
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