| Howrah, Monday |
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(Top) A katatel dealer waits for customers at a shop 50 metres from the Beliapole crossing, off Kona Expressway. Another shop selling katatel at the Beliapole crossing. It’s estimated that about 250 such outlets sell 1.5 lakh litres of adulterated fuel every day. Pictures by Sanat Kumar Sinha and Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya |
Transport minister Subhas Chakraborty promised a crackdown on adulterated auto fuel after an investigation by The Telegraph revealed that nothing has changed in the eight years since a high court-appointed committee first highlighted how katatel poisons the air Calcuttans breathe.
“Use of adulterated fuel is leading to health hazards and also resulting in substantial revenue loss for the government. We have issued instructions to the police and the PVD (public vehicles department) to conduct investigation at places they deem fit,” the minister said on Monday.
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| Jadavpur, Monday |
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| An autorickshaw driver at the 8B bus stand readies for a katatel refill. (Top) The Telegraph report on Monday on the adulterated fuel |
As officials of his department went into a huddle at Writers’ Buildings to draw up a crackdown plan, Metro went around the city to confirm what it already knew: that katatel is openly sold, from Jadavpur to Howrah. According to a conservative estimate, as many as 250 such outlets in and around the city sell over 1.5lakh litres of adulterated fuel every day. Autorickshaws use this fuel — a mix of petrol, kerosene and naptha — and release noxious fumes.
“This is not the first time that the transport department has acknowledged the negative impact of katatel (on the quality of air). The problem is they hardly take any step,” said green activist Subhash Dutta, who petitioned the high court last month to ask the government to start the crackdown.
A senior transport department official said the government would first “locate” and then take action against katatel outlets. Environmentalist S.M. Ghosh said a list of such outlets had already been provided to the transport and environment departments.
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