A scooterist without a helmet refuels his two-wheeler at a petrol pump at Dakbungalow roundabout in Patna. Picture by Ashok Sinha

The recent directive of the district administration to make it compulsory for two-wheeler riders to wear helmet for purchasing fuel has not gone down well with petrol pump owners, who claim it is not practically possible to follow this rule.

On Thursday, district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Singh issued an order directing owners of petrol pumps to not sell fuel to two-wheeler riders who do not wear helmets from April 1. The petrol pump owners demurred on Friday.

They claimed following this order would lead to altercation with the customers and unnecessary harassment for them.

“It will create unnecessary nuisance. If we don’t give petrol to a customer because he is not wearing a helmet, he will surely protest. This could lead to an altercation or even a fight. Are we supposed to fight with our customers?” said Abhishek Agarwal, the owner of a petrol pump near Baas Ghat.

The district magistrate, however, claimed that the order had been issued in public interest. He said: “The decision has been taken for the benefit of the citizens. Petrol pump owners should not have unnecessary apprehensions. They should follow the rules and not try to avoid their duties.”

The nature of the new duty has irked petrol pump owners.

An employee of a petrol pump near the high court said: “How would we deal with rowdy customers? Many people don’t wear helmets. It’s is not our duty to enforce the traffic rules. This decision would not be very successful.”

The district administration is not ready to listen to such reasons. “Following this order will curb accidents. When petrol pumps are opened, their owners have to take a no-objection certificate and follow all the directives issued by the administration. If they do not follow our orders, legal action would be initiated against them,” Singh said.

He did not specify what kind of legal action would be taken but added: “Such practices have been very successful in other cities, why not Patna?”

Navin Kumar Jha, an employee at Dakbungalow petrol pump, said: “It is a tough task. We have to follow the district administration rule. But we will face a lot of problems while implementing it.”

Citizens, too, are not very happy with the new directive.

Anand Puri resident Danish Rizwan said: “The decision taken by the district administration is another means to harass common people.”