Bhubaneswar, Jan. 8: The no helmet, no petrol rule, which was started in petrol pumps across the city in May last year, seems to have vanished in thin air now.
"The programme was implemented well in the initial days when fearing police reprimand, petrol pump executives used to refuse to fill two-wheeler tanks if the motorcyclist was not wearing helmet. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras were also installed in the petrol pumps to ensure that the rule was enforced strictly. However, these days, any motorcyclist can go to a petrol pump without a helmet and get petrol," said Saheed Nagar resident Biswa Bhusan Mohanty.
The programme was launched last year by the Khurda district administration in association with the regional transport office and the police. But several government sources indicated that the project fell flat mainly as there was no way the petrol pump executives could legally force a biker to wear helmet before refilling the bike's tank.
Regional transport officer-II, Bhubaneswar, Sanjay Kumar Behera admitted that the rule was no longer being enforced strictly in the city's fuel stations. He said that the petrol pumps had been supportive in enforcing the rule, while the bikers created a ruckus whenever they were refused petrol for not wearing helmet. According to Behera, the crux of the problem was that there was no provision yet to initiate legal action against bikes who did not wear helmets while refilling their vehicles at fuel stations.
Bhubaneswar deputy commissioner of police Satyabrat Bhoi also agreed that there was no way of initiating action against those who do not wear helmets while getting their two-wheeler tanks filled. "Traffic police can issue challans to those who do not wear helmets while riding two-wheelers on city roads, but the petrol pump authorities cannot do the same in any case," Bhoi said.
Software professional Amiya Chandra Mishra, a resident of Patia, also said that the rule had failed to achieve its objective. "The policy was launched to create awareness among bikers so that they used helmets. But, I have seen people who borrow helmets from others just to get their bike tanks filled. Then they start riding their motorcycles without wearing helmets. How can one ensure that people ride helmets for their own safety by asking them to wear them only while filling petrol?" he asked.
Mohammed Imran, 54, a businessman who lives at Unit-IV, said that he had found people having heated arguments with petrol pump executives when the executives insisted that they first put on their headgear before coming to the fuelling stations.
"The rule was enforced strictly in the initial days when people co-operated with the fuel station employees. But in the last three-four months, the authorities have become complacent, while the bikers have also become aggressive," he added.
General secretary of Utkal Petroleum Dealers' Association Sanjay Lath said that the laxity in enforcement of the rule was bound to happen. "If people can attack cops on the road, imagine the plight of petrol pump employees who have no security," he said. Lath also said that the petrol pump owners or fuelling executives had no authority to force a biker to wear helmet.
"We received several complaints from the fuelling executives who alleged that they were threatened with dire consequences when they refused to give petrol to bikers who did not wear helmet," he added.
Lath added that apart from implementing the no helmet, no petrol rule, the traffic authorities should also strictly enforce the traffic laws to ensure that bikers wore helmet. "If the authorities start impounding the driving licence of those trying to refill their two-wheelers without wearing helmets, everyone would fall in line," he said.
