Following the two brutal burning incidents in the last few days in the state, the Odisha government, on Monday, imposed a blanket ban on the sale of petrol and diesel in plastic bottles across the state.
The state government also ordered all the petrol pumps in the state not to sell petrol and diesel to people coming with plastic bottles.
On Monday, Odisha Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra chaired a high-level meeting with the representatives of various petroleum associations and officials of different departments in his office room at Lok Seva Bhawan in this regard. The Minister, keeping in view the safety of livelihood, asked them to strictly follow rules laid down by the public sector oil companies and ban the sale of fuel in plastic bottles.
Additionally, Patra has informed during the meeting that the Collectors at the district level have been instructed to carry out personal supervision to check where these rules are properly followed.
The regulations for the retail sale of petrol to various specified institutions, farmers, and for use by government offices will, however, remain unchanged.
The minister warned that strict action will be taken against persons illegally selling petrol on the roadside, in small shops in various parts of the state.
He also clarified that similar action would be taken against petrol pumps and individuals facilitating the illicit roadside and small shop sales of petrol. The dealers’ association and other stakeholders pledged their full cooperation to the government for the public’s benefit.
It is worth noting that the tragic self-immolation death of an FM College student in Balasore, coupled with the horrific incident where unknown attackers set a 15-year-old girl on fire in Puri district’s Balanga area, profoundly disturbed the people of Odisha and led to widespread demands for restricting the sale of petroleum products.
