Mobile’ danger lurks at petrol pumps

ew days ago, an employee at a petrol bunk in Balkampet was filling fuel in a vehicle while its owner was chatting on his mobile phone.Suddenly, the digital meter (which shows the quantity of petrol filled and amount) burst into flames. And the machine got stuck.   Taken aback, all those present at the petrol bunk looked at each other, trying to figure out what went wrong. It was later that they realised that the culprit was the customer’s mobile phone!This incident, the news of which spread like wildfire across all petrol bunks in the city, set alarm bells ringing. Most of the petrol filling stations have now made it a point to tell customers not to talk on their mobiles while getting fuel filled, or better still, switch off the phone before entering the petrol bunk.“We no longer allow customers at our petrol bunk to talk on their mobile phones after the recent incident wherein a digital meter was badly affected and a mild explosion took place when a customer was talking over his mobile. It could have been disastrous,” said Ch Krishna, duty manager of Indian Oil filling station located at Balakampet.He said that digital meters get easily affected due to radiation signals coming from mobile phones. “We spent nearly Rs 30,000 for the repair of the meter which got slightly burnt,” he said.Even the Oil Industry Safety Directorate Authority has given instructions that mobile phones should be switched off at petrol filling outlets, CNG and LPG stations.But customers chatting on their phones at petrol bunks is a common sight. Experts say that the radiations signals from phones is a potential ignition source for flammable vapours in the atmosphere.“Please do not talk on the phone sir,” comes a polite warning from an employee at the petrol bunk at Somajiguda before he begins to fill. “Due to the potential risk of fire accidents, we advise cellphone users to switch off their sets when they come to petrol bunks. We have also instructed our staff to make sure the rule is implemented,” M Satyamurthy, manager of the filling station, said.All petrol bunks in the city have now been directed by its association that steps be taken to create awareness among customers about the need to keep cellphones switched off. “We plan to distribute pamphlets in this regard to each customer for at least a month so that they know the hazards. The filling station managements have also been advised to educate their staff and put up boards at the bunks so that the customers follow the rule,”  said Seetaram, owner of Ajita filling station situated at Balanagar junction.

Mouli Mareedu

mouli@expressbuzz.com