Kasaragod : Despite increasing fuel prices in Kerala, Kudukoli Pump, a fuel station in the city of Perla in Enmakaje gram panchayat, is offering free diesel to all autorickshaw drivers. After announcing the offer for two days, the pump gave away both gasoline and diesel on Monday at 6.30 a.m. According to Siddeek Madumoole, manager of the fuel station, 313 autorickshaws were counted at the pump before it closed at 9.30 pm. Siddeek’s elder brother, Abdulla Madumoole, who is a chartered accountant in Abu Dhabi, owns the pump. Abdulla said that the giveaway was to support autorickshaw drivers affected by the lockdown and the rise in fuel prices each day.
‘This was done for charity and not for business promotion,’ said Siddeek, adding that autorickshaws came from Saradka in Karnataka, Perla, Badiadka, as well as Neerchal, 15km away, to take advantage of the offer. Sanjeeva Maipady, who drove 15km from Neerchal, said, ‘In my 37 years as an auto driver, I’ve never seen a pump give away free fuel. Sanjeeva says that apart from the increase in fuel prices, insurance premiums also have increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000 for a new autorickshaw’.
Abdulla was praised by Udyakumar S, an autorickshaw driver in Perla, who said, ‘We know him personally, and he does a lot of charity, like distributing food kits to the poor. But I never heard of someone giving away petrol for free. If he were here today, we would have garlanded him and given him a hero’s reception.’
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On Wednesday, June 16, the prices of petrol and diesel were raised again after a one-day pause, taking the price of auto fuel to a historic high across the country. Prices also rose in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai. According to a price notification from state-owned fuel retailers, petrol became more expensive by 22 to 25 paise per litre, while diesel increased by 12 to 14 paise per litre. Petrol prices rose 29 paise per litre and diesel prices rose 30 paise per litre in Delhi on Monday, June 14. Petrol prices hit an all-time high of Rs 102.82 a litre in Mumbai, up 24 paise from the previous day’s price of Rs 102.58. The country’s financial capital became the country’s first metro to offer petrol for over a hundred rupees per litre on May 29. Diesel prices also increased by 14 paise to retail at Rs. 94.84 per litre in Mumbai, up from Rs 94.70 per litre.
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