Charity, not Promotion: This fuel station in Kasaragod gave out 3 litres petrol for free to auto-drivers

Perla: As petrol price crossed Rs 100 per litre and diesel price was hovering around Rs 95, Kudukoli Pump, a fuel station in a remote village in Kasaragod gave out three litres of fuel free of cost to all autorickshaw drivers who drove in.

The pump at Perla in Enmakaje gram panchayat announced about the offer for two days and gave petrol and diesel free of cost from 6.30 am on Monday.

There were 313 autorickshaws counted at the pump before it was closed at 9.30 pm, Siddeek Madumoole, the manager of the fuel station said.

Siddeek’s elder brother Abdulla Madumoole, who is a chartered accountant in Abu Dhabi owns the pump.

Abdulla said that he decided to give away petrol and diesel to ease the burden of autorickshaw drivers reeling under the lockdown and the daily increase in fuel prices.

“This was done as charity and not to promote business,” insisted Siddeek.

After a one-day pause, the prices of petrol and diesel were hiked again on Wednesday, June 16, taking auto fuel prices across the country to a historic high. Prices also touched new high on Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. According to a price notification by state-owned fuel retailers, the latest round of increase resulted in petrol becoming costlier by 22 to 25 paise, while diesel went up by 12 to 14 paise per litre. Both auto fuel prices had touched record highs on Monday, June 14, when petrol rose 29 paise per litre and diesel climbed 30 paise in Delhi. With the new price hike, petrol hit an all-time high of Rs 102.82 a litre in Mumbai, with an increase of 24 paise from the previous day price of Rs 102.58 per litre. The country’s financial capital, on May 29, became the first metro where petrol was being sold at over the Rs 100-a-litre mark. While, diesel prices also shot up by 14 paise to retail at Rs 94.84 per litre in Mumbai, up from Rs 94.70 per litre, moneycontrol.com reported.