Dispensing less fuel than what it shows in the meter is nothing new in Delhi. In fact, there is hardly any Petrol Pump in the city where you get the correct volume and/or right quality. But yesterday on a petrol station dotting the Rohtak Road, I faced a new kind of cheating. As you go from Nangloi to Ghewra Crossing, you’ll find an Indian Oil outlet just after the side road to Hirankudna is past (just about 100 metres before the Ghewra More). When I moved to the bay with an almost empty fuel tank, there was no other car around. Two attendants came up.“Is the Credit Card machine working?” I asked.
“Yes sir.”
“Five hundred rupees, normal.”
One of the attendants downs the dispenser, and starts pouring in petrol. The speed of dispensing was extremely slow. Meanwhile the elderly attendant goes up to the front of the car, and asks, “Do you want a wipe?”
Free service, so why not. He starts wiping, and asks, “Is the water hose working?”
I take my eyes off the dispensing machine and go up to the front. The attendant shows the two sprinklers on the bonnet. But to start them, I need to start the car, and I need the keys. He shrugs and continues to wipe the windshield with the water he has got. I return to the dispenser to see that the other attendant has already put back the nozzle and is closing up the tank. I look at the meter, the LED is blank.
“How did it fill so fast?” I exclaimed.
“It’s over,” he answered. “The meter sometimes goes blank. You’ll see the average, sir.”
“But that would be later…”
“Come back after a few days.”
“But…”
“Yeh Tyagi pump hai, sir. Idhar cheating nehi milta (This is Tyagi Petrol pump. Here you don’t talk of cheating.)”
Of course, in the Jaat heartland how dare you suspect a Tyagi!
I was on the road again. After a little while, when the fuel meter settled, it was clearly showing petrol reserve of about Rs 300.
How could I know that the attendant actually wanted to wipe off my wallet, and not the windshield.
