Bhubaneswar: Taking note of the difficulties faced by the people in purchasing kerosene from the open market, the Odisha government has decided to make the domestic use fuel available to non-PDS beneficiaries at all filling stations in the state at the prevailing market price.
Talking to OTV today, Food Supply and Consumer Welfare secretary Pradipta Mahapatra said his department had given a proposal to the Centre in this regard which the latter had accepted.
“We have asked all filling stations and their retail outlets in the state to store non-PDS white kerosene, which cannot be adulterated. Those not coming under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) provisions are eligible to purchase white kerosene from these outlets at the prevailing market price. The department had a meeting in this regard with all oil marketing companies and the sale of kerosene at filling stations will come into force in a couple of months,” he informed.
Asked about the steps to be taken in this regard, Sanjay Lath, general secretary of Utkal Petroleum Dealers' Association, said kerosene should be made available at select filling stations instead of all filling stations in the state to expedite the process.
“The basic requirement to start the work is an underground storage tank and a dispensing pump. Considering the reach of the filling stations spreading across the state including in rural areas, the decision of the state government would immensely benefit consumers in availing the non-PDS kerosene,” he pointed out.