No helmet, no petrol? Well, almost

A cop without a helmet on Sarat Bose Road on Saturday

Debraj Mitra, TT, Calcutta, July 9: Police issued a "No Helmet No Petrol" notification yesterday night, hours after chief minister Mamata Banerjee said at a meeting with traffic police officers that lawlessness on the road would not be tolerated.

Metro visited three petrol pumps today to check if the rule was being followed.

Car Pool

The rule was enforced at the pump on Sarat Bose Road off Rashbehari Avenue.

In 30 minutes, at least 12 bikers were refused petrol for not wearing helmets. In some cases, the biker had a helmet but the pillion passenger did not have one.

One of the pump employees, Rajkumar Gupta, said he and the others had been "strictly instructed" to follow the rule. Cops arrived in the morning and told the employees about the new rule, he said.

Those who dodged: A biker wearing a helmet stopped outside the pump to let a woman and a kid, riding pillion without helmets, get off the bike. He bought petrol, came out of the pump, picked the woman and the kid and sped away.

Golpark Service Station

The pump near the Golpark crossing enforced the new rule.

An employee was seen telling a biker to wear the helmet tied to the seat rail if he wanted petrol. At least six bikers were refused for not wearing helmets.

R.K. Kar, the manager, said officers from the local police station told them about the new rule yesterday night. The cops had also checked if there was a CCTV camera installed on the premises, Kar said.

One of the employees, Sk. Sahabuddin, said: "It is going to be difficult after 10pm. Several bikers, most of them drunk, flout all rules. They will create a ruckus if we refuse to give them petrol."

Those who dodged: Two bikers arrived at the pump. While one and his pillion passenger were wearing helmets, the other biker wasn't wearing any. He waited for them to come out of the pump when he borrowed the pillion passenger's helmet. He wore it, went inside the pump, refuelled his bike, came out, handed back the helmet and rode away.

Park Circus Petrol Pump

Four bikers without helmets bought petrol from the pump on Syed Amir Ali Avenue.

Khalid, an employee, said he knew about the new rule but the pump was giving a day's "grace period". "From tomorrow we won't give petrol to anyone without a helmet."