In a week, Uran Tehsil’s office and Uran police took action second time against people selling biodiesel illegally. During a joint operation, a tanker driver and cleaner were arrested with 10,000 liters of biodiesel on Friday night at Karanja Jetty in Uran. Police said that the cost of biodiesel seized is Rs 6.61 lakhs.
Based on a tip-off, Uran police along with Uran's tehsil office conducted a raid at Karanja Jetty in Uran on Saturday night around 9 pm and caught two persons with a tanker filled with biodiesel.
The arrested were identified as Jahangir Malik, 28, tanker driver and Shahid Chaudhary, 21, cleaner, both are natives of Uttar Pradesh. Police said that they were working for another person identified as Vicky Patil, a resident of Dronagiri who was also booked.
Following the state government’s order to crack down on the illegal sale of biodiesel in coastal areas, under the guidance of Bhausaheb Andhare, Uran Tehsilsar, a special team has been formed. “We had received information that biodiesel was being sold near Karaja Jetty in Uran. The team visited along with visited the place and caught a truck filled with biodiesel,” said an official from Uran tehsil.
When the tanker driver was asked to show documents, he failed to show up. “The biodiesel was being sold illegally and they had already sold 10,000 liters,” said the official. However, they seized the tanker and the remaining 10,000 liters of oil collectively worth Rs 8.61 lakh. He added that they were selling biodiesel without any license. Last week, they had arrested two persons and seized 7000 liters of biodiesel worth Rs 4.71 lakh.
According to the tehsil office, there has been a rise in the illegal sale of biodiesel and spurious fuel and this is causing huge loss of revenue to the state.
As biodiesel is available at a low price compare to diesel, many truckers and fishermen buy at Rs 60 per liter from them and use it. “With the rise in petroleum diesel price, fishermen in the coastal areas are procuring biodiesel illegally for motorboats,” said Gopal Saha, a local activist from Navi Mumbai.
