Excess ethanol in E20 petrol: Samples collected from Kannur fuel pumps for testing

Civil Supplies officials on Monday began collecting petrol samples from fuel stations in Kannur district following the Keralam government’s decision to inspect fuel outlets to check ethanol levels. The move follows sample tests in Karnataka that found ethanol content in petrol sold by several major oil companies exceeding the prescribed limit of 20%.

The first sample was collected from Jayashree Petrol Pump at Kannothumchal in Kannur.

The Statewide inspections were ordered by Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob, who directed the Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Commission to investigate the matter. As part of the inspections, samples are also being collected from petrol pumps in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts.

At the Kannur petrol pump, officials collected 1 litre of petrol each in six containers. The samples will be sent to the District Forensic Laboratory for examination.

The sampling operation in Kannur was conducted by a team led by District Supply Officer M. Sunil Kumar, BPCL Area Manager S. Sharanjit and dealer representative S. Amarish.

Officials from the Supply offices in Iritty, Thalassery, Kannur, Taliparamba and Payyannur also participated in the inspection.