Following PM Narendra Modi’s appeal to conserve fuel, a post went viral on social media. The post claimed that the Indian Petroleum Dealers Executive Committee has decided to keep petrol bunks closed every Sunday in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Maharashtra and Haryana.
Instagram Link | Archived Link.
However, upon investigation, we discovered that the claim was false. Here’s the fact check.
Fact Check
We started our investigation by conducting a relevant keyword search. We didn’t find any recent credible news reports supporting the claim.
Moving forward, we found a tweet on the official Facebook page of the PIB Fact Check refuting the claim.
However, during our investigation, we found news reports from April 2017, that read, “Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to conserve oil, fuel outlets in eight states, beginning May 14, will be shut every Sunday, a fuel pump owners’ body said today.
“We had planned to shut our outlets on Sundays a few years back. But oil marketing companies had then requested us to reconsider our decision. Now we have decided to shut the outlets on Sundays,” said Suresh Kumar, an executive committee member of the consortium of Indian petroleum dealers. He said the association’s decision was made in view of the Prime Minister’s call during his recent ‘Mann ki baat’ programme to conserve oil to save the environment…”
The decision was later withdrawn, according to reports.
Conclusion
From our investigation, we can say that the claim is false. As claimed, petrol pumps will not be closed on Sundays. PIB Fact Check has refuted the claim.
Title: Petrol Pumps Will Be Closed On Sundays? Here’s The Truth.
Fact Check By: Debanjana Baishya
Result: False
