BBC on Government Duty

This incident happened on the first day of our journey in Nipani, a small town on NH4.

We had lunch in Belgaum and discovered that our fuel talk was almost empty. So we decided to stop at the first fuel station. We reached a fuel station within minutes and I drove in confidently. I was mildly surprised when the attendant informed me that they had run of fuel. I didn’t waste time and drove on. However, when the same story was repeated at the next fuel station, belonging to another company, I got suspicious. I walked up to the manager and demanded an explanation. He feigned ignorance and told me that they hadn’t received any supply that day. I knew that he was bluffing, and when I offered to pay his price, he refused. I drove on to the next fuel station. Here we had some luck. The attendant agreed to fill 10 liters of diesel. We now realized that something was wrong and that these chaps were hoarding fuel. We were very low on fuel now. The attendant however was a helpful chap. After all, he was not hoarding the fuel - his boss was. He pointed us to an Indian Oil fuel station down the road.

We switched off the aircon and began cruising down the road. We were losing time, but we didn’t have a choice. We almost drove past the fuel station as it was a small, decrepit little place about 500 meters from the highway. I took the service lane to get to it.
The fuel station in Nipani

When we asked for fuel, the attendant told us that it would take time as diesel had just arrived and the bunker was being filled. Sure enough, there was a fuel truck in the compound, but it wasn’t filling anything! I wasn’t too convinced and I confronted the manager. He had a different story. According to him, the pump was under repair and he wasn't sure whether it would work that day. When I told him about the shortage of fuel on the highway he looked surprised. Then, he suddenly seemed to notice the letters BBC on our t-shirts. All three of us were wearing BBC t-shirts and I had my SLR out. So he cautiously asked us who we were. Suddenly a bulb flashed in my head! I told him that we were a team of travelers who had been hired by the Ministry of Commerce to travel from Bangalore to Leh and compile report on the economic situation of the country. I also told him that I had just spoken to my friends in ED (Enforcement Directorate) and that they were looking into the problem of fuel shortage on NH4. By now, Chandu had contacted her father in Delhi, and we knew that the fuel stations were hoarding fuel due to the imminent price hike. This brought about a sudden change in the man. The ED is often in the news due to its raids pertaining to economic offences.

The attendant, who was within earshot, wasted no time in "repairing" the pump. By now we had two more vehicles in the station. We let one of them fill up first. The gracious owner let us have as much fuel as we wanted. He even gave us details about himself and the fuel station. This station, he explained, was a rural one and was frequented by the villagers, mill owners, and bitumen trucks. In addition to this, he owned a small bitumen business and his family owned a large fuel station in Nipani town.

Fuel pump being "repaired"

We finally get diesel

I listened to him patiently, paid for the fuel, and left. Once we were back on the highway, we had a good laugh. ED comes under the ministry of finance and doesn't deal with these issues.
Moral of the story - Never wait for the tank to go empty to tank up.