For Residents it was an Opportunity to load something more precious than Water
On Saturday the residents of Vadakkarai junction near Red Hills quickly brought out their pots, pans and whatever else they could find to scoop out the diesel spilling out from a diesel tanker whose valve got damaged while negotiating a speed breaker.The tanker was carrying diesel to the Andhra-Tamil Nadu border via Red Hills.
It was an opportunity to load up on something more precious than water – fuel. Among them was Rajamani, a taxi driver, who was rushing to the truck, unconcerned about the fire hazard and the slippery surface around the vehicle. In a short time, he was able to collect a bucket full of diesel. “I am getting all this for free. I know the value of diesel. I pay for it with my life’s earnings,” he said.
“The incident happened at 11.45 am and we reached the spot immediately after we received the message. We prevented the people from coming near the truck. Even a small spark could have caused a big fire and injured many of the people. Observing all precautions, we transferred the diesel to another tanker lorry,” said a police official.
Not just the adults, but children, too, joined in the fun. Quick-thinking kids grabbed plastic bottles and rushed, beating many of the adults to the spill.The crowd didn’t have the truck to themselves for long.
“The fire force reached the spot and pumped foam around the area to ensure safety as there are a lot of shops and vehicles moving around at the junction,” said a local shop owner. “Still people were collecting diesel in small bottles and some of them even filtered the diesel,” he added. The incident brought the traffic to a stand still. Trucks, vans and cars lined up on the Vadakkarai-Chennai stretch. By 2.30pm, the police and fire services personnel had managed to shift the diesel to another tanker and the area was cleared off.
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