Bengaluru is India's No 2 petrol-guzzler

Bengaluru, Apr 16: Bengaluru consumes more petrol than any other city in India except Delhi. It comes third in diesel consumption.

According to Indian Oil, while Delhi bought 12.66 lakh kilo litres (KL) in 2016-17, Bengaluru bought 8.44 lakh KL.

Where diesel is concerned, Mumbai topped the list with a consumption of 1.11 crore KL, followed by Delhi with 13.77 lakh KL. In the same period, Bengaluru consumed 11.57 lakh KL, while Chennai came fourth with 3.39 lakh KL.

Bengaluru has the highest number of two-wheelers and the second highest number of four-wheelers in India, according to auto industry experts. Delhi has more four-wheelers than any other Indian city.

Served by a huge bus network and a Metro, Bengaluru continues to buy private vehicles in huge numbers.

About seven lakh vehicles were registered at the 10 RTOs in Bengaluru in 2016.

The country’s financial capital Mumbai comes third in petrol consumption, with 7.56 lakh KL, and Chennai fourth with 3.41 KL.

S Varadachari, executive director, Indian Oil, and state-level coordinator for the oil industry, said, “Almost every household owns a two-wheeler and a four-wheeler. The city also has a large floating population.”

“On an average, petrol consumption in Bengaluru is 70,000 KL a month, of which Indian Oil supplies 32,000 KL. Delhi consumes 50% more than Bengaluru, but, no other city matches Bengaluru in size or in fuel demand,” Varadachari told Deccan Herald.

Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s biggest oil company, has a massive presence in Karnataka, with over 1,800 retail outlets, 320 of them under its Bengaluru divisional office.

“Indian Oil runs 46% of retail outlets and 45% of LPG distribution outlets in Karnataka. With eight storage points and four LPG plants, we contribute about Rs 5,764.85 crore a year to the state exchequer,” Varadachari said.

The cost of supplying fuel is high. Many infrastructure plans are on the anvil to bring it down, he said. Indian Oil’s Mangaluru terminal expansion project, at an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore, is expected to be completed by June 2019.