BENGALURU: The ' dieselwallah ' is here. Bengaluru has become the country's first city where one can have fuel delivered at one's doorstep , just like milk and newspapers, only weeks after oil ministry announced that the Centre was thinking of rolling out such a system.

On June 15, Mypetrolpump , a one-year-old startup , conducted a soft launch with three delivery vehicles -each with a capacity of 950 litres. It has already delivered more than 5,000 litres of diesel. Diesel is delivered at the day's running price with a fixed delivery charge.

For up to 100 litres, the one-time delivery charge is `99. Above 100 litres, one needs to pay the diesel price plus one additional rupee per litre. The startup has got 20odd customers, including 16 schools (which have 250-300 buses) and a few apartments.One can place orders online, through a phone call or by downloading the free app.

“We've been in touch with the petroleum ministry since September 2016. After having convinced the officials, we had two meetings with the minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, who appreciated our innovation,“ said Ashish Kumar Gupta, the 32-year-old founder of Mypetrolpump and an alumnus of IIT-Dhanbad. Asked why the firm was only supplying diesel, Gupta, who quit his `1,60,000 per annum job with Shell Global Solutions to start his firm, said, “Petrol is used only in bikes and cars, but diesel is used for power, in industries, by large vehicles and for farming. The per annum diesel consumption in India is 77 million metric tonne (MMT) versus 22-MMT of petrol. We will be offering petrol in the future.“

The vehicles used for delivery have been specially fabricated by a firm approved by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation. All necessary permissions have been obtained, said Gupta.

The vehicles have approved valves and are earthed as they carry non-conductive fuel. They are equipped with metres and filtration systems and also come with an anti-siphoning system to prevent fuel theft and adulteration .

“We only play the role of a delivery agent. We are not buying, storing and selling fuel. When we get an order, our vehicle goes to the petrol pump, fills fuel and delivers that to the customer,“ Gupta said.

The firm, which will need about Rs 20 crore to Rs 30 crore for its initial operations in Bengaluru has been bootstrapped by the founder and is looking to raise fresh funds.

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