Hunt for petrol is becomming a norm these days.
A couple of days back, I was hunting for petrol.
- There was no petrol at Shell Petrol pump (called Battleaxe, located on Shami Road, Cantt).
- There was no petrol at PSO Gulberg (in Industrial Area Gulberg, near Pepsi Factory Lahore)
- There was petrol at Shell, M M Alam Road! Thank God. The line was long, as expected:
After waiting in the line (and right after I took this picture), a fight broke out. And what a violent fight it exploded into! One guy started cursing the petrol pump staff for not getting him to check the petrol meter. The curses soon were replaced with the customer swinging wild, well-aimed punches at the employee’s face.
And that is when all hell broke lose!
Practically all employees, with their red coats and sticks and punches and kicks, literally beat the pulp out of the customer. They ran out on the street (M M Alam road) after him. Right in front of me, one employee – as red in anger as his coat – tried to snatch the pump-action gun from the petrol pump’s guard! Thankfully, the guard was not as furious and managed to drive away the raging employee! This kind of situation could easily have lead to a person’s death right in front of my eyes. Right after the fight, they closed the petrol pump down! Well! What a time to pick a fight!
I – hoping against odds – went to Total petrol station (on M M Alam). Thankfully, there was petrol there. I got out of my car, and told the event at Shell to the Total pump’s management. They seemed to take heed and immediately started regulating the hodge-podge of rickshaws and motorbikes on one of the station in to a proper line!
Finding petrol was never this eventful, I am told. What do you think? :/