Speech & hearing disabilities don’t deter these petrol pump attendants in Gurgaon

27.06.2018

The Janta Filling Station on MG Road, next to the Guru Dronacharya Metro Station, is like any other petrol pump in the city at first glance. However, when attendants communicate with commuters through signboards, instead of speaking, the commuters realise that something is different here. Six of the attendants at the pump, all from south Delhi and Gurgaon, are hearing and speech impaired. Abhishek Gupta, the owner of the pump, claims this is probably the only petrol pump in the country to have such attendants. “My father is associated with the Haryana Deaf & Dumb Welfare Association, which is how we came in contact with them. I thought we should find meaningful employment for them as that would make them self-sufficient,” he says.

‘They grasped the work quickly and learned everything in three days’

The six differently-abled attendants – Akash, Irfan, Vikas, Shakil, Anoop, and Sunil – started working at the pump in the end of May. “At first, we thought they would need to be trained for 15-20 days before they could start working. But they surprised us all by comprehending their work in just three days. We first got them to marshall the cars and gradually moved them to refuelling duties,” Abhishek tells us. The attendants have been given special signboards that instruct commuters to signal what fuel they want and how much. They also wear a card around their neck that tells people they can’t hear or speak and need to be communicated to through signs. They undertake all tasks, from talking to the customers to filling petrol and monetary transactions, mostly without assistance from other attendants. “Shuru mein yeh log humse thodi help lete thay, par ab pakke ho gaye hain. Sab khud kar lete hain,” an attendant at the pump tells us. Talking to us through interpreters, the hearing and speech impaired attendants say that the work is actually quite fun. “It helps when people are accommodative once they realise we can’t hear or talk,” adds Anoop.

‘The idea of earning our livelihood ourselves was frightening, yet exciting’
They were nervous at first, but also excited at the prospect of earning their livelihood themselves. Sunil tells us in sign language, “It was scary at first, coming to the pump and watching all the other attendants work so casually. But we were determined to catch up with them as soon as we could. The most important thing is that we are getting a chance to earn and not get money through charity.” The attendants hope that if they can successfully work at the pump, it can inspire other deaf-mute individuals to work in places which are generally considered ‘too dangerous’ for them. 

They are doing a great job: customers
Customers at the pump say they are pleasantly surprised to see these attendants go on about their work. Abhinav, a Sushant Lok resident, says, “When I first saw these guys, I was a little taken aback, and even wondered if they could work. But over time, I have seen them get more confident and they are doing great.” Customers say that they have noticed these attendants are more polite than other attendants they have seen. Sakshi Gupta, a Gurgaon resident, says, “It was very nice to see them work here and I did not have any trouble conversing with them. In fact, they were more polite and courteous than the other petrol pump attendants I have come across. They try to make you feel welcome. Their disability is in no way a hindrance to their work.”

‘We want to show that we’re just as efficient as other attendants’
The only thing that concerns the attendants is that they are able to show people that they are efficient. “We want to show people we are just as hardworking and efficient as other attendants,” Anoop tells us through an interpreter. The pump owners say that if the attendants work well, they plan to hire more differently-abled attendants for their other service stations in Gurgaon.

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