Like the public distribution system, in which only below poverty line (BPL) families get essential food items like rice and wheat and kerosene at subsidised rates, subsidised LPG cylinders too should have been restricted to only the poor (“A sop that does not help,” Jan. 10).
Just like the tiger that has tasted blood does not settle for anything less, APL families will fight tooth and nail for subsidised LPG cylinders. The media has indicated a diesel price hike of Rs 4.50 a litre and Rs. 100 per LPG cylinder. Let us hope people will accept the hike in the interests of the exchequer and understand that this is as an inevitable burden.
K. Nehru Patnaik,
Visakhapatnam
The article clearly explains how the subsidies meant for the poor are being consumed by the rich. With political patronage to protect them, there is very little hope that things will change. Just because the rich misuse the subsidy on diesel (by patronising diesel luxury cars), the poor have to bear the brunt. An increase in the price of diesel will lead to a hike in the cost of essential items. The government should take the bold step of banning diesel guzzlers.
Neeta Venu,
Thiruvananthapuram
