Petrol price hike fuels anger among city commoners

September 01, 2013 01:10 am | Updated June 02, 2016 08:13 am IST - HYDERABAD:

The hike in petrol and diesel prices on Saturday came as a rude jolt to city dwellers, who are reeling under the rising prices of essential commodities.

Cascading effect

Most fear that the latest increase in fuel prices will impact the rates of other commodities and hit their monthly budgets.

Prices of onion, green chillies and vegetables have already hit the roof.

A kg of Kurnool sona rice is now costing Rs.52 in the retail market.

“At this rate, having two square meals a day would be a big challenge for people. This is shocking,” fumes Vijay Kumar, an employee of a petrol bunk at Trimulgherry.

Long queues

On learning about the rise in fuel prices, motorists thronged fuel stations in various areas. Some outlets witnessed serpentine queues till midnight.

Kamesh Babu, general secretary of Federation of Associations of Colonies and Apartments, went ballistic on the hike.

“It appears that the Central and State governments are focusing only on the welfare of corporate companies and ignoring the interests of common people,” he complained.

‘Bring down taxes’

He demanded that the State government reduce taxes on fuel to bring relief to the people.

He said the taxes are the highest in the country.

Many believe the decision to increase the price of petrol by over Rs. 3 per litre and Rs.0.60 paise per litre on diesel will cast a cascading effect on the prices of all the commodities.

Citing the steep hike, Dilip Pansari, general secretary of Hyderabad and Secunderabad Retail Dealers Association, said autos and taxis would soon increase the charges.

“Eventually, it is the common man who has to bear the brunt,” he added.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.