With no change in the upward trajectory of fuel prices, people in the city are being forced to dig deeper into their pockets to keep household budgets under check and curb any non-essential expenditure.
“Looks like we may have to go back to the days of the cycle,” says Vinitha, a stitching instructor, as she fills up her two-wheeler. Vinitha says she needs to fill up petrol for ₹100 a day for her scooter. “It is new, and I’m yet to get optimum mileage. This way, I will be forced to keep it at home, unless I’m going some distance.”
LPG price
Cooking gas prices too have shot up. “From ‘Jaya’ rice, we have shifted to ‘Chamba’. Whatever cooks fast and saves on fuel. Our children complain, but we are helpless. It is the poor who live on daily wages who are hit the most,” says Kala, Vinitha’s friend and also a stitching instructor.
Sasikala, an attendant at a petrol outlet, says drivers snap at them when the fuel prices go up. “We are a family of four and need at least ₹250 a day. Our household budget is getting stretched. With diesel prices touching record highs, transportation of commodities is going to become more expensive, and the burden is bound to be passed on to us,” she says. Her friend at the outlet adds that salaries are not keeping pace with the fuel price hike.
Motorists are upset that fuel prices in the country remain high even when international crude rates come down. Nadeem, who works at a Chala shop, says a chunk of the cost is owing to duties and taxes. “If someone earns ₹500, they pay nearly ₹200 towards taxes a day. Is it fair? It is the poor who are affected the most.” Vishak S.L., who works at Edapazhanji, says things are this bad because fuel prices have not been brought under GST. “We are spending double of what we used to on fuel. If brought under GST, prices will be a lot stable. Else, the government should not allow the oil companies to set prices daily. It is the middle class and the poor and not the rulers who are affected. If the Modi government does something about GST, it will be good for them.”
