The Centre's decision to increase petrol price will be a burden of close to Rs. 50 crore per annum on the commoner in Krishna district. At present, the motorists are paying Rs.72.23 per litre. They have to cough up Rs.80.54 per litre as the hike came into effect from Wednesday midnight. This is the fifth revision in petrol price in the last one year.
The increase is Rs.6.28 per litre, excluding VAT/sales tax. The hike touched Rs.8.31 in the city due to 33 per cent of tax, which is the highest in the country, being imposed by the State government. The oil companies in a communication to petrol station owners have indicated that another increase of Rs.1.50 litre (excluding VAT/sales tax) is imminent in near future.
There are about 200 petrol stations across the district selling 25,000 litres on an average per month. The people would have to shell out Rs.4.1 crore per month additionally to steer their wheels.
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The hike invited criticism from various quarters.
Effigy burnt
The opposition parties of TDP, YSR Congress Party, CPI and CPI(M) demanded immediate rollback of the hike. The CPI(M) activists, led by city secretary Ch. Babu Rao, staged a road blockade near Raghavaiah park, while the CPI workers, led by their city secretary Donepudi Sankar, protested against the hike at Lenin Centre. Both parties burnt the effigy of the Central government to register their protest.
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Mylavaram MLA and TDP district president Devineni Umamaheswara Rao said that the State and Central governments have no concern for the commoner. The increase should be rolled back immediately, he said.
YSR Congress Party city election observer P. Gowtham Reddy said that the Congress was digging its own grave by increasing the petrol price frequently. The people would teach a befitting lesson to it, he said.
Tax Payers' Association secretary M. V. Anjaneyulu said it was a blatant lie that the petrol price has to be revised in view of fall in value of rupee.
The people still remember that the government increased the price even when the rupee was strong, he added.