Spiralling fuel prices

Mehak Mudassir

It looks like the rise in petrol and diesel prices is not going to stop. In the last 16 days, petrol and diesel prices have increased 14 times; and the price of fuel has gone up by Rs 10 so far. Petrol and diesel prices change every day at 6 am. Their new rates will take effect from 6 p.m. The price of petrol and diesel has almost doubled after adding excise duty, dealer commission and other items. Oil companies determine the rates of fuel on a daily basis. Dealers, operating petrol pumps, determine the retail price after adding tax and their own margin.

After the end of the assembly elections in five states, on March 22, state-owned oil companies started the process of increasing the prices of petrol and diesel after getting the green signal from the government. In such a situation, the pocket of the common man is getting cut every day. People’s household budgets are getting affected by putting petrol and diesel in the car. In such a situation, everyone wants to know how much more petrol and diesel prices will eventually increase.

By how much more will the government companies increase the prices of both fuels. We were promised that the GDP of our country will rise. The promise has been fulfilled and surely there is an increase in our GDP. Gas Diesel Petrol! - Zahid Irfan, Mysuru

I don’t know what I should do. Should I feed my stomach today and fast for days or should I feed my vehicle tank so I can uniformly feed a little to my stomach on a daily basis? Jokes apart, I can’t do much but keep quiet because my brothers and sisters are busy discussing Bollywood’s next big marriage, movie, breakup etc. - Inam, Bengaluru

There is a pay-cut and no increase in salary but increase in the fuel price. I used to commute to the office by my four-wheeler. But since yesterday I have started commuting to the office by my two-wheeler. I used to fuel up my four-wheeler tank for Rs 500 per day and now I fuel up for Rs 100 a day. This price hike has brought a drastic change in the commuting system of even the upper-middle-class people who have now shifted from four-wheeler to two-wheeler. - Niraj, Bengaluru

Due to spiralling fuel and gas prices, the middle class and those at the margins of our society are struggling. India is witnessing a systematic erosion of jobs, wages and household income. These challenges have been compounded by runaway inflation and an unprecedented rise in the price of almost all household items and essential commodities. Already we have dropped some luxuries after the pandemic and now are forced to cut a few more items from our menu. There is no rise in our income in proportion to the rise in the price of essential items. Instead, we have lost a substantial portion of income as companies have adopted cost-cutting measures. - Amitha, Bengaluru

The fuel hike has burst my bubble. It has made me realise that I’m poor, not middleclass. I cannot afford to maintain even a two-wheeler, which has pushed me below the poverty line. As a child, I used to think 1 or 2 rupees increase in petrol price per litre is nothing. I was so wrong until I started paying for my own fuel. Even a small increase of Rs 1/2 scares me. We are having a price hike every other day that too of Rs 5 per litre. So one can say how long we all have to suffer from this loot! Fuel hike not only disrupts our financial budget but also our personal life. Everything is interrelated and we can’t tolerate this loot in the name of some other issues. - Anto Mohanraj, Bengaluru

I work as a marketing sales executive for FMCG products, and I get a basic salary of Rs 12,000 a month and Rs 150 per day for petrol for marketing around Bengaluru city. There is a pay-cut after Covid and it was hard to find a job. But I managed to find one. It has become very difficult for the common man to survive because the salaries are the same but the fuel price has increased. I don’t know what to do. How will I manage to pay my PG rent, food bills, fuel up the tank for work. The government has to fix this problem. The current government is hiking the price the opposition is protesting and tweeting: “I participated in the protest of hike in fuel price”. All political people use common man’s problems to win the chair, it’s all a political game. - Kiran G, Mysuru