JOIN USPetrol comes at a premium
As reports state, the unleaded petrol at IOC stations in New Delhi is priced at Rs 58.37 as opposed to the earlier price of Rs 55.86. In Chennai, petrol will now cost Rs 62.42 and not Rs 59.92.
However, we are living in Bangalore, where petrol is costliest — a whopping Rs 65.38 per litre! It’s not like the earlier price of Rs 62.88 was any cheaper but coughing up 65 bucks for a litre of petrol is surely going to a burn a hole in all our pockets. Metrolife finds out what do common people of the City have to say in this regard.
Software consultant Chatur Pishay is shocked at the rise! “Two price hikes in the past six months and add to that the increasing price of vegetables,” he exclaims. “Since most things depend on petrol, I wouldn’t be surprised if inflation hits every sector of the market,” he adds. “Reports always state that our economy is growing and we will soon be a superpower. But if this is the price we have to pay for growth, I would prefer India to be called a third world country than a superpower,” he remarks.
“This country wants to become big by cheating its own citizens. It’s shameful to realise that our money is going towards scams and we are doing nothing about it,” he adds. And it’s all the more difficult, feels Chatur, for youngsters like him who have just started working.
Keerti Deshpande, a professional in Oracle, drives a car to work everyday. “It’s scary to see how the rates are increasing day by day and making travel more troublesome. I travel about 36 kms everyday and it’s surely not cost-effective,” she explains. “I just end up spending half my money on petrol. Looks like we will end up taking public transport in the days to come.”
Ravi, the joint secretary of Adarsha Auto and Taxi Drivers Union, feels the citizens are helpless. “Since the price rise has come from the Central Government, there is no point even rallying about it. We have to use petrol no matter what, we have no choice,” he says.
Experts understand the plight of the citizens. Leena Menon, a faculty member in the department of economics in Jyoti Nivas College, feels the rise was inevitable considering our economic policies. “It’s surely going to impact the consumer’s budget as many people use two and four wheelers. The upper class may not be affected since their income is high, but the rest of the groups surely will,” she notes.
“Though every time such hikes are introduced with the hope that they will trickle down our economy, it never happens. With our cost of production rising like this, we will soon become a high cost economy and there will be a problem with investments as well,” Leena explains.
She adds, “In most cases of inflation, it’s the middle men who benefit so we have to correct our distribution networks and hope that the new RBI monetary policy will suggest measures to curb inflation.”