Mukund Kandi, Automobile Engineer

“A sudden rise of Rs 5 in petrol is not at all acceptable. The government had withheld the petrol price hike in view of the upcoming elections in five states to maintain goodwill among people. Now with elections out of the way, the plight of the common man has again taken a backseat. The price of petrol was raised many times in the last 12 months alone, which is infuriating. Taking public transport is also not an option as there are constraints of time and frequency apart from the lack of connectivity to certain routes and not to forget the bad comfort level. Besides I wouldn’t be surprised if the fares for buses, autos and taxis also go up.”

Jayanth Dev, Writer

“‘One man’s increased wage comes at another man’s price’ — This is a quote which defines middle class India. Price rise has turned into a major problem and many are affected by it. While a section of the society is prospering due to the IT boom and is happy about the increased standard of living, another section is trying to cope with the erratic price rise. The price of commodities and petrol is rising three times faster than our salaries. The only exceptions to these rising prices are ministers, business tycoons and government servants. Our food, fuel and even rents are going up.”

Snigdha Singh, Media Professional 

“The price hike just after the elections is clear proof of the cunning nature of Indian politicians. With this kind of price rise, cars and motorcycles can only stay in showrooms. Since the price in international market hasn’t increased a bit, the motive behind the sudden price rise is a matter of great discourse. Writer Ernest Benn said ‘Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding, if whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.’ There is no doubt that our politicians will find an apt excuse to silence the common man and even if they don’t, does anyone really care?”

Vishal Nayak, Technical Support Engineer 

“I feel that the hike in price is good. Now people will avoid using their vehicles, especially two wheelers thus preventing traffic jams. Another point I would like to highlight is that accident rates will also come down. Government will gain revenue from the tax collected which in turn would be used for the state’s development. But the shocking fact is that consumers in other states pay lesser than what we pay here in Bangalore. I wonder what is the Government’s explanation for that?”

Vinay Kumar, IT Professional

“It doesn’t effect me much because I’ve made up my mind that I won’t think about it. I would rather think about more constructive things and make better use of my time. When price hike isn’t in my control, what’s the point of worrying about it? The day before the price hike, you see a long queue outside every petrol bunk. You try to save up a hundred or two by getting your tank full and wait in the queue for half an hour. I don’t see any point in that exercise either. Besides, my everyday travel plans won’t change because of the price hike. I’ll not travel any less to save more. The price hike as such is also not unbearably high and the middle class can definitely afford it.”