People fume over petrol price hike-"At this rate,very soon we'll have to walk to office/After this hike will there b limit on number of subsidised LPG

People fume over petrol price hike/After hike in petrol prices, will there be limit on number of subsidised LPG

Raj ShekharRaj Shekhar, TNN | Sep 16, 2011, 06.52AM IST



NEW DELHI: "At this rate, very soon we'll have to walk to office ," fumed an irritated Sauda , a cinematographer by profession, who was on her way back from office when she learned about a hike in petrol prices. The news that the state-owned oil companies had decided to hike petrol prices by Rs 3.14 a litre, as the rupee touched a two-year low against the dollar increasing the cost of importing crude oil, came as an unpleasant surprise to most Delhiites on Thursday.

With this being the second fuel hike in four months, Delhiites seemed annoyed with the government failing to curb the increasing price of petrol.

Kamal, VP with the AUM Capital group, was furious with the way the prices were rising every few months. "It's stupid! Whenever the prices of crude oil come down, we never witness a fall in prices but as soon as the rupee falls or crude oil prices rise, we are the ones who bear the brunt," he said.

Thursday evening witnessed long queues outside petrol stations as people flocked to fill their tanks as soon as they learnt about the hike. Neeraj Mishra, an executive with a real estate firm, says, "I was going home after work but when I got to know that fuel prices will go up from midnight, I headed to the nearest petrol pump to get the tank filled. At least, this means I won't have to worry for the next few days," he said. As news spread, shoppers strolling around Connaught Place and at malls across the city made a beeline for the the nearest fuel pump.

Some pumps had in the morning put up 'Out of order' signs to sell as little as possible during the day and make a killing by selling at the high rate later.

Many complain that a fuel hike is a sledgehammer blow to the monthly budget which goes for a toss each time prices rise. Rekha, a housewife living in the Minto Road area, says, "I was at home when I heard about the price rise on TV. My husband was away, so I thought I should drive out and fill up the car tank before thinking about how to cut household costs to make up for the hike."

When asked how they would cope with the hike, many had no answer. Shruti Tekriwal, a homemaker, says, "I have given up planning . This May the government had increased prices by Rs 5 and I had to replan my entire budget.

And now I am back at square one. I am going to take things as they come now. This fuel hike means my husband and I will have to shell out around Rs 100 extra per day. We will have to cut spending on some other service to make up for this added expenditure."

A similar sentiment was echoed by Jyoti, an HR manager by profession. "We get salary hike only once a year, while they increase prices every few months! How are we supposed to manage? We are no magicians and the government should understand this."

For many, the news of the hike came as a surprise as they believed that the government would not hike prices again so soon after the May hike. Sanjeev Anand, a manager with a private company, said, "The government just increased prices a few months back and now they have done it again. It's becoming a routine drill now and the irony is that the government expects us to accept the situation silently."

Rajat Sharma, an investment banker, said he was upset when he heard the news about the hike. "This back-toback hike is just getting too much to bear. I have to drive for around 100 kilometres a day and with petrol prices now shooting up to around Rs 67 a litre the situation has become unacceptable. Does the government care about the common man?" asked an angry Sharma.