Rising fuel prices add to the woes of lockdown-hit people

Tirupati: The price of petrol has crossed century-mark after it has gone up 18 times in May and twice in the first week of June after the elections in five states are over while the diesel price is also racing towards the triple digit mark. This huge hike in petrol and diesel prices in the country can have a cascading effect on a number of sectors, ultimately impacting citizens.

The people have already feeling the heat of the prices and expressing their disgust with this kind of daily increase. It has become a double whammy on various sections who were already worst-hit with the Covid pandemic for over a year now. Farmers have been facing the brunt of the price burden with the rents on tractors and other vehicles going up which has been making the cultivation even more burdensome.

Besides, transport of crops like vegetables and fruits has become costly, impacting both cultivators and consumers.

Every family is having a minimum of one two-wheeler and the rise in petrol prices has invariably affected their monthly budgets. The increase in transport costs has an adverse impact on the prices of various essential commodities as well with which the people have to bear a huge additional burden on their meagre monthly incomes.

An auto-rickshaw driver has commented that he never thought that life would become so burdensome with the Covid situation which saw incomes falling steeply and all prices rising sharply. He could not earn even the diesel cost daily with the lockdown restrictions and finding it very difficult to pay the monthly instalment on the loan of the vehicle.

In Chittoor district itself, the price of petrol has gone up from Rs 96.56 on May 1 to Rs.101.64 on June 6. During the same period, diesel price has gone up from Rs 90 to Rs 95.86. From June 2020 to June 2021 petrol prices have witnessed a rise of Rs 28 while diesel has gone up by Rs.26.

The additional burden with such an increase in petrol prices was said to be in hundreds of crores in one district alone as the daily consumption of petrol is to the tune of 14.02 lakh litres and that of diesel 23.05 litres in about 300 outlets in Chittoor district.

In January this year, the prices were increased 10 times and 14 times in February. Probably due to elections in five states, there was no hike in March and April and after that May witnessed a record number of 18 hikes.

Saying that the fuel price hike has already impacted the prices of various commodities, an employee Rama Krishna has expressed his apprehensions that it will not stop here. APSRTC and railways also will soon come

up with huge revision of fares anytime soon, he said.