It is being described as the mother of all petrol price hikes, worse than the hike imposed by Gurupadaswamy, Union petroleum minister, in 1989-90 during the Gulf War.
It is being described as the mother of all petrol price hikes, worse than the hike imposed by Gurupadaswamy, Union petroleum minister, in 1989-90 during the Gulf War.
“We knew it was coming, but did not expect it to be so big. It has come as a shock to us,” said Sathish Kamath, an officebearer of the Indian Petroleum Dealers Association.
Kamath said the government should have raised the petroleum prices in a staggering manner instead of waiting for the inevitable. “This exercise lacked vision and planning,” said Kamath.
Petroleum dealers association in Karnataka have decided to hold an emergency meeting in Bangalore, demanding a raise in their commission per litre.
‘Learn from Goa’
Consumers have already started voicing their opposition to the hike. “I am shocked to learn Karnataka has one of the highest petrol prices in India, mostly due to high state taxes, including excise and sales tax,” said Ramanath Shastry, a techie. “Our government should learn from Goa, where the Manohar Parikkar government has brought down the petrol prices by `10. If Goa can do it, Karnataka can also do it,” said Shastry.
Paresh Joshi, president, Goa State Petroleum Dealers Association, said the hike was inevitable.
“It was high time the government hiked the price as the rupee has devalued considerably. It is now up to the states to bring down the local taxes keeping in mind the interests of the consumers,” said Paresh.
Kamath said the time was also ripe for the government to increase the price of diesel as well. “At the current price, it is just not possible to maintain the level of flow of foreign crude,” said Kamath.
“I cannot say whether we can cut down the state taxes on petrol at this point of time. All I can say is that the possibility can be examined if it really is possible,” chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda remarked,. Officials in his office told DNA that the chief minister was expecting a hike in prices, but not to this level.
Meanwhile, the first demonstration against the price hike was held at Mangalore, A few consumers got together and parked their two-wheelers haphazardly on the roads blocking traffic. They raised slogans against the central government.
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