On the fuel price front, good news about falling prices of petrol came hand in hand with hike in CNG prices. How do people see these two back-to-back developments? DNA's Shibani Roy talks
to Amdavadis to assess their reactions
The percentage of saving in India in 2010-2011 has been estimated at 9.7%, the lowest in the last 10 years. Even if petrol prices have fallen it hardly makes any difference to the monthly budget because, at the same time, prices of CNG have risen by Rs5. People have to pay more even for public transport as all municipal buses and auto-rickshaws runs on CNG.
—Himanshu Bharadwaj, senior manager
The government has reduced rates because they have been forced to do so by their allies. It does not realise that by giving subsidies to oil cos every year it is actually increasing the burden on the common man. In the US and other developed nations there is no tax on petrol. Petrol price in Venezuela is only Rs1.50 per litre then why is it so high in India?
—Khushbu Shah, relationship manager
The UP elections are imminent. The Congress party, which is dominant in the Central government, has reduced petrol prices to uplift its image and attract votes so that they can win the upcoming elections. This strategy of increasing and decreasing prices won't work now to attract the vote bank as people now bother to vote only for appropriate benefits.
—Sachchidanand Sharma, businessman
This UPA government is the worst government of all time. It makes no sense to reduce prices once, that too by just Rs2, when you have increased it 11 times in the year. People will only be satisfied when the government reduces prices by Rs15-20. Otherwise, they will think that the changes have been made to benefit the oil mafias.
—Pratik Parikh, businessman
According to me the cut in petrol prices after it was hiked has no impact on the common man as thegovernment has already raised petrol rates 11 times in the year. Therefore, merely reducing the rate by Rs2.33 now is not a big thing. The reduction has been done under pressure because of the Uttar Pradesh elections.
—Ashish Goswami, customs officer
The government reduces prices of petrol and controls inflation rate whenever elections are nearby. Otherwise they don't care about the common man. This time it is the UP elections that are looming ahead. The UPA government is afraid of losing support of its allies, that's why the prices of petrol have been cut.
—Atul Sharma, DGM in a firm
Fall in petrol prices is a short-term phenomenon. Fuel prices will rise again soon. Now, after the rise in CNG prices, it will lead to a hike in auto-rickshaw fares. In fact, the cost of all public transport will rise which will impact the budget of the middleand lower income classes. This is bound to fuel discontentment among people.
—Hardik K Pittalia, employee of a firm
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