Investment cost of farmers, manufacturers also increasing manifoldNo respite: Constant rise in fuel prices burning a hole in residents’ pockets
Neeraj Bagga
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, June 1
The soaring prices of petrol and diesel have upset the budget of many families, effecting a hike in investment cost of farmers and manufacturers.
On Tuesday, petrol was sold at Rs96.32 per litre and diesel at Rs88 per litre in the city. People from middle and lower income group families are upset by the soaring prices as they burn a hole in their pocket. According to them, a meaningful part of their earning goes into footing the fuel cost.
Navpreet Singh, earning his livelihood by working with an on-demand food-delivery platform, said people like him depend on two-wheelers to earn their livelihood. Fuel cost and maintenance of two-wheelers are their twin investment which are vital to their earning. He said on an average, a delivery boy has to shell out between Rs4,000 and Rs5,000 on fuel and maintenance cost. “Companies are pruning incentives to make up for the losses incurred during the lockdown and on the other hand, the government was hiking the fuel cost. Both are twin blows to delivery boys,” he said.
Jaspreet Singh, a farmer, meanwhile said their input cost in farming was increasing day by day owing to soaring fuel prices. He blamed it on the political set up of the country. “It is entirely a political game as oil companies have stopped revising fuel prices before five states went to poll between March and May. Once the poll results were out, the oil companies started gradually increasing prices of oil and diesel,” he said. The Centre has brought the entire trade activity, barring petrol and diesel prices, under the ambit of the GST.
Raman Gupta, an industry leader, said the petrol price was not too far from hitting the three-figure mark. Last month registered the steepest hike in fossil fuel prices effected this year, as their prices were revised upwards almost every alternate day. He cautioned the government that the soaring fossil fuel prices have the potential to further contract the economy.
