LPG price hike worries residents in Amritsar

Neeraj Bagga

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Amritsar, March 23

Already burdened by the gradual price rise of grocery items, people are worried over the LPG price hike by Rs50 as they say it will put an extra financial stress on their kitchen budget.

Harjinder Kaur, a homemaker, says the spiralling hike in prices of almost all grocery items and now Rs50 increase in LPG refill has burnt a hole in the pocket.

“The Union Government has become too insensitive to the necessities of commoners. It did not intervene to streamline the supply and demand chain to keep a tab on price fluctuation,” she says.

Recently the grocery prices, including those of cooking oil, were increased after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Already, the price of commodities have been upward since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sharanjit Singh, an employee with an MNC, says, “The middle and lower income group families are hard-pressed due to the price hike of key grocery products, including vegetable and refined oils.”

According to Comrade Buta Ram of the All India Retailers’ Federation, there has been a hike of at least 15 per cent in the prices of essential items since the Ukraine crisis. “For instance, the short supply of palm oil led to a 20% hike in the prices of different varieties of refined oil. Similarly, there was an appreciation of 20% and above in the rates of detergent, washing and bathing soaps. The prices of sugar and wheat flour too have increased, stretching the budget of commoners,” he says, adding that the inflation has a cascading impact on the monthly ration-buying capacity of those from middle and low income groups, who are cutting down expenses on some eatables to keep their monthly budget within the limit of their income.