The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Fuel price hike

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Thursday, Jun 05, 2008
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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Fuel price hike

This refers to the rise in the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs.5 and Rs.3 a litre and cooking gas by Rs.50 a cylinder. The UPA government has failed to understand the problems of the middle and lower middle classes. Hiking oil prices further in an already inflated economy adds insult to injury. Only a meagre percentage of the population has benefited from the economic boom. The government cannot turn a blind eye towards the vast majority.

I wonder why our policymakers did not think of improving public transport when there was still time. And what made them flood the nation with so many private vehicles? Why did they allow major cities to expand horizontally? Another thing I fail to understand is why the petrol prices should be the same for everyone. Why can’t they be structured according to the vehicle in which the fuel is used?

Judish Raj,

Hyderabad

The hike is deplorable. If increase in domestic prices is the only solution to meet the increasing oil bill, what is the need to have financial wizards at the helm of affairs? The message seems to be that only the haves should use petro products, especially cooking gas.

V. Purnachandra Rao,

Secunderabad

The hike in fuel prices is untimely. The Prime Minister has escaped responsibility easily by saying the government cannot insulate the consumer from the impact of world oil price rise. Will his Ministers henceforth travel in their vehicles at their own expense? If every Minister and his or her subordinates do this, one can buy fuel prices at nominal rates. The most affected by this hike will be the people of the middle and lower classes.

B. Thiagarajan,

Coimbatore

Fuel price hike followed by condemnation and week-long protests have become routine. At the end of the day, it is the common man who bears the brunt of the hike and the strikes called to protest against it.

L. Sreeram,

Coimbatore

The hike was inevitable. Those who remain silent when the prices of basic commodities increase have no right to protest when the prices of petrol and diesel are hiked. And the scarcity of petrol and diesel is real.

We have become extremely dependent on those sources of energy which cannot be recycled. The government’s decision should serve as a lesson to us who have long forgotten to use our physical strength to commute.

Shailesh Kumar,

Bangalore

Whatever the economics of the price hike, it is sure to affect the common man, especially the poor. Our leaders are living in a world of their own. They are highly insensitive to the plight of the aam aadmi.

M.J. Ruben,

Chennai

Now that the price hike has come into force, it is for the consumers to effect austerity measures to bring down their consumption. We see people using two-wheelers even for short distances. Cars with a single occupant ply long distances. Vehicle users undertake dispensable tours and rides on weekends. Walking and cycling have become things of the past. Let us resolve to save at least 10 per cent of the consumption and start the war on the oil barrel.

Andrew Packiaraj,

Chennai

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement that the government can insulate the consumer from the impact of oil price rise only up to a point is insensitive. Trumpeting prudent fiscal policies, an euphuism for doing away with all subsidies, at a time when the poor are most vulnerable, will only strengthen the factors contributing to inflation.

The government should, instead, heed the saner advice of adjustment of duties, levy of fuel surcharge and other prudent ways of enlarging the tax net.

Kasim Sait,

Chennai

It is sad to see the opposition parties raising an unnecessary hue and cry over the issue of fuel price hike. If they really care for the common man, why don’t they come up with alternative ideas? They are as much responsible for looking into the problems faced by the common man as the ruling party. The price hike has been effected after a lot of discussions.

To protect the common man from a steep hike, the government has decided to cut the custom duties by five per cent. The people should understand the government’s predicament and cooperate with it.

Vijay Kumar Bhargava,

Karwar

The price hike has to be seen in the context of skyrocketing global crude prices and mounting under-recoveries of OMCs. The government was left with no option other than cutting down customs and excise duties. But it should not hesitate to revise the prices when the crude price comes down.

J. Meghanath Reddy,

Proddatur

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