Soumyadeep Das
It’s a relief indeed, claimed a Guwahati based man when asked to comment on the steep cut in fuel prices across India, after Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government was taking steps to ease the piling pressure on the common people.
Following the announcements made by Sitharaman to cut down on central excise duty on fuel, prices of petrol came down by Rs 9.5 per litre and diesel prices were slashed by Rs 7 per litre. Citizens across India heaved a massive sigh of relief following the announcement.
Over a week after the announcement, people are rejoicing the
Speaking on the issue, Saumyadip Mukherjee, a resident of Guwahati’s Ulubari area said, “It’s a relief indeed. I work in Nagaon and come home on weekends. I use my personal vehicle for transportation and for months; the petrol charges have imbalanced by expenditure.”
Asked if he feared prices would again rise, Mukherjee said, “The morning after the announcement was made, I rushed to get my tank filled. It cost me around Rs 400 less to fill my tank.”
“I can only thank the central government. It feels like a bonus and I hope that prices decrease further,” he added.
Another citizen and a resident of Guwahati’s Maligaon area, Nayan Mitra had a more critical view. He blamed the government for the rising prices for months.
Mitra said, “Petrol prices were touching Rs 106 a litre. Although the announcement made it fall to Rs 96 per litre, the rise in fuel prices is only an example of the government’s gross mismanagement across all sectors.”
Speaking further, he said, “Even as crude oil prices dipped to absolute naught during the peak of the pandemic, the prices in India kept rising. This only shows that the government has been milking the common man for years by levying excessive cesses on fuel, an essential commodity.”
He went on to say that even after the fall in rates, it is still an exorbitant amount to pay for petrol. "This is not a sudden change due to pandemic or the crisis in Ukraine, but a measure of how the government has failed its people over the years," he added.
Meanwhile, Shamonta Das, a resident of the Bhangagarh area in Guwahati highlighted another issue. She said that as fuel prices rose for months, private cab services started charging extra over the expected amount to be paid for a ride.
She said, “I have to travel to work on a daily basis and I prefer to hail a cab or a two-wheeler to work instead of public transport. For months the riders would charge an exorbitant amount over the price shown while booking a ride.”
“They would say that they were affected by the rising prices of fuel and had to charge extra as the apps would not consider that factor. And this was followed by all riders as it became impossible to get a rider who would travel on the price shown by the app,” she said.
“Since the announcement of slash in fuel prices, this problem has largely been mitigated. Cab drivers are refraining from charging extra, maybe as their reason for it has been removed by the government,” she rejoiced.
It may be noted that Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in a series of tweets, announced that the central government, under directions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was taking steps to help the poor and the middle class population of India.
She announced that at the cost of around Rs 1 lakh per year, the government will be cutting down on its excise duties on petrol and diesel. The central excise duty on Petrol was brought down by Rs 8 per litre, while it was cut down by Rs 6 per litre for diesel.
