Rising fuel prices hurt ordinary lives badly

Kochi: As diesel price in the state has soared, petrol price is on the verge of breaking the previous records. Petrol is fixed at Rs.78.52 and diesel at 71.33 per litre at Thiruvananthapuram. The highest price so far recorded for petrol is Rs. 78.50, recorded in September, 2013.

The steep hike in prices and the central government’s policy not to reduce the central excise duty have evoked sharp response from the consumers. Though the state government has brought the matter into Finance Minister's notice, the central government has not conceded the request for duty reduction. The central government is planning to cover the loss incurred on other frontsvia fuel tax.

The consumer's helplessness is being exploited at its maximum by the oil companies and the governments in the centre and state. The situation in Kerala is worse as the opposition is not willing to respond appropriately. Among the South Asian countries, India has the highest fuel prices. A litre of petrol can be bought for Rs. 47.04 in Pakistan, for Rs. 68.08 in Nepal and for 48.94 in Srilanka.

It is significant to note that 48 percent of fuel price in India is levy, Professor S. Harikumar, Head of Department of Applied Economics at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) said.

The difference between petrol and diesel price has decreased greatly. The central government and oil companies have earned crores thanks to the hike in fuel price. The leap in crude oil price in the international market has pumped in 13 lakh crore rupees into the central treasury. Excise duty was hiked as the fuel price went down, hindering the gain to be enjoyed by the consumers.