The price of petrol in Ranchi crossed the century mark on Sunday, causing worry among the middle class, which is already battling the effects of Covid-19 on the economy. The price of petrol was increased by 33 paise per litre, while the price of diesel was increased by 36 paise per litre.
The common men will have to pay Rs 100.25 for a litre of petrol in Ranchi. At the same time, for one litre of diesel, they will have to shell out Rs 99.80. This is the highest recorded price of petrol and diesel in Jharkhand since the formation of the state back in 2000.
The lowest price of petrol this year was recorded on January 2 at Rs 82.18 whereas on October 17, 2020, the price was Rs 80.21. There has been a record increase of Rs 20 in petrol prices in a year whereas the price of diesel was Rs 74.79 a year ago on October 17. The price of diesel has increased by Rs 25 in one year.
Showing his displeasure on the surge in the prices of the petroleum products, former president of Ranchi Transport Association, Sunil Singh said that the biggest impact of the increase in diesel prices is on the pockets of the common people. At the same time, it will also affect trade and business, he added.
“Prices ranging from vegetables to food grains are increasing due to the increase in the cost of freight. At the same time, even after increasing the cost of transportation, it is becoming impossible for the transporters to gain profits. This is the reason why the transporters of Ranchi are selling their trucks. With the rapid increase in the price of petroleum products, the freight charges are not increasing in accordance with it,” said Singh.
On the other hand, Jharkhand Petroleum Products Sellers Association Spokesperson, Pramod Kumar said that the reason for the increase in the prices of petroleum products is the instability in the international market.
“The dealers are also incurring losses due to the increase in the prices of petroleum products. The average sale of diesel in Jharkhand per month is 1 lakh 35 thousand kilo litres. At present, 22 per cent VAT and Re 1 per litre cess is effective on diesel in Jharkhand. Our suggestion would be to control the price of petrol in Jharkhand by reducing the rate of VAT,” said Kumar.
