PUNE:
Fuel prices
continued their upward march, with
petrol
selling for nearly Rs92 per litre in the city on Saturday. A litre of diesel was priced at more than Rs81.
Parbhani continued to have the most expensive fuel in the state, with petrol selling for nearly Rs95 per litre and diesel for almost Rs84 per litre. Nanded was not far behind — the price for a litre of petrol was Rs94.49 per litre; diesel was priced the same as in Parbhani
In Mumbai, petrol touched an all-time high of Rs92.72 per litre, while diesel sold for Rs82.66 per litre.
Petroleum dealers
blamed the price rise — especially in smaller towns — on local taxes imposed by cash-strapped municipal bodies, on increased transportation charges from remote depots and global spikes in the price of
crude oil. The dealers demanded that the state government remove the two-year-old “drought cess” of Rs2 per litre to provide immediate relief to the public.
“The petroleum and natural gas ministry recently observed that members of OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) were creating an artificial shortage by lowering production to drive up crude oil prices. Otherwise, there is not much demand for crude oil in the international market,” Ali Daruwalla, national spokesperson for the All India Petrol Dealers Association (AIPDA) said.
Daruwalla said the government was working on a long-term solution to encourage a move away from fossil fuels and towards gaseous fuels, such as CNG and LNG. Petrol pump owners are being be encouraged to set up biogas plants on their premises, Daruwalla said.