SHILLONG, March 24: The hike in fuel prices, twice in two days, has hit the common man hard in the state capital and elsewhere in Meghalaya.
The price of petrol in Shillong was constant at Rs 93.91 per litre for almost four months until it was hiked on Tuesday. The price was hiked again by 77 paise to Rs 95.45 on Wednesday.
The price of diesel was also hiked twice from Rs 80.58 per litre on Monday to Rs 81.98 on Wednesday. The last hike was by 70 paise.
The fuel prices had remained stable since November 2021 when the government reduced the value-added tax by Rs 5.20 per litre.
Many residents who came to purchase petrol at some of the oil outlets expressed their helplessness and anger. “It does not matter whether the government increases fuel prices or keeps the rates same, the common man will continue to suffer,” a taxi driver said.
Another resident slammed the government for not keeping the common people in mind while fixing the rates.
The price of an LPG cylinder was also increased by Rs 50 to Rs 1,042 since Tuesday. Since the last price revision in October last year, each cylinder used to cost Rs 992 till Monday.
Gas agency operators said the hike in price has never been as much of an issue as the delay in receiving the stocks. (Contd on P-9)
People hit hard by hike…
(Contd from P-1) Meghalaya procures LPG from Assam and the demand varies from one agency to another depending on the number of customers.
A gas agency requires an average of 37 LPG cylinder-loaded trucks a month. Each truck carries 324 or 342 cylinders.
There have been complaints of a shortage of cooking gas in the state.
