By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 25: Petrol and diesel prices were increased in Shillong on Monday, the fourth time in 11 days.
The petrol price in Shillong, which was increased to Rs 100.34 per litre just a few days back, again shot up by Rs 2.22 to Rs 102.56 per litre on Monday.
Similarly, the price of diesel also shot up by more than Rs 2 in Shillong. The diesel price in Shillong now stands at Rs 94.08 per litre, a hike of Rs 2.37 from the earlier price of Rs 91.71 per litre.
Since May 15, petrol and diesel prices in Shillong have cumulatively increased by nearly Rs 7.5 per litre, marking the sharpest rise in fuel prices in recent years.
Prior to the state Assembly polls, petrol and diesel prices in Shillong were Rs 96.30 and 87.50 per litre, respectively.
Prices vary across states due to local levies.
The repeated fuel price hikes are already triggering cascading effects across Shillong and other parts of Meghalaya. Transportation costs are rising sharply, leading to higher prices of fruits and vegetables and all other items imported from outside the state.
Demands are already being raised to hike fares for taxis, buses, and shared vehicles. Local businesses, especially small traders, tour operators, and restaurants in this tourist-dependent city, are worried about declining footfall and squeezed margins.
Daily wage earners and middle-class families are beginning to feel the pinch as the overall cost of living is set to climb further in an already expensive state that is entirely dependent on road transportation in the wake of unrelenting opposition to railway services.
Fuel prices have now reached their highest levels since May 2022 after remaining largely frozen for more than two years, barring a Rs 2-per-litre cut in March 2024 ahead of national elections.
The hike came as global oil prices fell sharply amid tentative hopes for a deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran. Brent crude, the primary benchmark for global oil prices, fell more than 5 per cent after the US and Iran agreed in principle to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Global crude oil prices had surged more than 50 per cent since late February following US-Israeli strikes on Iran and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route.
Opposition parties, however, accused the administration of holding back price increases until after key state elections.
The May 15 increase came after the ruling BJP expanded its electoral footprint by winning three of five state and UT elections, including West Bengal.
Since the start of the war, domestic cooking gas LPG prices have been raised by Rs 60 per 14.2-kg cylinder and that of compressed natural gas (CNG) by Rs 4 per kg since mid-May.
Despite the price increases, auto fuels petrol and diesel, and domestic cooking gas LPG continue to be sold at a substantial loss. Besides the three fuels, state-owned fuel retailers — Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) — have paused the increase in jet fuel (ATF) rates.
The three firms together control 90 per cent of India’s fuel market.
Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said the losses were close to Rs 600 crore per day, down from Rs 1,000 crore before May 15.
She, however, did not explain why losses on LPG, which are supposed to be made good by the government by way of subsidy, are being counted to justify the price increases.
In Mumbai, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman defended the price hike, saying it was a market-driven revision by oil marketing companies in response to soaring global crude prices.
The government, she said, had done its bid by foregoing more than Rs 1 lakh crore annually in tax revenues through Rs 10 a litre excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel to shield consumers from fuel inflation triggered by the West Asia conflict.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the latest fuel hike, accusing the government of burdening consumers after state elections ended.
“Petrol and diesel prices are being increased in instalments so that people’s pockets are quietly picked,” Gandhi said in a post on social media, calling Modi “Mahangai Manav Modi” — a play on words linking the prime minister to inflation.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the Modi government has looted Rs 43 lakh crore in the last 12 years after petrol prices were hiked from Rs 71.41 per litre in 2014 to Rs 102.12 per litre in 2026, and diesel prices from Rs 56.71 per litre to Rs 95.20 per litre. (With PTI inputs)
