Petrol price has hit a century for the first time in history in the State capital, causing much worry to consumers and commuters alike.
On Saturday, petrol was selling at ₹100.16 in the city's fuel pumps, following the 14th instance of fuel price hike this month and the 28th since May 4, when the unofficial freeze on fuel price during Assembly elections was removed.
Delivery agents of various online food delivery aggregators, who are a constant presence on the roads even during the pandemic-induced lockdowns, have been hit hard as fuel price hikes eat into their meagre daily profits.
“If I carry out delivery from 10 a.m to 8 a.m, I can make around ₹500. Out of this, around ₹300 has to be spent on fuel. Now, after this, what is left for me as savings? Our incentives have not gone up along with the rising fuel prices. Many of the delivery agents have stopped temporarily over the past few weeks, as they find it unviable," said Govindraj, a delivery agent.
Autorickshaw drivers are another category who have been hit hard by the double whammy of reduced trips due to the pandemic and the rising fuel prices. “The autorickshaw minimum charges stay static for months or even years, while the fuel prices go on rising every single day,” said Rajendran, an autorickshaw driver.
Meanwhile, fuel pump owners said they had not made any gains from the price increase except the ill-will of the customers who think they too were making huge profits.
“The commission for pump owners was last increased in 2016. Since then, it has stood static at ₹3.60 a litre for petrol and ₹2.11 a litre for diesel. To make profits, pumps have to sell a minimum of 2 - 2.5 lakh litre a month. Since pumps have been sanctioned unscientifically in large numbers, most owners manage to sell only 0.8- 1 lakh litre a month. The fuel price hikes will only add to our burden, because now we have to shell out ₹11.48 lakh for a load of 4,000 litre of petrol and 8,000 litre of diesel, compared to ₹9.40 lakh two months back,” said C.K. Ravishankar, president, All Kerala Federation of Petroleum Traders.
Out of the total cost of petrol, the company costs ₹40.23 for refining. The excise duty for the Union government, the additional excise duty and cess for infrastructure development and agriculture adds an amount of ₹33.07 to this total. Out of this only ₹1.5 goes to the States, while the rest remains with the Centre. To the total cost, the State government adds a total tax amount of ₹23.26, including 30.8% VAT, flood cess and Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board contribution. The commission for the dealer is ₹3.60. The diesel price break-up also throws up a similar picture.
