Srinagar, Feb 24 (GNS): The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference on Wednesday expressed concern over the hike in fuel prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas cylinder pointing out that the move will affect badly the poor and middle class.
The hike in the fuel prices is bound to have a cascading affect on others sectors of economy, Any fluctuation in the prices of petrol and diesel impacts the production and transportation cost of various items including edibles, and vegetables, Said Party’s Additional Spokesperson Sarah Hayat Shah while expressing dismay over the failure of central government to keep the prices stable. “Petroleum products are used as raw materials in various sectors and industries such as transport and petrochemicals. Historically, the price of petrol and diesel in the country was regulated, the government was involved in deciding the retail price. The deregulation of the pricing by the government in 2010, and 2014 has left it to the mercy of oil marketing companies to determine the price of these products. The inordinate price hike will also affect the ensuring agricultural activity. How on earth will the marginal farmers purchase fuel for tractors and pumps at such high prices? It is depressing to see how the incumbent government has left the poor, the farmers and the middle class at the mercy of the private sector,” she said.
It is expected that the GOI will closely work with states to bring the retail prices under control, she said. The spike in the price of fuel, Sarah stated was expected in view of the ruling party’s failure to bring down the high excise duties levied by the central government. “It is shameful to see GOI profiteering at a time when the people across the country are slowly and steadily coming out from the rampage induced by COVID-19. In the case of J&K, there were two successive lockdowns since 2019. The government is unashamedly putting extra burden on the shoulders of poor, marginalized farmers and the middle class. There is no justification of this insensitiveness of the GOI,” she said. (GNS)
