Visit Indian Travel Sites
Goa,
Kerala,
Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh,
Delhi,
Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh,
Assam,
Sikkim,
Madhya Pradesh,
Jammu & Kashmir
Karnataka
|
Delhi petrol pumps owners protest VAT hike, observe shutdown | Petrol pumps in Delhi are observing a 24-hour shutdown in protest against the hike in Value Added Tax (VAT) on diesel by the Delhi Government on Friday. Over 400 petrol pumps in Delhi are said to have downed their shutters. Pump owners say oil sales have
gone down by over 40 percent since the price hike. "Diesel sales have reduced
by 50 percent in June 2008 and have reduced by another 40 percent this year. This
has made it unviable to run several petrol pumps. There are 20,000 families dependent
on us and its becoming tough to even give out salaries," said Atul Peshawaria,
president, Delhi Petrol Dealers Association. Peshawaria added that the association
has sent repeated representations to the government but to no avail. "We don't
want to inconvenience the people. But there seems to be no other way out. The
government is completely unwilling to listen to us. If the sales have dropped
so much, how can the government make more money on taxes?" Peshawaria questioned.
In Haryana, the price of diesel has been cut by Rs 3.88 where as in UP it will
be cut by 68 paisa. A litre of diesel costs Rs 34.75 in Haryana, as against Rs
38.10 in Delhi. Pump owners said that due to hike in VAT, the motorists are choosing
Noida, Faridabad or Guragaon which are under the NCR, to get a fill. On April
9, the pump owners had called off their strike, following the assurance of Delhi
Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit that their grievances will be addressed within 15
days. Meanwhile, autorickshaw unions are also planning an indefinite strike from
May 17 demanding to increase in minimum fare. |
|
|
|
|
|