MUMBAI: The price of petrol breached the Rs 89-mark on Saturday to end at Rs 89.01 per litre while diesel touched a new high of Rs 78.07 per litre. The jump has been over a rupee for petrol in less than a week.
“Just six days ago, the price of a litre of petrol at the pumps was Rs 87.89 and now it has crossed the Rs 89 mark. If prices keep going up this way, it will be a lot frustrating for regular motorists,” said Vikas Kulkarni, who drives to work daily.
In Thane and Navi Mumbai, petrol and diesel were cheaper than in Mumbai for the past few weeks. But on Saturday, there was a different scenario. The price of petrol in Thane/Navi Mumbai shot up to Rs 89.15 per litre while the diesel rate escalated to Rs 78.21 per litre. Motorists are fuming over the hefty prices which, they say, are likely to reach Rs 100-mark soon if hikes go unchecked.
“If you look at the excise duty on diesel, it has gone up by 430% in the past four years,'' said a senior member of All India Motor Transport Congress. The excise duty on diesel was Rs 3.56 per litre in May 2014 and it has shot up to Rs 15.33 per litre in September 2018, he said.
Representative image.
