Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 7

The Punjab Petrol Pump Dealers’ Association on Sunday announced to withdraw their decision to open petrol pumps only between 7am and 5pm with the state government slashing value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 and Rs 5, respectively. In the wake of the statewide protest demanding VAT parity with neighbouring states and revision of dealer margins, the petrol pump dealers had announced to hold a strike from November 7 onwards.

Price cut just a drop in ocean

Hoshiarpur: Senior BJP leader and former cabinet minister Tikshan Sood has lashed out at the Punjab Government over the reduction in petrol and diesel prices in Punjab, saying that cutting diesel price by Rs5 per litre is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. The Modi government at the Centre cut petrol price by Rs5 per litre and diesel by Rs10 per litre, so everyone welcomed that. He said every transport vehicle, all agricultural equipments, etc, were dependent on diesel. He demanded that the state government should cut diesel and petrol prices by Rs15 per litre. Tikshan Sood, Senior BJP leader and former cabinet minister

A gift to people of Punjab

The Punjab Government has given a gift to the people of Punjab by cutting the prices of petrol and diesel. Dr Kuldeep Nanda, president of the District Congress Committee, Hoshiarpur, said the decision taken by Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to reduce petrol price by Rs 10 and diesel by Rs 5 was commendable and it will bring great relief to the people. It is a historic decision of the Punjab Government to reduce the prices of petrol and diesel after slashing the electricity and water prices. Dr Kuldeep Nanda, president of the District Congress Committee, Hoshiarpur

Sukhmohan Singh Sehgal, president of the Jalandhar Petrol Pump Dealers’ Association, said a few hours before the strike, they had received an assurance by the government that the VAT on fuels would be regularised in the next Cabinet meeting.

However, the association members in the district said they welcomed the revised rates, but VAT on both petrol and diesel should have been reduced equally as per their demands as diesel was still costlier in Punjab.

Now, the retail price of petrol in the state will be Rs 96.16 per litre and for diesel, it will be Rs 84.80 per litre.

Sehgal said for the past couple of months, the petrol pump dealers were facing the wrath due to inflated fuel prices. Especially in the districts that share boundaries with neighbouring states, the petrol pump dealers were suffering huge losses. Petrol and diesel are costlier in Punjab as compared to neighbouring states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

Owing to the cheaper fuel prices, people in the bordering district tend to fill petrol from petrol pumps based in Haryana, Chandigarh and HP, which eventually caused a big loss to petrol pump dealers. The sale in the district also dipped since the last quarter,” added Sehgal.

There are around 3,500 petrol pumps in the state, nearly 800 are in the bordering districts, 225 are in Jalandhar and daily revenue loss was in crores, said Raghbir Singh, one of the members of the association.

Residents hail the move

Hours after Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi announced VAT reduction on petrol and diesel, people took to social media welcoming the move. While some shared it as a poll stunt ahead of the Assembly elections, some considered it as a significant move to control unreasonable inflation. Sandeep Singh, a resident, said better late than never. “But we would want the fuel to be a little cheaper as since the beginning of this year, we are spending a lot on fuel,” added Sandeep.