Fuel price drops… Punekars say not good enough

PUNE: In the wake of the Union government’s decision, petrol and diesel prices in the city have dropped by ₹5 and ₹10, respectively. On Thursday, the price of petrol dropped to ₹109.5 per litre while the price of diesel came down to ₹92.5 per litre. The price of premium petrol, too, reduced to ₹113.5 per litre in Pune. However, transport operators and citizens expressed dissatisfaction saying that even these prices are too high and that further relief should be provided.

Baba Shinde, director of the All India Motor Transport Congress (Maharashtra), said, “It’s good that the government thought of cutting down the excise duty and reducing fuel prices. But even ₹93 is still a pretty high price for diesel and it should be further brought down. Ideally, diesel should be in the range of ₹70 per litre as it was a few years ago. Only then transporters will get some relief. Now the Union government has reduced the taxes, I hope that the state government will also do its part by cutting down excessive taxes on fuel prices.”