THIRUVANATHAPURAM: “I remember paying Rs 2.50 for petrol 37 years back when I started my career as an autorickshaw driver and making a reasonably profitable income, unlike today, when I struggle hard to make two ends meet in the wake of the rising petrol prices,” said Manoharan, an auto driver based in Thiruvallom.Price hike is a common issue badly affecting a major section of the population. It has caused havoc among the common people. “The impact is deep and has put a lot of people under severe economic pressure,” said petrol pump employees. "Every day, they come to us and grieve about the price rise, but what can we do?” they added.When asked about any changes in the the habits of the customers, a petrol pump employee said: “People assign gold-value to petrol and are hence very meticulous about their rights as consumers; most of the customers have become doubly calculative and they do not let us take the nozzle out of their tanks until the last drop oozes out. There is a slight fall in the number of people who travel in their own vehicles; they might be depending on public transport now.”The manager at a petrol pump of the Government Civil Supplies reported an approximately-30 per cent reduction in the number of customers who used Premium and Hi-speed petrol."Autorickshaw driving yielded me a lot of profit in the past when I used to fill four litres of petrol for Rs 151, unlike now, when the number of people who depend on autorickshaw driving for their livelihood has increased. The rising competition in the field and the rising prices have pushed us into a difficult situation. Even petrol worth Rs 260 is not sufficient to make even a marginal profit,” complained Sasi, an auto driver from Kodunganoor.“There is lot Government can do. We understand that it is inevitable to levy taxes, but they could be little more considerate in fixing prices of highly consumed commodities like petrol,” said John, a pump employee at a petrol pump at Kowdiar.
Comments
0 comment