Tag: Petrol prices

Rising Inflation

Govt Claims Of Economic Growth Do Not Reflect In My Kitchen

By LokMarg

Amandeep Kaur, a Chandigarh-based teacher, says there is a reason why farmers and job-seekers have been protesting every now and then across the country

I do not know of any sarkari data on the country’s economy or RBI projections for the future. I can only speak about the day-to-day realities that I face in running my household. My daily data revolves around the prices of gas cylinder, cooking oil, rice and milk etc., all of which are at an unprecedented high level. Never before in my life have I found managing the kitchen such a challenging task. All the essential commodities have gone out of reach of the common man. And I do not foresee any relief in future either.

Survival for a poor or low-income family is tougher. Unemployment is at an all-time high. Farm income has fallen. It is not a coincidence that the farmers and young job-seekers are continuously protesting against the policies of the government, in various states. They have been experiencing difficulties due to rising prices first hand.

I am not a political person and do not have any solid figures to support my opinion. But I speak what I see and learn every day. And I see the public is suffering. I have not heard anyone in my social circle who has had a salary increment or made better profits of late. When the Covid struck in 2020, people lost lives, jobs and businesses. Many of those who remained employed suffered salary cuts. I have not heard of those salary cuts being revoked. I only hear people talking about ever-rising mehangai.

ALSO READ: ‘25% Of My Salary Goes Into My Bike’s Fuel Tank’

We know most of the goods and groceries are transported to local retail markets. Now, take a look at the rising graph of petrol prices over last two years. This has a direct impact on every day’s use items. It does not require a finance minister’s mumbo jumbo to realise the pinch of rising inflation.

I consider myself fortunate that at least I have a job. I often read full-page advertisements in newspapers about the promises and claims of the government, but I do not find them happening on the ground, or in our lives. A person who earns ₹15-20,000 in a month, and lives with his family in a rented house, can he provide proper nutrition or education to his children today?

If I accept the claim of the government and RBI that economic growth is on the right track and things have become stable, then its effect should be visible in the lives of ordinary citizens. Nothing like this seems to be happening. Claims are different from the ground reality.

I come from a family of farmers. I remember before coming to power in Delhi, the Modi government had talked about doubling the income of the farmers by 2022. We are now in 2023. Show me one farmer whose income has doubled. Does the government have any idea how the prices of fertilizers and other farming requirements have increased?

I can only sum up my experiences and conclude that it is a challenge to run the kitchen. And my firm belief is that the same is true for most other middle-income households across the country.

As told to Nityanand Gayen

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Risk Using Public Transport Amid Pandemic

‘Regular Rise In Petrol Price Has Upset Home Budget’

By LokMarg

Nihar Ranjan Panigrahi, 29, an engineer in Ranchi, says commuting on his motorbike is getting costlier by the day but one cannot risk using public transport amid pandemic

The rising petrol prices have meant that every month we have to keep making new adjustments to our monthly home budget. I am a daily bike user and travel nearly 12 kms for work purposes daily. Believe me, rising petrol prices are a big concern. Where earlier say ₹500 was going towards petrol now we have to set aside ₹700 for it.

Not only that, the prices of many commodities like fruits, vegetables etc have also shot up because of the transportation cost due to rise in petrol prices. So, as a whole, our monthly budget has gone up by a total of around ₹2,000.

I live in Ranchi but I have my roots in Odisha. Recently my wife and I had to go to our hometown there for some very urgent work. Trains and buses had been booked to full and in any case we didn’t feel very safe using public transport for the long distance during the pandemic. So my bike it was! We travelled several hundreds of kilometres on our bike and this trip burnt a big hole in my pocket.

ALSO READ: ‘Health, Defence Vital But What About Inflation?’

What is the common man supposed to do? One can only feel angry when you feel the pinch. But there is little option for us. There are many people who have lost their jobs during lockdown period and so many others who either faced salary-cut or no raise since last year.

Public transport still doesn’t feel like a safe option, what with so many people not wearing masks in public. One cannot risk contracting the virus. Your personal vehicle is costly but at least it is safe.

Nihar says common man has no option but to move on

My wife cycles every day to her workplace. She doesn’t have to worry about the rising petrol prices with her cycle. And she also feels happy that she isn’t contributing towards pollution. Perhaps the rising petrol prices will push many others to use cycles. However, for many, cycle can’t be a mode of family transport.

The government really needs to work on putting a stop to the rise in petrol prices. While the prices of oil and petrol barrels have been falling worldwide, I wonder why our government is not passing this benefit to the consumer! Plus, the government also needs to be really considerate with the pricing of everything: this is the post-pandemic world! Also, public transport needs to be made more robust.

As told to Yog Maya Singh