The day before yesterday, the government dropped another petrol bomb at midnight. Petrol price increased by Rs. 24 and diesel price increased by Rs. 60. As a sign of resistance, goods transporters have suspended their operations across the country.
Karachi Goods Transport Association Chairman, Rana Aslam, says the transporters have suspended their operations at the ports and called a meeting to discuss a future strategy against the fuel price hike.
The association is considering going on a strike to raise its voice against the ongoing heat of inflation. Moreover, the association is in the process of increasing transportation fares by up to 40%.
Current Fuel Prices
In the last fuel price hike, petrol price went up by Rs. 24.03. As a result, petrol now costs Rs. 233.89 per litre.
The High Speed Diesel rate went up by Rs. 59.16, taking the price to Rs. 263.31 per litre.
Kerosene Oil price increased by Rs. 33.12, taking the rate to Rs. 211.43 per litre.
And the price of Light Diesel Oil increased by Rs. 25.53. The rate has reached Rs. 207.47.
Earlier, the government was offering a subsidy of Rs. 9.3 per litre on petrol and Rs. 23.05 per litre on diesel with 0% General Sales Tax (GST) and 0% Petroleum Levy (PL). In this round of fuel price revision, the government took the subsidy back, keeping the taxes unchanged. Guess what will happen in the next round? The government will increase the taxes and increase fuel prices even further.
Karachi Goods Transport Association is speaking up on the back to back fuel price hikes, saying the transporters can’t take these petrol shocks. If the association goes on a strike, the situation will worsen as the country will face supply chain issues.
Tough times, we have all been fearing, are here. Share your thoughts in the comment section, and stay tuned to see what happens next.
The transporters do not seem to realise that the country is facing economic crunch, the government cannot offer subsidies on fuel anymore because by doing so it would be risking the economic operation of the country. Moreover, they should revise the rate for their services instead of causing chaos by adopting an animalistic behaviour.