Even petrol pump dealers have said that in light of the drastic fall in petroleum prices internationally, the rates of fuel should have gone down quite half. They claimed that the Centre is benefiting the oil companies at the value of farmers and other general consumers.
WITH FUEL consumption has gone down by 80 percent in April within the state, the farm sector is that the only hope for diesel and petrol pumps dealers in Punjab, where wheat harvesting began Wednesday. However, farmers are unhappy and are asking why there has been just a minor dip in petrol and diesel prices whilst the speed of petroleum has gone down by quite a 3rd within the international market.
Even petrol pump dealers have said that in light of the drastic fall in petroleum prices internationally, the rates of fuel should have gone down quite half. They claimed that the Centre is benefiting the oil companies at the value of farmers and other general consumers.
On Thursday, the speed of diesel and petrol in Jalandhar was Rs 61.37 per litre and Rs 69.65 per litre respectively, while this rate on January 20 was Rs 75.80 per liter and Rs 67.97 per litre for petrol and diesel respectively.
Similarly, the speed of petroleum within the international markets was $68 per barrel on January 20, which has come right down to $20 per barrel now — around a 71 percent drop. The rates of petrol and diesel have come down by 8 percent and 10 percent, respectively, within the same period.
Paramjit Singh Sooch, a progressive farmer and farm expert, said that in the entire lockdown, it's only the agricultural sectors that are consuming fuel.
“When the speed of petroleum has gone down drastically at the international level, why is that the government is charging such high rates from consumers, particularly the farmers, who are already reeling under the large input costs,” said Sooch.
“Government is cheating the farm community and will explain why the rates of petrol/diesel are so high. Harvesting season goes on during which combine harvesters, tractor-trollies, trucks are going to be plying daily for harvesting and transportation of the wheat crop,” said Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Dakuanda general secretary Jagmohan Singh, adding that the government should take up this matter seriously with the Centre and do away with taxes on the fuel so farmers can get some relief.
Earlier, farmers wont to get oil within the harvesting season on a credit basis, but this point petrol pumps are refusing an equivalent. “We demand Rs 2,000 to 3,000 per acre from the govt for miscellaneous expenditure thanks to lockdown,” said Jagmohan.
He further said that to profit oil companies, the Centre isn't taking action, while farmers are forced to touch heavy fuel costs. Even the combine harvester’s average is around 3 km per liter of diesel, and aside from this, 25,000 tractors mounted straw reapers, which makes fodder from wheat straw, and lakhs of tractor trollies and nearly 70,000 trucks will ply to move wheat from the sector to mandis and mandis to godowns, respectively, added Jagmohan.
In the harvesting season, 17,500 combine harvesters operate in Punjab.
Gurmeet Monty Sehgal, the spokesperson of Petrol Pump Dealers Association Punjab, said, “There is not any doubt that with the start of harvesting, the fuel sale in Punjab will go up manifold, but it's not enough to sustain the petrol pumps because the agriculture sector sale is merely 30% of the entire volume annually.” He admitted that with the slashing of rates within the international market, it might have gone down by quite half the present price.
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