Petrol price breaches ₹100 mark in Chandigarh

While petrol was priced at ₹100.24 per litre on Sunday, even diesel rates were at an all-time high of ₹92.55 in Chandigarh

The spiralling fuel prices have hit yet another milestone in the tricity with petrol crossing the ₹100 per litre mark in Chandigarh.

Petrol had already crossed the ₹100 mark in Mohali on June 26, while Panchkula reached the milestone on October 5. (Keshav Singh/HT)

While petrol was priced at ₹100.24 per litre on Sunday, even diesel rates were at an all-time high of ₹92.55 per litre. The prices have gone up by nearly 25% since the beginning of the year, as petrol was available for ₹81.08 while diesel cost ₹74.14 in the first week of January. According to PTI, petrol is priced above ₹100 across all state capitals except Ranchi.

However, across the tricity, fuel still remains cheapest in Chandigarh. Petrol had already crossed the ₹100 mark in Mohali on June 26, while Panchkula reached the milestone on October 5. On Sunday, petrol cost ₹106.28 per litre in Mohali while diesel was available for ₹95.95. In Panchkula, the prices were ₹101.59 and ₹93.34, respectively.

Fuel prices have been on the rise since January, though they stabilised between July and September. For the past six days, petrol price had been rising by ₹0.30 per litre daily and diesel price had been seeing a spike of ₹0.35.

“This hike is tied to the rise in prices of crude oil in the global market. However, when the price of crude oil falls globally, the price of petrol doesn’t fall proportionately and it’s only symbolic,” said Chandigarh Petroleum Dealers Association president Arjan Singh.

Singh said that a decade back the price of crude oil had gone up to $140 per barrel while petrol cost around ₹75 per litre in the city. “The price of crude oil is lower now (around $80), but the retail prices are inflated in comparison,” he said. Various dealers also rued the fact that they need more capital to keep their petrol pumps running and their operational costs have gone up by over 50% after the recent hike.

The impact of the hike is likely to be seen on the prices of fruit, vegetable, groceries and other daily essentials in the coming days, according to local transporters.

The Congress also protested the spiralling fuel prices on Sunday. Taking a dig at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Chandigarh Congress spokesperson Harmail Kesri said: “Where are all those BJP leaders today, who used to protest on bicycles and horse carts when the price of petrol increased from ₹70 to ₹71 during the Congress regime?”