All 400-odd petrol pumps along with linked compressed natural gas dispensing units in the national capital will remain shut today as part of dealers' protest against the Delhi government's refusal to reduce value added tax on auto fuels.
There are about 400 petrol pumps in Delhi which also have linked CNG stations and all of them will remain closed for nearly 24 hours in protest from 6 a.m. onwards on Oct. 22 and remain closed till 5 a.m. on Oct 23, the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association had said in a statement.
#Visuals from a petrol pump in Delhi as a protest has been called by Delhi Petrol Dealers Association against Delhi govt's refusal to reduce VAT on diesel & petrol. All 400 petrol pumps along with linked CNG dispensing units will remain shut from 6 am today to 5 am tomorrow pic.twitter.com/rj0nKsLe3d
"The central government had slashed the rate of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.5 per litre each on Sept. 4. This was followed by reduction of VAT by various states including neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, bringing relief to their residents,” said DPDA President Nischal Singhania. "But, the Delhi government refused to reduce VAT on fuel both petrol and diesel resulting in fuel becoming more expensive than bordering Haryana and Uttar Pradesh."
In comparison to Delhi, fuel rates in bordering states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are cheaper, he said.
Because of high price in Delhi and low prices in states like UP and Haryana, customers are deserting the petrol pumps in Delhi leading to huge drop in sales, Singhania said.
Due to difference in prices, there has been a sharp drop of 50-60 percent in sale of diesel in Delhi and 25 percent in petrol in this quarter, the DPDA president said.He said the festival season is peak season for the sale of fuel due to social travelling by residents.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
