Petrol hike: people feel the heat, autos fleece

New Delhi, Jun 6: Huge crowds were seen at Delhi Metro stations and trains in the city as the petrol and diesel hike took effect today.

There was a marked increase in the number of commuters this morning, Delhi Metro Rail Corp sources said.

Government had announced an unprecedented hike of Rs four per litre on petrol and Rs two per litre on diesel last night, which took effect at midnight.

Long lines of vehicles were seen at petrol pumps last night as people from the national capital and also the neighbouring states hurried to beat the price hike.

Petrol price in the capital jumped to Rs 47.51 a litre while diesel climbed to Rs 32.47 a litre.

With CNG price hiked by Rs 1.20 per kg and its price reading 19.20 per kg, autorickshaws and taxis also jacked up their fares and made a killing, charging arbitrary amounts.

As it is, there were fewer autos on the roads as auto unions had called a strike demanding a 'fare hike' saying fares had been last revised when CNG rate read Rs 14 a kg.

With driving private vehicles or riding autos and taxis becoming prohibitively costly, more people were driven to use the Metro, keeping its cash registers ringing.

DMRC sources ruled out any fare hike till a new line/section was added to its network.

UNI

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