HYDERABAD: With petrol and diesel prices skyrocketing, members of the public are calling for government’s intervention in the form of a tax cut. In the city, as on Wednesday, the petrol price touched Rs 75.59 per litre, up by 0.21 paise and diesel prices by Rs 67.42 per litre, up by 0.19 paise, from what it was on Tuesday. The Telangana government has imposed a Value Added Tax (VAT) of 35.2 per cent on petrol and 27 per cent on diesel. “The only way to bring the fuel rates down is for the central government to intervene and reduce the taxes,” said Srinivas CH, coordinator for oil marketing companies.
“The fuel prices are rising in tandem with the crude oil prices internationally. A central government’s pricing team is looking into the matter. There can be no way of knowing when the prices will come down at this stage,” he added.
Thomas Xavier, an IT professional residing at Kundanbagh, does not drive his newly-bought diesel Volkswagen Vento car to his office at Gachibowli anymore. “I took the car to work last month almost every day but that really impacted my household expenses. I found myself borrowing money to get on,” he said.