SAMBALPUR: The sudden drop in fuel prices has not gone down well with the members of Sambalpur Petroleum Dealers’ Association who are staring at huge losses due to the move. In a press meet held here on Tuesday, the association members alleged that such a drastic cut in fuel prices at one go is a violation of the daily pricing mechanism (DPM) and sought compensation from oil companies for the loss incurred due to the Central government’s decision to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel.
The reduction in fuel prices is definitely a relief for the public but it has badly hit the petroleum dealers, said association advisor Ashok Kumar Kedi. “While the price cut decision was announced suddenly without any prior notice, dealers had already bought stock from oil companies at previous rates. The reduction of Rs 9.50 per litre of petrol and Rs 7 per litre of diesel is quite significant and has caused heavy losses to the petroleum dealers,” he said.
Kedi further said there are around 180 fuel stations in the district and each pump has incurred a loss of around Rs 5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh due to the sudden drop in prices. The association alleged that the Centre’s move is a clear violation of the DPM. As per the mechanism which was introduced in 2017, the price should be cut and hiked marginally on a daily basis. But in this case, the price was continuously increased marginally over a period of time but reduced suddenly.
In the prevailing situation, the association said the commission for dealers should be increased. Currently, dealers are getting a commission of Rs 3.39 on per litre of petrol and Rs 2.13 on diesel. The association members urged the government to increase the commission to 5 per cent.