BENGALURU: Catching up with the worrying trend across the country and other parts of the State, Bengaluru on Friday saw petrol breaching the psychological mark of Rs 100 per litre for the first time ever. The meter at petrol stations read Rs 100.17. The price is expected to go up further if the State and Centre do not step in and cut taxes on fuel.
Several districts, including Uttara Kannada, had already reached the mark on June 7. When the petrol price in Bengaluru was Rs 98.49, at Sirsi it was Rs 103.51. In a span of 11 days, it has crossed Rs 100.A petroleum dealer said the petrol price in the city has gone up by Rs 2,97 since the beginning of this month. On June 1, it was Rs. 97.20. It was Rs. 99.63 on Tuesday and Rs. 99.89 on Thursday. It went up by 28 paise on Friday to breach the Rs 100 mark.
Bangalore Petroleum Dealers’ Association president A Balaji Rao said the petrol price has touched a new high because of a consistent hike over the past few months. “There has been an increase of 10 to 30 paise every day in the last month. If the governments do not intervene and take some drastic steps, there is no hope of buying a litre of petrol below Rs. 100. Slashing the duties is the only way to bring immediate relief,” he added.