BENGALURU: It is super whammy for consumers on Tuesday, as the increase in prices of milk, curds, electricity and others will come into effect in Karnataka. This will have a cascading effect with hotels increasing rates of milk-based products like coffee, tea and badam milk because of the Rs 4 hike in milk prices per litre.
The revision of toll on highways across the state too will come into effect from April 1, which will in turn increase the cost of essentials like vegetables, fruits and flowers. The government will also start raking in the moolah with the additional cess on newly registered commercial vehicles -- taxis, buses and auto-rickshaws -- and the introduction of a lifetime tax on e-vehicles costing above Rs 25 lakh. Commercial vehicle owners and operators have said the price hike will be passed on to consumers directly.
The price hikes announced in the union and state budgets too will come into effect from April 1, which is the beginning of the new financial year.
Bangalore Hotels Association honorary president PC Rao said, “Last month, several hotels revised the prices of coffee as the cost of coffee powder went up. While they may not increase the rates again, the remaining will hike the cost of milk-based beverages by Rs 2-3 or more, depending on the hotels, their customer base and location.”
He said the price of coffee is the lowest in Karnataka, while it is steep in other states.
Some hotels may wait for sometime before increasing prices as they fear losing customers. “Along with the milk price hike, the power tariff too is getting revised, and there is the user fee for garbage collection by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. Hotels will have to consider all these factors before revising prices,” Rao said.
“We were paying Rs 10 for a cup of coffee or tea. It got revised to Rs 12 and then Rs 14 and rounded off to Rs 15, all in a matter of a few weeks. Now with this milk price hike, the rate of coffee or tea even in a small hotel will not be less than Rs 20. I may have to cut down from 3-4 cups of coffee to just one or two per day as this will be a burden on me,” said Purushotham Shiva.
He lamented that the cost of every essential item has been sky-rocketing, while the income of the majority of the people has remained the same.