HYDERABAD: Petroleum dealers in Telangana to go for a ‘no buying oil’ strike against oil companies on Wednesday. However, petrol pumps will remain open for public, say Telangana Petroleum Dealers Association.
“The strike will be against oil companies and we will not buy oil from them on July 5,” said Ashok Naradi, spokesperson Telangana Petroleum Dealers Association. “We are undecided on if we should join national-level protest on July 12,” he added.
Since the daily rate revision on petrol prices came into affect on June 1, the dealers have been incurring financial losses. “The prices have come down in the last 15 days by more than `4, so if a dealer is holding on to a minimum stock 20,000 litres and is only able to sell 5,000 litres, he ends up owning a stock of 15,000 litres that he will have to sell for a cheaper rate as the prices are falling,” said Ashok. Petroleum dealer associations have demanded oil companies to give them price protection and to ensure that all pumps are automated.
“The people are price sensitive so there is no question of the dealer trying to cheat. There however is the possibility of human error as the fuel rates change mostly at the paise level,” he added.