HYDERABAD: The fresh diesel price hike has come as a back-breaking burden for the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TRSTC). The hike could not have come at a worse time as the corporation is already neck-deep in losses. Since January 1 this year, there has been an approximately Rs 6 per litre increase in the price of diesel in Hyderabad, which means the corporation will have to cough out an additional Rs 130 to Rs 140 crore annually.
The present price of diesel is Rs 86.55, which is eight per cent more than Rs 80.60 per litre at the beginning of the year. This additional burden has cast a long shadow on the financial health of the corporation, which is just trying to find its feet after the debilitating impact of Covid-19 induced lockdown.
“The corporation uses about six lakh litres of diesel every day and additional Rs 6 per litre would mean an additional Rs 36 lakh burden per day. This would translate to Rs 10 to Rs 11 crore per month. A whole year with these inflated prices would add a burden of nearly Rs 130 to 140 crore,” said a senior RTC official.
The corporation’s earnings too are still not back to the pre-pandemic level. For instance, in Greater Hyderabad Zone, the earnings per kilometre are just Rs 35 at present, down from Rs 39 from pre-pandemic times.
“We are seeing some signs of recovery in the occupancy ratio which was below 50 during the pandemic. In the past few days, it touched 55-56. Our focus at present is to improve fuel efficiency. Before the pandemic, we could get 5.16 km per litre of diesel. At present, this has increased to 5.28km and the objective is to improve it further,” the official added.