In continuation with the protest against hike in VAT on diesel, the petrol dealers in the capital have announced closure of all fuel stations in the capital on Monday. This will become a weekly feature if the government does not pay heed to their demand. The dealers have also threatened to resort to indefinite closure from June 14. Ajay
Bansal, president of Delhi/NCR petrol dealers’ association, on Sunday informed that the weekly closure will be from 6 am Monday to 6 am Tuesday. “The government has not made any gesture to indicate that it is interested in hearing us out. We have no option but to protest,” said Mr Bansal. He added, however, that a few oil company petrol pumps will remain open and the emergency services will be exempted from the strike.
The petrol dealers have been stressing on how an increase in VAT on diesel in Delhi from 12.5 per cent to 20 per cent has created an “imbalance” in the sale price of diesel between Delhi and Haryana, with the latter’s fuel becoming cheaper by nearly four rupees. As a result, the dealers claim, their business has taken a 30 to 40 per cent dip as vehicles prefer getting their tanks filled up at cheaper rate in neighbouring Haryana. The dealers have been demanding that price of diesel be brought at par with that in Haryana so that they do not lose out on business.
The Delhi government has so far stonewalled all attempts of the dealers on VAT rollback. The government has maintained that it needed to generate revenue as it had spent a lot of money for the preparation of Commonwealth Games 2010. However, there was no official word from the government about the Monday strike.
On Sunday, many pumps had put up banners telling customers of the strike on Monday.