The petrol pumps in the capital remained closed on Monday as the dealers continued their protest against the hike in VAT on diesel. They have already threatened to go on an indefinite strike from June 14.
President of the Delhi/NCR petrol dealers’ association Ajay Bansal said that all services were shut down though the emergency services were exempted from the strike. He said that the petrol dealers apologised for the inconvenience caused to the general public but maintained that the government had left them with no options but to resort to such measures. The petrol dealers have been demanding rollback the hike in VAT rates, which are currently pegged at 20 per cent after being increased from 12.5 per cent in this year’s budget.
Meanwhile, even as many residents in the capital found themselves at the receiving end of the petrol strike, the pumps in neighbouring districts of Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurgaon and Faridabad had a field day.
“Usually our pumps lose out to Delhi as the fuel is cheaper there. But today, people had no choice and they have been queuing up since morning,” said an attendant of a Ghaziabad petrol pump, located on the Delhi border.