News of the hike in petrol price by Rs 7.50 saw a huge rush of vehicles outside fuel stations, with people keen to fill up their tanks before the hiked price came into effect. The cops were present at fuel stations to make sure everything was going smoothly as queues lengthened and people lost their temper. J. Tirupati, a businessman, said the price hike was appalling and would eat into his savings. Sneha Reddy, a working woman and single mother, said, “This hike will surely burn a big hole in our pockets. It is not one rupee or two but nearly seven rupees more per litre. Does the government think everyone is a millionaire?”
Students too will feel the pinch. Prakash S. said, “My parents do not give me enough money for the fuel I require now. This hike will cause more trouble — every day I practice cricket, then go to college and hang out in the evenings.”
The fuel price hike was also trending on twitter, with actors and others discussing it over the social networking sites. Meanwhile, as a further blow to general commuters, autorickshaw unions are threatening to go on strike if the minimum fare is not raised from the present Rs 14 to Rs 24 within a fortnight. Justifying the demand for fare increase, AP Auto Drivers Samakhya General secretary A. Sathi Reddy said: “Petrol price has been raised three or four times in recent past but auto-rickshaw fare has not been raised accordingly. We are demanding that the minimum fare be raised to Rs 24. We also want the fare per km to be raised from Rs 8 to Rs 12.”