Petrol Price Touches Rs 115 In This Odisha Town; People Take To Bicycle, Electric Bike

Bhubaneswar: Fuel prices have shot up again on Wednesday. Petrol  has increased by 35 paise per litre and diesel by 37 paise per litre.

The fresh surge has pushed the fuel prices to a new high across the country and people in Odisha too are bearing the brunt due to constant rise of their budget.

Petrol was priced the highest at Rs 115 in Kalimela of Malkangiri district while it was Rs 110 per litre in Rourkela.

In the twin city of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar too fuel prices inched towards Rs 110. In Cuttack, petrol was Rs 109.25 per litre while in Bhubaneswar it was Rs 108.90 per litre. Similarly, diesel is available at Rs 106.54/litre in Cuttack and Rs 105.47/L in Bhubaneswar.

The residents of Sambalpur too are struggling with petrol priced at Rs 109.60/L and diesel Rs 106.16/L.

The petrol and diesel prices have been increasing incessantly for the last one and half year when it shot up from Rs 70 to Rs 115 now. In October month itself the prices have been increased 20 times but there has no solution to this by the governments.

This is not only impacting the businessmen and traders but also office-goers who have to shell out extra money from their daily budgets.

Due to the impact of rising fuel prices people have now shifted to car-pooling or public transport besides surfing for pocket-friendly options like electric bikes.

“I started bike-sharing to office a few days back. Me and a friend from my street alternate our two-wheelers thus saving some money. The family budget has only soared during the lockdown, purchase of gadgets for children to manage online classes, rise in prices of consumer goods and now skyrocketing prices of vegetables under the impact of rising fuel prices,” said Prasanna Sethi, a state government employee, who manages a family of 6 people.

In towns like Kalimela people have shifted to  bicycle as their mode communication to work to adjust their budgets.

Business houses too are bearing the brunt. “Rising prices of groceries and essentials have hit our business too as people have reduced the quantity to manage their bills. As a result, we fear rotting or insect infestation in our pulses and flour stocks, among other items,” said Gopal Sahu of Kharavel Nagar.

The fresh hike in petrol and diesel prices come following the surge in crude oil prices in the international market.