LAHORE: The people saw the recent slash in the price of petroleum products as insignificant, saying it would not bring down the prices of food and transport fares.
While talking to the Business Recorder on Monday, they said that the government’s relief of decreasing petrol and diesel prices by Rs14 per litre and Rs13.50 per litre, respectively, will have little impact, if any, on the prices of food while the transporters will refuse to pass on the reduction to the commuters.
They also believed that the government was reluctant to pass on the full benefits of low oil prices recently seen in the international market, as well as the recovery of the rupee against the American dollar.
Iqbal Zafar, an office employee who commutes on a motorbike, said that the reduction was a joke; in the past, the government increased the pol prices by Rs40 per litre on the pretext that international oil prices jumped.
When the same price sees a significant drop, its full benefit is never passed on to the people. “Does the government think that Rs267.34 per litre will ease pressure on our pockets,” he questioned.
A lady buying vegetables in a Saturday bazaar said the prices are too high and nowhere near the DC rates. “We have been witnessing a significant decrease in diesel prices, and we are told that when its price comes down, so will the prices of vegetables and fruits.
I have yet to see that day. Every week, I come to the market hoping to see a reduction in the prices of fresh produce, but I leave with disappointment. Daily, the local government releases the DC rates of fresh produce. Still, it remains on the paper and never implemented in the markets,” she added.
Another person standing nearby complained that the traders were reluctant to pass on the benefit of reducing the prices, adding that they pocketed the difference to increase their profits while government machinery was sitting idle to allow the exploitation of the poor and hard-pressed people.
“The government talks about taking effective measures to control food prices and ensure that the impact of reduced oil prices was passed to the common man, but in reality, it was paying mere lip service to gain cheap publicity,” he added.
Despite the decrease in the prices of petroleum products, the transporters in Lahore have not reduced the fares, and the passengers are forced to travel on the old fares. Many people complained that when the price of petrol increases, the fares immediately increase and never vice versa.
A senior citizen commuting on a motorbike rickshaw said that he never saw a reduction in the transport fares when the oil prices were reduced in the past; “yes, the moment the government announces an increase in the oil prices, the very next moment the transporters raise their fares.” With anguish, he said that they have no choice but to live with exploitation and eye-wash reductions.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023