Middle class people hit hard madurai matters
Source :The Hindu ,Dated 7th July'09
MADURAI: The moment prices of petrol and diesel are increased, the Opposition parties and consumer activists oppose it tooth and nail. Autorickshaw drivers silently increase the fare. Price of vegetables goes up.
When such are the woes of many segments in society, the TNSTC (Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation) has not revised its fares, say officials.
Covering five regions in southern districts, the TNSTC has a fleet strength of 2,040 city buses, 1,705 mofussil buses and 400 spare vehicles. On an average, it covers 17.60 lakh km a day. Last month alone, it covered 5.34 crore km. The diesel consumption for a month stands at around 10,200 litres. Till the revision announcement, diesel cost Rs. 32.89 a litre, which has climbed to Rs. 35.11. On an average, the corporation suffered a loss of around Rs. 2 crore a month due to revision of diesel prices, officials said. Despite the price increase, the State government was committed to serving the people and operated all the buses, a senior official said.
A TNSTC trade union leader, S. Sampath, said that the government should fully exempt diesel consumed by the TNSTC from levy of sales tax. “Since we serve the public, there is no commercial motive. The TNSTC Madurai division alone is required to pay about Rs. 75 crore as sales tax every year. A relief from this burden will prove beneficial to the corporation,” he said.
Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry senior president S. Rethinavelu said that following the rise in petrol and diesel prices, there would be an all round increase in prices of all commodities. At a time when manufacturing activity had slowed down in many sectors and as a chain reaction most sectors in the allied industries were feeling the pressure, increase in petrol and diesel prices would lead to more cut throat competition in the market place.
Though the lorry freight was mainly decided on demand and supply of consignments, for people in southern districts, a majority of the commodities arrived from northern States. Hence, the prices were likely to go up, Mr. Rethinavelu opined.
Many people want the authorities to examine ways to fix reasonable fares for autorickshaws. “What prevents the officials from ensuring that meters are fixed in autorickshaws,” they wonder.
Passengers at railway station and bus stands feel that when already autorickshaw drivers were fleecing customers, such a revision has come as an excuse to collect exorbitant fares. An automobile dealer selling high-end cars had a different story to tell: “We have our sales target and every month we achieve it irrespective of increase in fuel prices.”