Petro price hike irks public

Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, January 10:

The public has reacted angrily to the government’s decision to hike the price of petroleum products today. “This is too much. The price hike will have a direct bearing on taxi fare,” said Dinesh Shrestha, a taxi driver. He demanded that the concerned authorities immediately raise the taxi metre rate in order to accomodate the new price.

Kiran Manandhar of Ghattekulo, who switched off his motorcycle to save fuel, said the hike has added more burden to the people. “For people with low income, this is a hard blow,” he added. Malati Subedi, who runs a small tea shop, in Anamnagar said: “What can we do? We are helpless. The hike is surely going to affect my business.”

“The government is committing a crime by hiking the price of petroleum products and that too, three times a year,” said Shakuntala Neupane, a housewife from Baneswor. However, she hoped that the government would reconsider the hike. “It has become extremely difficult for people to sustain, in fact, it has become intolerable now,” she added.