Rawalpindi : With fresh increase in POL prices, the long routes transporters and goods transporters have increased fare by over 20 per cent here on Saturday.
Government has announced an increase in the prices of petrol and high speed diesel (HSD) by Rs26.77 for the next week.
With this increase, the price of HSD has risen to Rs380.19 per liter, up from Rs353.42, while petrol now costs Rs393.35 per liter compared to Rs366.58 previously.
The local transporters without government permission have increased fares stop-to-stop by over Rs20.
Right now the government has increased petrol prices again. As a result, transporters have raised fares immediately. For example, a fare that used to be 200 rupees is now 250 or even 300 rupees, and what used to be 250 has gone up to 300. Overall, transporters have increased fares by over 20%, and goods transporters have also announced a 20% increase.
Because of these rising transport costs, a wave of inflation has hit the country. Vegetables, fruits, meat everything has become expensive. This has created serious difficulties in the lives of ordinary people. Along with petrol prices, LPG prices have also increased. Flour, pulses, and cooking oil have all become more expensive. People are already struggling under inflation, yet the government does not seem to realize how badly the public is suffering, people belonged to different walks of life strongly protested against increase in POL prices.
The residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad said that now the question is where should people go? Maryam Nawaz had announced that transport would be free, but for the past ten days there has been almost no transport running especially in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, where it is practically shut down. The few local transporters who are operating are charging whatever they want, increasing fares by about 20 rupees per stop.
The locals said that today, there have been hundreds of disputes and fights. There have also been arguments at petrol pumps people saying that petrol was cheaper at night and more expensive during the day. Pump workers say the government increased the price, but people are not ready to accept it. Prices of everything have gone up. How will people survive? Only God knows. What will happen to this country? Only God knows, locals bemoaned.
People are making a humble appeal to the government to bring petrol prices down to around 150–200 rupees. There is conflict between Iran and the United States, yet they do not seem to have such a petrol crisis, while in Pakistan prices keep increasing every few days. No one understands what is happening.
Electricity bills, gas bills, internet bills, and taxes are overwhelming people. Salaries remain the same, and jobs are being lost. What will happen to this country? No one knows how things will continue. Petrol prices have broken the back of the common man. Even having two times meals a day has become difficult, people strongly reacted.
Many people who relied on free food from community kitchens are also suffering now, as many of these kitchens have closed. People cannot even afford to access them anymore. Therefore, the public is making a serious appeal to the government to come to its senses, otherwise the situation could lead to unrest in the country, public warned.
