Petrol crosses Rs 100/litre mark in Leh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
New Delhi, Jun 4: After Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, petrol price has crossed the Rs 100-per-litre mark in Leh, in almost all districts of Andhra Pradesh and parts of Telangana after fuel prices were again hiked on Friday.
Petrol price was increased by 27 paise per litre and diesel by 28 paise a litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers.
The hike - 18th in the last one month - took fuel prices across the country to a historic high.
In Delhi, petrol hit an all-time high of Rs 94.76 a litre, while diesel is now priced at Rs 85.66 per litre.
Fuel prices differ from state to state depending on the incidence of local taxes such as VAT and freight charges.
Petrol price is well above the Rs 100-per-litre mark in all districts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra - the states which levy the highest value-added tax (VAT) in the country.
Retail prices have risen after an increase in international oil prices on investors' optimism that improving demand and a dwindling supply glut may mean the market can absorb any additional production from OPEC and its allies.
Brent crude - the global oil-price benchmark, has risen above USD 71 per barrel for the first time in two years.
Following the relentless price increase, fuel rates in places like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Leh have witnessed unprecedented levels.
Petrol is sold at over Rs 100 per litre in almost all districts of Andhra Pradesh, except Vizag where it costs 99.75 a litre. Diesel in Vizag is priced at Rs 94.08 per litre.
In Telangana, petrol prices crossed the psychological level in Adilabad (Rs 100.57) and Nizamabad (Rs 100.17).
Petrol costs Rs 100.43 a litre in Leh.
Rajasthan levies the highest VAT on petrol and diesel in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Mumbai on May 29, became the first metro in the country where petrol was being sold at over Rs 100-a-litre mark. Petrol now costs Rs 100.98 per litre in the city and diesel comes for Rs 92.99.
At Bellary, in Karnataka petrol is being sold at Rs 99.83 per litre. In Bengaluru, petrol is priced at Rs 97.98 per litre and diesel at Rs 90.87.
The increase on Friday is the 18th increase in prices since May 4, when state-owned oil firms ended an 18-day hiatus in rate revision they observed during assembly elections in states like West Bengal.
In 18 increases, petrol price has risen by Rs 4.36 per litre and diesel by Rs 4.93 a litre.
Rates are at the highest in the country in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan where petrol comes for Rs 105.81 a litre and diesel for Rs 98.64 per litre. Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol district has petrol priced at Rs 105.18 a litre and diesel at Rs 96.31.
Oil companies revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15-days, and foreign exchange rates.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, earlier this week agreed to continue relaxing curbs on oil production, signalling their confidence in improving oil demand and a drop in the global supply glut.
The rollout of vaccines is helping governments to reduce coronavirus restrictions and resume more normal economic activity. That will help pare global oil stocks - which at one point last year threatened to overwhelm the world's ability to store them.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
