Diesel price hits record high after rates hiked for 14th day in a row; petrol up 51 paise
New Delhi: Diesel price on Saturday hit a record high after rates were hiked by 61 paise per litre while petrol price was up 51 paise, taking the cumulative increase in rates in two weeks to Rs 8.28 and Rs 7.62 respectively.
Petrol price in Delhi was hiked to Rs 78.88 per litre from Rs 78.37, while diesel rates were increased to Rs 77.67 a litre from Rs 77.06, according to a price notification of state oil marketing companies.
Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT.
The 14th daily increase in rates since oil companies on June 7 restarted revising prices in line with costs after ending an 82-day hiatus in rate revision, has taken diesel prices to new high. Petrol price too is at a two-year high.
Prior to the current rally, diesel rate had touched a peak of Rs 75.69 per litre in Delhi on October 16, 2018. The highest-ever petrol price was on October 4, 2018, when rates soared to Rs 84 a litre in Delhi.
When rates had peaked in October 2018, the government had cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 1.50 per litre each. State-owned oil companies were asked to absorb another Re 1 a litre to help cut retail rates by Rs 2.50 a litre. Oil companies had quickly recouped the Re 1 and the government in July 2019 raised excise duty by Rs 2 a litre.
The 82-day freeze in rates this year was imposed in mid-March soon after the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel to shore up additional finances.
The government on March 14 hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 3 per litre each and then again on May 5 by a record Rs 10 per litre in case of petrol and Rs 13 on diesel. The two hikes gave the government Rs 2 lakh crore in additional tax revenues.
Oil PSUs Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL), instead of passing on the excise duty hikes to customers, adjusted them against the fall in retail rates that was warranted because of a decline in international oil prices to two-decade lows.
International oil prices have since rebounded and oil firms are now adjusting retail rates in line with them. In 14 hikes, petrol price has gone up by Rs 7.62 per litre and diesel by Rs 8.28 a litre.
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All arrangements in place for second phase of polling in West Bengal on April 29: Poll official
Kolkata (PTI): All arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the second phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections on April 29, Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters, Agarwal asserted that there would be no bogus voting and no disturbances.
"We have made all arrangements. For every possible issue, there is a remedy that will be applied at the right place,” he said.
"The election process is being handled uniformly across the state and not viewed separately in phases," he said.
Referring to the first phase of polling held on April 23, Agarwal said voting was peaceful due to coordinated efforts of the administration, police, central forces, political parties and voters.
"Preparations have been further strengthened for the concluding phase," he said, adding that he had visited several districts and sensitive areas to review preparedness.
"There is strong enthusiasm among people to vote. The 93 per cent turnout in the first phase has set a new benchmark, and in many places, people are aiming to surpass that figure in the second phase," he said.
On incidents of unrest ahead of the polls, Agarwal said such occurrences were not new and similar incidents had taken place before the first phase, but the situation remained under control on polling day.
He said the state police and central forces were fully prepared to maintain law and order and ensure peaceful voting.
A total of 3,21,73,837 people -- 1,64,35,627 men, 1,57,37,418 women and 792 third-gender voters -- are eligible to cast their votes across 142 assembly segments in seven districts in the second phase, officials said.
Polling will be held at 41,001 polling stations, all of which will be covered by webcasting. A total of 2,321 companies of central forces have been deployed, with the highest deployment of 273 companies in Kolkata, they said.
Returning officers have also been directed to ensure the movement of polling personnel from booths to receiving centres under proper security arrangements immediately after the conclusion of voting, they added.
Agarwal said deployment of central forces for the second phase began on Sunday, adding that earlier there had been a relative shortage of forces.
"Taking advantage of that, miscreants indulged in incidents of unrest and intimidation," he said.
As many as 142 general observers, 95 police observers and 100 expenditure observers have been deployed, while drones fitted with cameras will be used to monitor the polling process.
A total of 1,448 candidates are in the fray in this phase. Bhangar in South 24 Parganas district has the highest number of candidates at 19, while Goghat in Hooghly district has the lowest at five.
Among the prominent candidates contesting in this phase are Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari in Bhabanipur, state ministers Sujit Bose in Bidhannagar, Firhad Hakim in Kolkata Port, Jyoti Priya Mallick in Habra, Bratya Basu in Dum Dum and Sovandeb Chattopadhyay in Ballygunge, and BJP's Arjun Singh in Noapara, Swapan Dasgupta in Rashbehari and Rudranil Ghosh in Shibpur.
Also in the fray are CPI(M)'s Minakshi Mukherjee in Uttarpara, Dipsita Dhar in Dum Dum Uttar against state minister Chandrima Bhattacharjee, Kalatan Dasgupta in Panihati against BJP’s Ratna Debnath, mother of the doctor raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and ISF MLA Nawsad Siddiqui in Bhangar.
Asked about the alleged attack on TMC MP Mitali Bag, Agarwal said, "Three aspects are emerging in the incident. In some places, it is being described as an intra-party conflict. Reports have been sent by the district magistrate and the police. The EC will examine all reports and the entire matter before commenting."
In the first phase, polling was held for 152 seats across 16 districts on April 23. A voter turnout of 93.19 per cent, the highest in the state's history, was recorded.
