Petrol, CNG pumps in Delhi to remain shut on Monday, Kejriwal Blames BJP
New Delhi, Oct 21: All 400-odd petrol pumps along with linked CNG dispensing units in the national capital will remain shut Monday in protest against Delhi government's refusal to reduce VAT on fuels, the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA) said in a statement.
There are about 400 petrol pumps in Delhi which also have linked compressed natural gas (CNG) stations and all of them will remain closed for nearly 24 hours in protest from 6 am onwards on October 22 and remain closed till 5 am on October 23, it said.
DPDA president Nischal Singhania said, "The central government had slashed the rate of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.50 per litre each on September 4. This was followed by reduction of VAT (value added tax) by various states including neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, bringing relief to their residents.
"But, the Delhi government refused to reduce VAT on fuel both petrol and diesel resulting in fuel becoming more expensive than bordering Haryana and Uttar Pradesh."
However, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the strike was politically motivated. "Petrol pump owners have told us privately that this is a BJP-sponsored strike, actively supported by oil companies. In fact, the BJP has thrust it on petrol pump owners. People will give the BJP a befitting reply in the elections for continuously inconveniencing people through their dirty politics," he tweeted on Sunday night.
In comparison to Delhi, fuel rates in bordering states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are cheaper, he said.
Because of high price in Delhi and low prices in states like UP and Haryana, customers are deserting the petrol pumps in Delhi leading to huge drop in sales, Singhania said.
Due to difference in prices, there has been a sharp drop of 50-60 per cent in sale of diesel in Delhi and 25 per cent in petrol in this quarter, the DPDA president said, adding that on Monday, all the 400 pumps of Delhi will neither purchase nor sell petrol, diesel and CNG.
He said the festival season is peak season for the sale of fuel due to social travelling by residents.
"DPDA urges the Delhi government to immediately reduce VAT on petrol and diesel and encourage commuters to buy euro VI fuel and save the livelihood of employees and owners of petrol pumps of Delhi and also save state's revenue loss," the statement said.
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Rajasthan: Probe launched after 6 men die in Alwar villages in 4 days
Jaipur, Apr 30 (PTI): The death of six people due to unconfirmed reasons in two villages located around Siliserh Lake in Alwar district in the last four days has prompted the district administration to initiate a probe.
Senior Rajasthan Congress leader and leader of opposition in the state assembly Tikaram Jully, however, alleged that the deaths occurred due to spurious liquor.
The administration, on its part, has ruled out the possibility of spurious liquor being a cause of the deaths.
Alwar Collector Artika Shukla confirmed on Wednesday that six men have died, but she said three of the deaths had no connection with liquor.
"Family members of one of the deceased men informed our team that he fell sick after pesticide spray on the farm, while another man who died was suffering from high BP. The family of the third man said that he was an asthma patient," said Shukla, who had sent a team of officials from the district administration and police to the villages.
The collector said that the exact cause cannot be ascertained since no postmortem was conducted.
The remaining three men who died were liquor addicts, but they were not taken to hospital by the family members after they fell sick, she informed.
"CMHO (chief medical and health officer) said that liver failure or high BP could be a probable cause of death," she said.
An investigation into the matter is underway. The district authorities, including the police, are probing the matter, including illicit liquor.
"According to the initial probe, the reasons for deaths are different. There is no confirmation of death due to liquor so far," Sanjeev Nain, Alwar SP, said.
Villagers said that Suresh Balmiki (45) died on Saturday, Ramkishore (47) and Ramkumar (39) died on Sunday, while Lalaram (60), Bharat (40) and Omi (65) died on Monday.
Balkishan, father of deceased Ramkumar, said that his son had come home after consuming a bottle of country-made liquor.
"After some time, his health deteriorated, and he died in the hospital," he told reporters in Alwar.
Targeting the state government over the issue, Jully claimed that the illicit liquor business flourished under the BJP rule.
"The government has turned a blind eye to this issue. The government is trying to hide the truth and death figures in Alwar," he alleged.
