Petrol, Diesel Prices Hit All-Time High
New Delhi : Continuing the upward streak, the prices of petrol and diesel hiked again on Monday, hitting an all-time high in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Oil marketing companies (OMCs) increased fuel rates for the ninth consecutive day. A litre of petrol is selling at Rs. 79.15 in Delhi, Rs. 86.56 in Mumbai, Rs. 82.24 in Chennai and Rs. 82.06 in Kolkata. Diesel rates on Monday were hiked by 39 paise a litre, the steepest increase since the daily revision in prices was introduced in mid-june 2017.
Diesel prices rose to its highest levels of Rs. 71.15 a litre in Delhi and Rs. 75.54 in Mumbai today. Diesel is retailing at a price of Rs. 75.19 per litre in Chennai and Rs. 74.00 per litre in Kolkata, according to daily price notification issued by state-owned oil firms.
Fuel prices vary from state to state due to local levies. The revised rates are applicable from 6 am on September 3, 2018. The surge in fuel prices is largely attributed to the recent rise in crude oil cost and the high excise duty levied on transportation fuel in the country.
Since August 16, petrol prices have risen by over Rs. 2 per litre. Diesel prices on the other hand have risen by Rs. 2.42 a litre during this period. Diesel rates had hit Rs. 69.31 a litre on May 28, but this record was breached on August 27 and on Monday they hit a fresh high.
According to officials, the spike in rates is on account of exchange rate falling to a record Rs.71 to a dollar, depreciating by Rs. 2.5 in a month. Also, crude oil has gained $7 a barrel in a fortnight, driven by fears that the US sanctions on Iran will likely contract supplies, reported news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).
Globally, oil prices fell on Monday amid rising supply from OPEC and the United States, outweighing concerns that falling Iranian output will tighten markets once US sanctions bite from November. Output from the producer cartel of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose by 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) between July and August, to a 2018-high of 32.79 million bpd, a Reuters survey found.
Many analysts have warned that an economic slowdown because of trade disputes between the United States and other major economies including China and the European Union would drag on oil demand, reported Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee recovered from all-time low of 71 and rose by 23 paise to 70.77 against the US dollar in early trade today on robust GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth data for the April-June quarter of current fiscal.
courtesy : ndtv.com
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Seventeen unexplained deaths: J&K’s Badhaal village declared containment zone
Rajouri/Jammu (PTI): The remote Badhaal village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district was on Wednesday declared a containment zone and prohibitory orders imposed on all public and private gatherings in the wake of the death of 17 people belonging to three families, officials said.
Another person belonging to the village has been admitted to a hospital in a critical condition, they said.
The containment orders have been imposed under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Section 163 of BNSS gives magistrates the power to issue written orders in urgent situations. These orders can be used to prevent or remedy nuisance or dangers.
According to the order issued by additional district magistrate (Rajouri) Rajeev Kumar Khajuria, the village has been divided into three containment zones – the first covering all families where deaths have occurred.
“The houses of these affected families shall be sealed and entry will be totally restricted for all individuals, including their family members, unless otherwise authorized by the designated officers/officials.”
In the containment zone 2, the order said the members of all families identified as close contacts of affected individuals be shifted to Government Medical College, Rajouri for continuous health monitoring which is mandatory.
All households will be covered under the containment zone-3 and staff will be deployed to ensure the continuous monitoring of food consumption, deployment of police personnel to enforce compliance and deployment of designated officers for maintenance of log books, the order said.
“All public and private gatherings are hereby prohibited within the jurisdiction of these containment zones, in order to prevent further spread of the infection,” the order said.
It said the designated officials shall be responsible for monitoring all meals provided to families in containment zones.
“It is mandatory for affected families and their close contacts to consume only the food and water provided by the administration. Any other food items available in the households are strictly prohibited for consumption,” the order said.
It ordered immediate replacement of all food and water supplies, and seizure of all edible materials in the infected households.
The fresh steps were taken after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited the village on Tuesday.
Seventeen persons belonging to three families linked to each other have died under suspicious circumstances in the village between December 7 and January 19.
A 24-year-old man identified as Aijaz Ahmad was hospitalised on Tuesday evening after his health deteriorated.
