ROURKELA: Members of Rourkela unit of CPM on Thursday hit the streets demanding rollback of the latest hike in petrol price. They staged a demonstration at Bisra Square which created a road block like situation.Addressing the gathering, State secretariat member and Odisha unit CITU general secretary Bishnu Mohanty described the hike as ‘unjustified and unreasonable’ and pressed for its unconditional rollback.Reiterating the Left party’s demand for restoration of price regulatory mechanism for petroleum products, he said instead of flogging the common man by increasing fuel prices, the Government should have considered reducing multiple taxes. Among others, CPM leaders Biman Maity, Srimanta Behera and Surendra Dash were present. The CPM also announced that it would continue the agitation. Flaying the unprecedented hike, the business community demanded all possible measures to reduce burden on the common man. Odisha unit of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) president and former president of Rourkela Chamber of Commerce and Industry Subrata Patnaik is of the opinion that the governments should consider waiver of multiple taxes on petroleum products to offset the burden on common people. Patnaik also demanded restoration of the price regulatory mechanism to prevent oil companies from having their own whimsical ways. Sambalpur: Reacting sharply, former Sambalpur MP and All India University Employees’ Confederation president Bhabani Hota said the steep hike was unjustifiable but one cannot expect anything better from a Government which had already hit nadir of unpopularity.Terming it as a gift to the people on the completion of three years of UPA-II, Sambalpur district BJD president Rohit Pujari asked the Centre to set its house in order. He said the BJD would stage protest and mobilise public opinion against the hike. The hike would mean a rise in prices of public transport as well. Even auto- rickshaw owners said they would be forced to adulterate petrol with kerosene to maintain the profit margin.Balasore: Former chairman of CII and industrialist RK Jena said the hike would be another blow to the already crippled economy. “It is a shock not only for the common man but business class as well. The government has no other option but to hike the price to minimise huge deficit incurred out of subsidy,” he said. Apprehending that the move would hit the automobile sector hard and prove a big burden on the people, Jena said the increase in petrol price is not likely to give much relief to the government’s swelling fiscal deficit. The oil price hike has hit the lower income group hard. A marketing executive Manoj Mohanty said the hike is going to create an imbalance in his expenditure. “I usually travel at least 100 km a day and the price hike is a burden on me,” he said. Several others have also demanded initiation of measures by the State Government to minimise the burden. A medicine representative Pramothes Puhan said the State Government should cut taxes on the petroleum products to deal with the situation and give the people some respite. On Thursday hundreds of people led by Left parties staged road blockade near FM Circle demanding a total rollback. CPI leader Jayanta Das and CPI (M) State secretariat member Sisir Hui were present.
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